The Wine Festival of Cyprus is an annual festival in Limassol, Cyprus that celebrates wine and winemaking. The festival was first organized in 1961 and since then it has become an established annual event of merrymaking and fun, in which the citizens of Limassol are not the only participants; visitors come also from every part of Cyprus. Its reputation is spread beyond the geographic boundaries of the island. In September of each year, Limassol becomes the attraction of thousands of locals and tourists who visit the Municipal Garden to enjoy the Wine Festival with the motto 'Drink wine, it gives you life!' (Πίνε κρασί, νάσιεις ζωή). They become the protagonists of the Festival banishing from their minds all concerns and worries, free from social conventions or protocols, in an atmosphere of unconditional fraternization, generated by the effects of free wine provided by local wineries ETKO[1], KEO[2], SODAP[3] and LOEL[4]. The Wine Festival can be regarded as a variant and a revival of ancient festive manifestations of worship in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love. During these feasts people worshiped their gods, but primarily enjoyed themselves. [5].
The Limassol Wine festival is an annual event aimed to celebrate Cyrpus's rich viticulture. Since the first festival in 1961,[6] it is organised annually in late August to early September. It is organised by the municipality of the city of Limassol at the grounds of the municipal gardens.
It has an annual attendance in excess of 100,000 visitors that include locals and many tourists. The four big wine cooperatives (KEO, SODAP, ETKO and LOEL) along with many smaller independent producers offer free tasting of their wine portfolio.