The Region of Central Macedonia has decided to submit an application for support for the Wine Promotion Program in the United Kingdom and the United States markets, with a total budget of up to 1,984,000 for the three-year period 2025-2027, in the context of its collaboration with the Kilkis Chamber of Commerce.
The goal of the program is to highlight the PDO wines of the locations that make up the Goumenissa viticultural zone, which produce red dry wines of exceptional quality. The strategic promotion of the Goumenissa PDO zone aims to promote its wines in mature markets with great export potential, such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Although the Greek variety Xinomavro is particularly well-known in the UK and US markets, mainly from the PDO Naoussa zone, to date no mention has been made of the PDO Goumenissa zone, nor has any promotion and promotion plan has been created for it, even though its wines retain special characteristics due to its terroir and the Negoska variety.
Therefore, by taking advantage of the existing knowledge that the professional and consumer public of the UK and US markets already has about Xinomavro, the program will create the right foundations for the promotion of PDO Goumenissa wines, highlighting their unique quality characteristics to the appropriate audience of professionals and wine lovers.
Therefore, there is a significant window of opportunity and extremely fertile ground for a targeted campaign to build a strong brand in these two markets that will enhance the recognition, reputation, and sales of PDO Goumenissa wines, while also upgrading the wine tourism profile of the region and more broadly the tourist image of the Central Macedonia Region.
Within the framework of the program, various outreach actions have been planned, such as participation in the leading wine trade fairs in the United Kingdom and the United States, educational and informative trips to the production areas of the wines to be promoted, tastings with professionals from the on-trade and off-trade market, creation of display and tasting points in selected wineries as well as the organization of specialized seminars and tastings within them.
In this way, the British and American public as well as wine professionals will have the opportunity to taste the wines of the zone, to get to know the unique characteristics, and to become familiar with the distinct varieties cultivated there.
The history of PDO Goumenissa wines
It is noted that the PDO Goumenissa wine growing zone was established in 1979 and is one of the most notable production zones of red dry wines in Northern Greece. The Goumenissa area, in the southwestern part of the Kilkis regional unit, is distinguished by its particular climatic and soil conditions and its long history in viticulture.
In the 20th century, the area’s vineyards reached 11,000 acres, mainly with the varieties Xinomavro (sour popolka), Negoska (sweet popolka), and Fartsalo. The 1892 encyclopedic dictionary mentions the production of excellent wine in the area, symbolizing the tradition and experience of the residents in viticulture.
This relationship is confirmed today through the celebration of the patron saint of winegrowers, Saint Tryphon. Today, the PDO Goumenissa zone extends over an area of ??approximately 2,680 acres. The varieties cultivated are Xinomavro and Negoska. Specifically, the PDO wine of Goumenissa is produced from at least 20% Negoska and the remaining percentage is completed by Xinomavro. The ripening of the vineyards in the particular climatic and soil conditions of Goumenissa and under the locally applied management system, significantly differentiates the result from other areas where these varieties are grown, making the wines of Goumenissa special and unique.
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