THE WINE DISTRICT OF LIMASOL.
In the fifteenth century the Cyprian vines were selected for the now
celebrated vineyards of Madeira; nothing can better exemplify the
standard of industry and consequent prosperity than the vine, when we
regard the identical plant in the hands of the Portuguese and in its
original home in Cyprus under the Turkish administration. The first
historical notice of the vine occurs when Noah, stranded upon Mount
Ararat, took advantage, upon the first subsidence of the waters, to
plant a vineyard; and, according to the curt biblical description, it
grew, produced, and the wine intoxicated the proprietor, all within a
few days. It may not have occurred to the wine trade that this biblical
fact proves that the consumption of wine had been among the first
assumed necessities of the human race; if Noah's first impulse upon
landing suggested the cultivation of the vine, he was restoring to the
world a plant that had been considered so absolutely important that he
must have provided himself with either buds or cuttings in great
quantities when he selected his animals for the Ark BEFORE the Deluge.
If this is true, the use of wine must have been pre-historical, and its
abuse historical; the two purposes having continued to the present day.
It may therefore be acknowledged that no custom has been so universal
and continuous as the drinking of wine from the earliest period of human
existence. The vine is a mysterious plant; it is so peculiarly sensitive
that, like a musical instrument which produces harmony or discord at the
hands of different performers, the produce of the same variety is
affected by the soil upon which the plants are grown. Thus ten thousand
young vines may be planted upon one mountain, all of the same stock; but
various qualities of wine will be produced, each with a special
peculiarity of flavour, according to the peculiarities of soil. The same
estate, planted with the same vines, may produce high class wines and
others that would hardly command a market, if the soil varies according
to the degrees of certain localities. It would now be impossible to
produce Madeira wine in Cyprus, although the plants might be imported
and cultivated with the greatest attention. When the vines were shipped
from Cyprus and planted in Madeira during the rule of the Venetians, it
must not be supposed that those vines had ever produced wine of the
well-known Madeira flavour and quality; that flavour was the result of
some peculiarity in the soil of the new country to which the vines had
been transplanted, and there can be little doubt that the rich and
extremely luscious variety known in Cyprus as "Commanderia" was the
parent vine of the Madeira vineyards.
It is well known that the costly experiments of a century at the Cape of
Good Hope have verified the fact that the vine is the slave of certain
conditions of soil, which impart to this extremely delicate and
sensitive plant a special flavour that is incorporated with the wine,
and can never be eradicated. The vines of the Cape, although of infinite
variety, produce wines with a family taint which is a flavour absorbed
from the soil. Any person who knows Constantia, the luscious wine of the
Cape of Good Hope, will at once detect the soupcon of that flavour in
every quality of wine produced in the colony. It may therefore be
accepted that the flavour of wines depends upon the soil; thus it would
be impossible for a vine-grower to succeed simply by planting well-
known superior varieties of vines, unless he has had practical
experience of the locality to be converted into vineyards.
This fact is thoroughly exhibited in Cyprus, where the peculiarities of
soils are exceedingly remarkable, and cannot fail to attract attention,
each of these qualities of earth producing a special wine.
If a planter establishes a vineyard he will naturally select a certain
variety of vine, and a corresponding situation that will ensure a
marketable quantity of wine; thus in Cyprus a comparatively small area
of the island is devoted to the cultivation of the grape, which is
comprised chiefly within the district of Limasol. No wine is made in the
Carpas district, nor to the north of the Carpasian range of jurassic
limestone; there are no vineyards of importance in the western district;
or yet in the plain of Messaria, except upon the western border, in the
neighbourhood of Dali, towards the Makhaeras mountain.
Although there are many varieties of Cyprus wines, there is one
prevailing rule: the white commanderia, a luscious high-flavoured wine,
is grown upon the reddish chocolate-coloured soil of metamorphous rocks.
The dark red, or black astringent wines, are produced upon the white
marls and cretaceous limestone. The quantity produced is large, and the
dark wines can be purchased retail in the villages for one penny the
quart bottle!--and in my opinion are very dear at the money.
According to the official returns kindly supplied to me by Mr. Robson,
the chief of customs, the following list represents the declared
duty-paid production from 1877 to 1879.
Spirits-- Commanderia-- Black Wines--
Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs.
1877-1878. . 155,451 117,000 2,500,000
1878-1879. . 430,000 300,000 6,000,000
Spirit is valued at about 2.5 Piastres the Oke
Commanderia " " 2 " " "
Black Wines " " 1.25 " " "
The rate of exchange: 9 Piastres to 1 shilling = 180 per
pound sterling.
It will be observed that an immense difference is represented in the
yield of the two years. This is to be accounted for by the
superabundance of rains in 1878-1879, which caused a great quantity, but
bad quality, of juice, and the wine of this vintage is so inferior that
a large proportion is turning to vinegar, and can be used for no other
purpose.
The habit of calculating by low quantities, as "okes," as the French
reckon in "francs," is at first sight perplexing to the English mind,
and conveys an erroneous impression of the actual results. If the
population of Cyprus is about 200,000, the maximum wine-crop of
6,000,000 okes would only yield 30 okes, or 60 ordinary wine-bottles, to
each person during the year. The local consumption is exceedingly small,
which can only be accounted for by the general poverty of the
population.
The exports are directed principally to the various ports of the Levant,
Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, in addition to Trieste, and parts of
Southern Italy. Some of the dark wines are shipped to Marseilles, for
the well-known establishment at Cette, where they are used for mixing
with other wines. It should at once be understood that no quality of
Cyprus wines is suitable to the English market, as they are generally
shunned even by the English residing in the island, where their extreme
cheapness might tempt people into the bad taste of consuming them. At
the same time, these wines are well appreciated by the native
population, especially the dark astringent qualities.
The difficulty of introducing a new wine is well known to English
wine-merchants, and the mysteries of the trade would somewhat astonish
the innocent would-be connoisseur. There can be no doubt that the palate
must be educated to enjoy fine dry wines, precisely as the ear must be
instructed before it can appreciate classical music. There is a harmony
in the senses of hearing, smell, and taste which is the result of
civilised life; this may be right or wrong physically, as the nerves
become more delicate and sensitive, which may affect the brain more or
less directly. There can be no doubt that it affects the stomach.
Certain civilised persons prefer game in a state approaching to
decomposition; I have seen savages who enjoy flesh when actually putrid,
and above all horrors, fish when stinking! Such food would disgust the
civilised man who prefers his game "high," and would perhaps kill other
civilised people whose palates and stomachs have been educated to avoid
impurities. In the same manner the palate must be educated for wines or
other drinks. I gave an old priest a bottle of Bass's pale India ale; he
could not drink half a glassful but rejected it as picro (bitter); the
same old man enjoyed his penny-a-bottle black Cyprus wine, reeking of
tar and half-rotten goat-skins, in which it had been brought to
market--a stuff that I could not have swallowed! It must therefore be
borne in mind when judging of Cyprian wines, that "English taste does
not govern the world." Although the British market would be closed to
the coarse and ill-made wines of Cyprus, there are other markets which
accept them gladly, and would absorb them to a high degree, were they
improved by superior cultivation and manufacture.
At the same time that the produce of Cyprus is now a unsuitable to the
English market, there is no reason why it should be excluded at a future
time, when scientific culture shall have enhanced the quality. It should
be remembered that the poorer classes of Great Britain would be
immensely benefited by a beverage that should be within their reach in
price, and at the same time be sufficiently invigorating without the
direct intoxicating properties of spirits or the sleepy, heavy, and
thirst-increasing qualities of beer. If Cyprus is at some future time to
become a British colony, the wine trade will be the principal source of
industry, and should be developed by the government with every possible
encouragement to the proprietors of vineyards. An improved quality of
wine will not necessitate an additional price, but, on the contrary, the
wine-growing resources of the island are so irrepressible that they have
withstood the oppression of the past and present, and when relieved of
this incubus, not only should the quality improve, but the price should
be reduced. In this case, should the Cyprian produce be favoured by a
nominal import duty in England, the wine will be within the reach of the
poorer classes, and may ameliorate that crying evil of our country,
"intoxication," by weaning the spirit-drinker to a more wholesome
drink.
It must never be supposed by the most sanguine that Cyprian wines will
be fashionable among the upper classes in England. I do not think they
will ever surpass Marsala or many of the Cape wines. English people, as
a rule, object to cheap wines, or at least they are reserved concerning
the price, should cheap wine be upon their table. It is a dangerous
thing to mention the cost of any wine, even to your nearest friend;
although he might have enjoyed it when he thought it must have cost you
72 shillings the dozen, he will detect some unpleasant peculiarity when
you may foolishly have confided to him that it only cost you 36
shillings, or, worse still, 24 shillings. He will possibly suggest to
you on the following morning that "something disagreed with him during
the night, but he does NOT think it was the 24 shilling wine." Here is
the fault of HALF-EDUCATED palates; they expect too much, and are guided
by fancies. The same person might be beguiled into the belief that the
24 shilling wine was very superior if he had been deceived by an
assurance that it cost 72 shillings. There are really very few amateurs
who could value unknown wines by the test of their own palates; but the
chilly climate of England is adverse to light wines, and necessitates a
full body, with considerable strength.
The sherries are always fortified by an addition of between 30 to 40 per
cent. of alcohol before they are shipped to England, without which they
would be unsaleable; as to our taste, they would be empty and vapid. We
must therefore make a considerable allowance when judging of Cyprus
wines in their present extremely rude and uncultivated position.
Nothing is added, and the following concise description will account for
their disagreeable peculiarities.
There are no roads in Cyprus in the mountainous wine-producing
districts, therefore all agricultural products must be conveyed upon the
backs of mules up and down the steepest and most dangerous rocky tracks,
apparently more fitted for goats than other animals. A mule will travel
in this rough country with a load of 250 lbs. This serious difficulty of
transport will account for the rude and ancient method of conveying wine
in goat-skins. "No man will put new wine into old bottles," referred to
this system of employing skins instead of casks, or other receptacles
that could be cleaned and rendered tasteless. The goat-skin would
quickly rot, unless it was prepared by a species of tar; thus not only
is the naturally unpleasant flavour of the skin imparted to the wine,
but the mixture of tar renders it completely abominable to any palate
that has not been educated to receive it. Let any person conceive the
result of pouring ten or twelve gallons of Chateau Lafitte into an old
and dirty goat-skin thoroughly impregnated with tar, and carrying this
burden upon one side of a mule, balanced by a similar skin on the other
side filled with the choicest Johannisberger. This load, worth at least
70 or 80 pounds at starting, would travel for two days exposed to a
broiling sun, and would lie for several days before it would be turned
into the vat of the merchant at Limasol. By that time, according to
civilised taste, it would be perfectly valueless and undrinkable; if the
best wines in the world can be thus destroyed by a savage means of
transport, what must the effect be upon such inferior qualities as the
crude produce of Cyprus? Common sense will suggest that the first step
towards improvement will be the completion of roads throughout the wine
districts, that will enable the two-wheeled native carts to convey the
wine in barrels direct from the growers to the merchants' stores at
Limasol.
We will now commence at the beginning, "the cultivation of the vine,"
and trace its progress until the wine is ready for the consumer.
As I have already described, the commanderia and the black wines are
produced by the two different qualities of soils, but there is no
difference in the altitudes. The new British road from Limasol to
Platraes, thirty miles, cuts directly through the principal vine
districts of the country. From the deep valley and roaring torrent, up
to the mountain-tops exceeding 4000 feet above the sea-level, the
country is green with vineyards in the middle or latter end of May; not
a yard of available land is lost. When the shoots are about three feet
long and have shown the embryo bunches, a number of men enter the
vineyard with switches and knock off the tender ends of the runners,
which in a gentler method of cultivation would be picked off with the
finger and thumb-nail. Sometimes goats are turned in to nibble off the
shoots in order to save labour, and at the same time to feed the
animals; they of course damage the vines, but the Cypriote thinks the
system pays. The young vines are never staked and tied as in Europe, but
are allowed to take their chance, and the heavy bunches in many
instances rest upon the dusty ground.
There is seldom rain after May, but a few showers are favourable at this
particular season when the young bunches are in blossom. In the best
vineyards attention is given to clearing away the weeds after rain, but
usually the vines are left to nature after the grapes have formed, as
the hot sun and drying wind are sufficient to keep down adverse
vegetation.
The grapes ripen towards the middle or end of August. The commanderia
grapes are collected and spread upon the flat mud-plastered roofs of the
native houses, and are exposed for several days, until they show
symptoms of shrivelling in the skin, and the stalks have partially
dried: they are then pressed. By this time many of the grapes that have
been bruised by this rough treatment have fermented, and the dust and
dirt of the house-top, together with flies and other insects, have
adhered to the impure heap. It has been imagined by some travellers that
the grapes are purposely dried before pressing; on the other hand, I
have been assured by the inhabitants that their only reason for heaping
and exposing their crop upon the house-tops is the danger of leaving it
to ripen in the vineyard. None of the plots are fenced, and before the
grapes are sufficiently ripe for pressing they are stolen in large
quantities, or destroyed by cattle, goats, mules, and every stray animal
that is attracted to the fields. The owner of the vineyard accordingly
gathers his crop by degrees, a little before the proper time, and the
grapes are exposed upon the house-tops to ripen artificially in the sun.
In this manner the quality is seriously damaged; but the natives will
not acknowledge it any more than the Devonshire farmers, who leave their
apples in heaps upon the ground for many weeks, rotting and wasp-eaten,
before they are carried to the pound for the grinding of cider. The
grapes, having been trodden by men with large boots, are pressed, and
the juice of the commanderia is placed in jars capable of holding from
seventy to one hundred gallons. The refuse of skins and stalks is laid
upon one side to ferment for the manufacture of raki, or spirit, by
distillation. The fermentation of the juice proceeds in the earthen
jars, and is guided according to the ideas of the proprietor; when he
considers that it has continued to a degree sufficient for the strength
and quality of the wine, it is checked by the addition of powdered
gypsum. Here is one of the patent errors of the manufacture of
commanderia as a wine suitable to English tastes. The grape-juice is
naturally so rich in saccharine, that it is luscious and vapid to an
excess; this superabundant amount of sugar would be converted into
alcohol in the natural process of fermentation if unchecked, and by the
chemical change the wine would gain in strength and lose in sweetness.
Should this process be adopted, the result would no longer represent the
wine now accepted as commanderia, which finds a ready market in the
Levant, owing to its peculiar sweetness and rich flavour, although
disagreeable to Europeans; there would accordingly be a risk attending
such experiments, which the grower would consider unnecessary, as he
already commands the sale.
The large jars in which the wine ferments are porous and unglazed; the
usual waterproofing is adopted, in the shape of tar, with which the
inside is thickly coated. There are many jars of a century old, which
have lost the flavour by extreme age, and have become liquid-proof by
the choking of the pores with the crust deposited by the wine; these are
highly prized, and the wine after fermentation is left upon its own lees
to ripen; or, according to our ideas, it is entirely neglected. It is
never racked into other vessels.
There is an unusual peculiarity in commanderia; instead of the colour
becoming paler by great age, it deepens to an extraordinary degree. The
new wine is the ordinary tint of sherry, but it gradually becomes
darker, until after forty or fifty years it is almost black, with the
syrup-like consistence of new honey. Wine of this age and quality is
much esteemed, and is worth a fancy price. I was presented with several
bottles of the famous old Cyprus growths of commanderia, morocanella,
and muscadine, by the kindness of Mr. Lanites, who is largely interested
in the trade at Limasol. The old commanderia was sufficiently sweet to
occasion a roughness in the throat, and each quality was far too
luscious for English taste, but might have been agreeable to sip like
Tokay, by soaking a sponge biscuit. The utterly rude method of producing
native wines, which can scarcely be dignified by the term "manufacture,"
is a sufficient explanation of their inferior quality, but at the same
time it is a proof of the great wine-producing power of Cyprus, where,
in spite of ignorance and neglect, an extensive commerce has been
established, which adds materially to the revenue of the island. If
these badly-made wines have founded an important trade, there is every
reason to expect a corresponding extension when scientific principles
shall have resulted in a superior quality.
The black wines receive even less care than the commanderia; the grapes
are trodden, and are thrown into receptacles to ferment, together with
the skins and stalks. This bruised mass, after lying a certain time
exposed to fermentation, is pressed, and the muddy juice is stowed in
the large tarred jars to ripen for a few months, which, according to
Cyprian taste, are sufficient to prepare it for consumption. The stalks
and black skins, being extremely rich in tannin, have imparted to the
wine a powerful astringency and the exceedingly dark colour which so
disagreeably distinguish this common quality. The growers imagine that
the extra amount of tannin is preservative, without which, their wine
might deteriorate during the rough treatment to which it is subjected by
transport and exposure; and to their specially-educated palates this
astringency is agreeable, combined with the strong flavour of tar, which
completely excludes it from the consumption of Englishmen. Neither the
commanderia nor any other quality of wine is subjected to the process of
"fining;" when issued from the stores of the merchant, therefore, a
really bright clear wine is never met with. The black wines could be
considerably improved by allowing them to settle in large vats, and by a
series of rackings into other vessels, as they become clearer by
depositing their impurities. I have tried this experiment upon a small
scale with success, and there can be no doubt that the simple manual
labour of drawing off the clear wine to enable it to fine itself by
precipitating the albuminous matter that has been fixed by the
superabundant tannin, would render the "mavro," or black wine,
drinkable; always excepting the presence of tar, which can at once be
avoided by the substitution of casks for the earthen jars and
goat-skins.
At the expiration of the vintage the vines remain uncared-for throughout
the autumn and winter, cattle and goats invade them ad libitum so long
as their leaves are attractive, and no operation is performed until the
month of March. At this time they are pruned close to the stocks, which
are generally about one foot above the ground, and two eyes are supposed
to be left upon each spur. But I have watched the cultivators during the
process, and observed the usual neglect; sometimes the spurs were shaved
off completely, without a bud for next year's shoot, and at others too
many buds were left, that would weaken and disfigure the parent stem.
The instrument for pruning was similar to a very small reaping-hook,
with a handle about a foot in length, and the delicate operation was
conducted with a rapidity that rendered the necessary care impossible.
After the clearing of the refuse the land is carefully ploughed and
cleaned.
I visited some large wine-stores in Larnaca, where casks of about 300
gallons each were arranged in long parallel rows, all filled with
commanderia of various ages and corresponding prices.
Having now traced the liquor from the original vineyard into the
merchant's store, it will be interesting to examine the network of
obstructions and extortions to which the unfortunate wine-grower is
exposed before he can deliver his produce into the hands of the
merchant, either at Limasol or elsewhere.
Consul Riddell reported officially in 1875 as follows:--
"The wine trade of Cyprus was last year
exceptionally large, owing to the abundant produce of
the vineyards in 1874. The outcome of grapes and
wines in 1875 did not exceed an ordinary average,
and growers still complain loudly that the imposts
upon wines, reckoning from the grape to the vat, are
so heavy--amounting to about 35 or 40 per cent.--and
their imposition and collection so very arbitrary and
unequal, that many vineyards are being abandoned.
"The government, it is said, have under consideration
the anomalous state of the wine trade in Cyprus,
with a view to relieve and redress the many grievances
of which consumers complain, and in the meanwhile
the collection of the imposts is suspended. Should
the result prove to be the elaboration of a fair,
reasonable, and consistent scale of duties, the revival
of the wine trade may be reasonably looked forward
to, and under sound regulations and intelligent
fostering the trade would undoubtedly become a large
and profitable one to this island."
In 1876, the year following the promised reform,
Consul Pierides reports:--
"The quantity of all sorts of wine produced was
much below that of 1875. The principal shipments
were made to Trieste and Venice. The collection of
the imposts, which was for a short time suspended, has
recommenced, and the manner in which it is conducted
is still arbitrary and vexatious, while remonstrances
have hitherto been of no avail. It is time for the
government to put an end to these grievances, which
indeed threaten to destroy one of the best resources
of the island."
In 1877 Consul Watkins reports:--
"The manufacture of wine here is greatly on the
decrease; for, owing to all sorts of unreasonable
regulations, and to the vexatious mode of their
application, cultivators now prefer making their grapes
into raisins."
Here we have consecutive official reports from three different British
consuls during 1875-1877. The British occupation took place in 1878--I
am writing in 1879--and although the grievances of the Cyprian
wine-growers were sufficiently aggravated to call for the vigorous
reports and protests of three different British consuls during the
Turkish administration, no amelioration of their condition has been
effected during twelve months of British rule.
Captain Savile, in his excellent digest of all that concerns this
island, writes:--
"The grievances connected with the culture of the
vines and the manufacture of wine which are alluded
to in the consular reports, existed as long ago as 1863,
and were then mentioned by Consul White, who says
that the peasants were even then beginning to find it
more profitable to sell their grapes, or to make them
into raisins, rather than, by turning them into wine, to
subject themselves to the duty lately imposed over and
above the tithe and export duties, which were collected
in a very harassing manner. The growers have had
to pay, under the tax called `dimes,' an eighth part of
the produce of grapes to the treasury; but this could
not be taken in kind, so a money value was fixed yearly
by the local medjlis, or fixed tribunal; but as the assessment
was based on the market-price at the chief town
of the district, instead of the value at the place of
growth, this tax, instead of being about 12.5 per cent.,
in reality amounted to over 20 per cent. Then again
when the wine was made, an excise duty of 10 per
cent. was levied, and on export, a tax of 8 per cent.
had to be paid. The natural consequence of these
excessive impositions has been the diminution of a
culture for which the island is particularly adapted.
Consul Lang suggests that it might be wise to free this
production from all tax, except a proper export duty."
How easy it is to be generous at the expense of others!--here are
(including Consuls White and Lang) no less than five British consuls who
have been protesting against this instance of oppression and injustice
since the year 1862, and it would naturally have been expected that one
of our first acts upon assuming the government of Cyprus would have been
to abolish an abuse that had excited the remonstrances of our own
representatives. The fact is that we were reduced to a financial ebb of
the gravest character by the absorption at Constantinople of an unfair
proportion of the revenue, and our government was not in a position to
risk a reduction of income by such an important change in the system of
taxation. The Cypriotes have nevertheless derived a collateral advantage
from the change of rulers, as the extreme grievances to which the
consular reports allude were aggravated by the farmers of taxes, who no
longer exist. These people were extortioners of the worst description,
and the bribes and extra payments extracted from the vine-growers are
represented in the gross sum mentioned as amounting to 40 per cent. upon
the general produce of the vineyard. The reforms already established by
the abolition of the nefarious system of tax-farming have relieved the
vine-growers from the most serious oppression, but sufficient abuses
remain to demand a radical change, if the industry for which Cyprus is
specially adapted by nature is to be encouraged.
As I have described in outline the rude method of cultivation and the
manufacture of wine from the first bursting of the young vines, I will
now examine the system of arbitrary interference to which the vine-
grower is exposed through the successive stages of his employment.
The first tax is perfectly fair, as it is calculated according to the
rateable value of the land, which is divided into three classes. These
qualities of soil vary in the valuation from
No. 1 = 500 piastres the donum (about half an acre) to
No. 3 = 100 piastres the donum
The malliea, or annual tax upon these valuations per donum, is 2 per
cent.
When the grapes are nearly ripe, they must be valued before the
proprietor has a right to gather his crop. He is obliged to present
himself at the government office at Limasol, many miles from his estate,
to petition for the attendance of the official valuer, called the
"mahmoor," upon a certain day. This may or may not be granted, but at
all events one or two days have been expended in the journey.
Should the mahmoor arrive, which he frequently does not, at the
appointed time, the medjlis, or council of the villages, appoints a
special arbitrator to represent their (the vine-growers) interests, and
he accompanies the government official during his examination of the
vineyards. After a certain amount of haggling and discussion, an
approximate weight of grapes is agreed upon, the mahmoor declaring the
ultimate amount far above the actual crop per donum: and the tax is
determined according to their quality, resolved into two classes:--
No. 1, the commanderia, and other superior varieties, pay 25 paras the oke.
No. 2, all other grapes pay 16 paras the oke.
But these taxes. are modified according to the abundance and quality of
the grapes in each successive season, being sometimes more or less than
the figures given. The crop is generally ripe towards the end of August,
and the tax, having been determined, may be paid during the following
January, March, or May.
The grapes having been officially valued, and the rate of taxation
established, the proprietor may gather his crop, and press it for wine.
The rows of enormous jars are at length filled: eventually the wine is
ready for sale.
Now comes the necessity for a second journey to Limasol, perhaps thirty
or forty miles distant, to petition for the government official to
measure the contents of the jars; without such an examination, no wine
can be removed from the stores.
This is another loss of time to the grower, and occasions an expense for
himself and mule for the journey.
The jars are at length measured; but before any wine can be removed a
general examination of the quality of the district produce must be
completed, and, an average value having been determined, the tax of 10
per cent. must be paid ad valorem.
After these necessary forms have been gone through, with the attendant
vexatious delays and expensive journeys, entailing loss of time for men
and mules, the vine-grower wishes to carry his wine to market.
Before a drop can be removed he must present himself at the official
quarters, either at Kilani or one other village, to obtain a teskeri, or
permit, for the quantity that he wishes to convey. After this trouble
and delay he returns to his home with the official permit to remove to a
specified place (generally Limasol) a fixed quantity of wine, which is
calculated by the load; one load equals 128 okes of 2.75 lbs.
avoirdupois, and, packed in goat-skins, is carried by two mules.
The vine-grower himself weighs his wine when the skins are filled, and
he starts upon his long journey over steep mountain rocky paths to
Limasol, where he will sell his load to the wine-merchant, who
subsequently will ship it to the various ports of the Mediteranean.
The sun is burning; and the wine, contained in tarry goat-skins, is,
after a few hours' exposure to the heat, about the temperature of the
hottest bath; thus absorbing the vile smells of the primitive but secure
package. The owner is well aware that the value of his wine will depend
upon the flavour, therefore he hurries his mules forward, in order to
deliver it as quickly as possible to the merchant, before it shall be
contaminated by the skins.
Upon arrival at Limasol it may be late, and nothing can be done. His
wine must be weighed by the government official at the public
weighing-place, specially assigned for the wine trade; and he drives his
laden and tired mules to the yard. Here he finds some hundreds of mules
and their proprietors in a similar position to himself; however, there
is no help for it, and they must be patient through the night while
their wine is imbibing the hateful flavour of the goat-skins. In the
meantime they must purchase food for their mules and seek quarters for
themselves.
When the morning appears the government official has enough to do, and
as a certain time must be occupied in weighing a given quantity, the day
wears away. Every man has to present his teskeri, or permit, for removal
from his village to Limasol of a specified quantity of wine, and his
load must weigh that prescribed weight upon delivery. His scales may not
have been exactly in harmony with those of the government official; but
should the quantity exceed the teskeri, the owner must pay DOUBLE THE
AMOUNT OF TAXATION.
In the meantime, during the wrangles concerning discrepancies in weight,
mules are arriving with their loads, their owners all desirous of
despatch, and the hours fast wearing away. The next day is probably a
Greek holiday, and all the merchants' stores are shut (there is a Greek
holiday at least once a week,--generally twice). The unfortunate
vine-grower, after waiting patiently in despair, discovers that he must
wait still longer. At length, after vexations and delays, he draws a
sample of wine into a gourd-shell from his skins, and hands it to the
merchant; who, having made a wry face and spat it out, advises him to
"throw his wine into the sea, as it is undrinkable," having remained too
long in the goat-skins exposed to the sun. A most respectable informant
related to me the total loss of a large quantity of first-class wine
from the delay thus occasioned at Limasol. . . .
The refuse, after pressing the grapes, is calculated to yield upon
distillation a proportion of 100 okes of spirit for every ten loads
(1280 okes) of wine. This pays a tax of eight paras the oke, which,
added to the 10 per cent. upon the wine, makes a total of 15 per cent.
upon wine and spirit included.
The vine-grower, irrespective of the size of his vineyard, is allowed
200 okes duty free for his own consumption; and when his jars are
measured to determine the contents for taxation an allowance is deducted
for the muddy deposit at the bottom.
It will at once be seen by this enumeration of the delays and vexations
occasioned by this arbitrary system, that it is barely possible for the
vine-grower to calculate the actual cost of his wine, as the loss of
time, expense of journeys, and uncertainty of the amount of delays are
entirely beyond his control. It is therefore extremely difficult to
discover the exact financial position of the cultivator, but from the
data in my possession it is nearly as follows:--
One donum of land, which is supposed to measure a square of fifty yards,
would be about half an English acre; and this area is calculated to
yield an average of one load and a half of wine = 192 okes = 528 lbs.
The value of the ordinary wine of the country will average about 90
piastres the load, wholesale price; therefore one donum will represent a
gross value of I.5 load at 90 .. = 135 piastres (Cr.)
Against this annual produce the natives
calculate as follows:--
Piastres.
Per donum--Expenses of cultivating the
land, i.e. ploughing, weeding, &c. . . . . . . 25
Pruning vines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Gathering crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Feeding labourers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Carriage of wine to market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TOTAL government dues, including malliea . . . . . . . 25
___ ___
(Dr.) 105 135 (Cr.)
This leaves a balance in favour of the producer of only 30 piastres,
about 5 shillings per donum.
But it must be remembered that in the above calculation his own personal
labour has not been considered; neither the wear and tear of implements,
jars, loss by accidents of seasons, when the wine turns sour, neither is
any margin allowed for extraneous casualties.
At first sight the position appears impossible, as a stranger would ask
the pertinent question, "Why, if vineyards do not pay, does the owner
continue the occupation? Why does he not substitute some other form of
cultivation?" The answer is simple. Wherever the conditions of the
locality permitted, they have already done so; but vineyards are
cultivated where no other crops could grow; upon the sides of inclines
so steep that it is even difficult to stand; and these positions,
although peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of the vine by reason of
the soil, would be absolutely worthless for other uses. The vine
requires little water after the young grapes have formed, and the
burning sun-light which is favourable for their development would
destroy all cereals upon those steep inclinations, where a casual
shower, instead of soaking into the earth and nourishing the crops,
rushes quickly over the surface and drains superficially into the deep
vale below. The land of the vineyards is WINE land, and adapted
specially by the quality of the soil and the peculiarity of climate for
the production of grapes. In addition to the impossibility of converting
this land to other purposes of cultivation would be the loss to the
proprietor of all his plant, buildings, jars, &c., &c., which would
become valueless.
This is, as well as I can describe the grievances, the real position of
the vine-grower. Although since the British occupation he has escaped
the extra extortion of the tax-farmer, he is still the slave of petty
vexations and delays, which strangle him in red-tape and render his
avocation a misery; without profit, leaving only a bare subsistence.
What is to be done?
The first necessary change is a system of roads, only sufficiently wide
to admit of the native two-wheeled carts, with sidings every half mile
to enable them to pass when meeting. Our usual English mistake has been
made, in the only two metalled highways that the engineers have
constructed in Cyprus, "that everything must be English;" thus we have
two costly roads of great width from Larnaca to Lefkosia, and from
Limasol to Platraes, which are entirely unsuitable to the requirements
of the country; and as there are no branch roads in communication, the
people are hardly benefited, as they cannot reach the main artery with
wheeled conveyances. The military road from Limasol might as well be a
railway without any branch traffic, as it is entirely independent of
other roads: thus, should carts be established to convey the wine of the
district to Limasol, they must be loaded by mules that will bring the
produce from the roadless vineyards in the usual manner by goat-skins,
and the wine will be tainted as before. A network of cheap useful
cart-tracks can be easily made throughout the wine districts, and they
MUST be made before any improvement in the quality of the wines can take
place. The goat-skins and the tarred jars must be thrown aside before
any change can be expected: these cannot become obsolete until the
necessary roads for the conveyance of casks shall be completed.
If we regard the present position of the vine-grower, we must advise
him thus:--"The first necessity is to improve your QUALITY, and thus
ensure a higher price. It costs no more either in labour or in plant to
produce a good wine than to continue your present rude method of
production. You may double the value of your wine by an improved system,
without adding materially to your expenses; you will then have a large
margin for profit, which will increase in the same ratio as the quality
of your wine."
The grower will reply, "We must have roads for carts if we are to
substitute barrels for goat-skins. So long as the mule-paths are our
only routes we must adhere to the skins, which we acknowledge are
destructive to the quality of the wine and reduce our profits. Give us
roads."
This is a first necessity, and it is simply ridiculous to preach reforms
of quality to the cultivators so long as the present savage country
remains roadless. It is the first duty of the government to open the
entire wine district by a carefully devised system of communication: for
which a highway rate could be established for repairs.
If this simple work shall be accomplished the goat-skins will disappear;
or should some cultivators cling to the ancient nuisance, a tax could be
levied specially upon wine skins, which would ensure their immediate
abolition. A new trade would at once be introduced to Cyprus in the
importation of staves for casks, and the necessary coopers. The huge
jars that are only suggestive of the "Forty Thieves" would be used as
water-tanks, and the wine would ripen in casks of several hundred
gallons, and be racked off by taps at successive intervals when clear.
The first deposit of tannin and fixed albumen would remain at the bottom
of No. 1 vat, the second deposit after racking in No. 2; and the wine
which is now an astringent, cloudy, and muddy mixture of impurities,
would leave the vine-grower's store bright, and fit for the merchant's
vats in Limasol, and command a more than double price. This is a matter
of certainty and not conjecture. Should the black wines be carefully
manufactured, they will be extensively used for mixing with thin French
wines, as they generally possess strength and body in large proportion
to their price.
It will be universally agreed that the making of the roads is the first
necessity; but if the island is in such financial misery that so
important a step must be deferred, the grievances of the vine-growers
should be immediately considered. The first question to the cultivator
would be, "What reforms do you yourself suggest?" He replies, "Fix an
annual rate per donum, and leave us free to send our wine wherever we
choose, without the abominable vexations and delays caused by the
present arbitrary system; let the tax per donum include every charge for
which we shall be liable: we shall then know at once the limit of our
liability." I cannot see any practical difficulty in such an
arrangement; a highway rate might be an extra when the roads should be
completed. A small export duty at the various ports would become a
material source of increase to the revenue when the wine trade became
invigorated and extended by government encouragement, and although such
a duty would indirectly affect the grower in the price which the
merchant would pay for the new wine, it would be a collateral tax that
would not be felt individually.
Unless the present oppressive system shall be abolished the wine trade
of Cyprus will languish, and an industry that may be profitably extended
to an important degree will share the fate of a commercial and
agricultural depression which has resulted from the vague conditions of
the British occupation, and from which no recovery can be expected until
confidence in the future prospects of the island shall be established.