Although Cyprus has some 5000 years history of winemaking there is no doubt that amongst wine-lovers, the perceptions of the quality of the island’s wines is generally very low.  Indeed, North Cyprus there has never been a quality wine producer. Many said that it was not possible to make fine wine in the north. Until today.

Geçitköy is perhaps not the prettiest village in the area, but after years of detailed research and advice from international wine consultants this was the site chosen by Mustafa and Sengul Seyfi to be the home for the wine registered as Chateau St. Hilarion.

Although the island has several indigenous grape varieties, including Mavro and Xynisteri, they are not suitable for high quality wine. So the vines chosen for Chateau St. Hilarion are the finest clones of international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  The vines have been planted according to the latest viticultural practices, and the annual cultivation programme is built around restricting yield and enhancing quality.  A new state of the art winery has been built, and equipped to the highest specification. Top quality temperature controlled fermentation vats were imported from Italy, along with every necessary piece of high specification equipment.  But the most important import has been: KNOWLEDGE.

Mustafa has studied accredited wine courses, and has travelled to many of the world’s classic wine regions to learn how they achieve individuality and excellence.  He is ably assisted by expert consultants from UK and South Africa, but Mustafa is the first to admit that producing high quality wine in a country that has no history of it poses challenges.  For example, all winery equipment, spares, yeasts and agents have had to be imported, and there are no experienced, qualified technicians available.  The project has taken 12 years to come to fruition and has involved considerable investment in both capital and time.  But Mustafa and Sengul wanted to show that this glorious island could  be home to a world beating wine.