Plantings of the Maratheftiko, a red grape indigenous to Cyprus, are small and the grape difficult to cultivate.

However, when well understood, Maratheftiko produces a range of medium to full-bodied wines with deep purple to ruby colour, a violet bouquet, delicate cherry flavours, firm tannins and fresh acidity. It is most often employed as a varietal wine and produces wines worthy of medium to long-term maturation with or without the influence of (new or used) oak maturation.