Cyprus: Modern history

Ottoman rule (1571–1878) brought a steep decline in wine production, and in the importance of the wine industry, which remained in an underdeveloped state until the middle of the 19th century, the first of the modern wineries, Haggipavlu, not being founded until 1844. British administration of the island (1878–1960) saw a further revitalization of the industry, with Cyprus ‘sherry’, as this fortified wine was then allowed to call itself, becoming an important product for the first time. The invasion of northern Cyprus by Turkey in 1974, and subsequent political problems, hardly affected the wine industry, concentrated in the southern part of the island. Today, wine continues to play an important role in the agricultural economy of the Greek Cypriot, southern Republic of Cyprus.