The most widely recognized Cypriot wine, the sweet dessert wine Commandaria, is the main player in Cyprus’ play for global recognition. An amber-colored dessert wine comprised of Mavro and Xynisteri grapes, it is made today essentially as it was thousands of years ago—grapes are sundried a week after harvesting to concentrate sugars, and taken down to Limassol for a minimum of two years of oak barrel aging.

You’ve seen it on menus, you’ve read it in recipes, but with its French name and “chef-y” connotations, it may still be a bit intimidating: crème fraiche.

Pronounced “krem fresh,” it is lightly fermented heavy cream. It is kind of like sour cream, but not as thick as and sharper than sour, with a slightly nutty flavor and a silky, rich texture. The French discovered it long ago. As cheese guru Steven Jenkins told the New York Times: “It’s one of the most extraordinary substances in the world of dairy, of gastronomy. To compare it to American sour cream is to compare Spam to foie gras.”