About Greekwinemakers.com

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About Greekwinemakers.com

Conducting a tasting for importers and the wine media in Cambridge in November

Greekwinemakers.com is a web-based consultancy designed to help fill the void created by the absence of a generic export promotions program for the Greek wine industry. The site is intended to be a source of information about Greek wines for the American consumer, the wine trade and the wine media. It is also a highly interactive forum providing powerful public relations tools for individual producers.

The web site is owned and administered by me, Nick Cobb. I have spent more than twenty-five years working in the food and wine industry and have been developing management strategies for independent restaurateurs for nearly fifteen years. I have had repeated encounters throughout my life with Greek culture and Greek wine, but my relationship with the mysterious Christina (she is the other half of "we", where it appears on the web site) sealed my commitment to both. I have been following the development of a mature wine industry in Greece for nearly a decade, increasingly aware that of all the hurdles faced by Greek producers, marketing and public relations have proven, for them, the most difficult to overcome.

In addition to providing the web site as a source of information and a forum for interaction, I also offer a number of other services for Greek wine producers. These include: market analysis; the development of advertising and promotional strategies; product representation; and other services designed to build long-term relationships between wine makers, importers, distributors, retailers and, ultimately consumers.

Christina is Greekwinemakers.com's Barbara Walters, here getting to the core of Yiannis Paraskevopoulos of Gaia Wines.

My first aim is to attack the stigma concerning the quality of Greek wine. Our method is simple: admit there have been problems, then provide the evidence that the problems are being solved.

My second aim is to help generate and support sales outside of the ethnic Greek market. Nothing hurts the reputation and standing of Greek wine in America more than the perception that only Greeks can appreciate and understand the products. This notion has been perpetuated by distribution networks that operate on the periphery of the mainstream. It is time for quality Greek wine to be distributed and sold through the same channels as quality wines from other importing nations. More importantly, Greek wine needs to be marketed and promoted to the mainstream employing proven methods. This alone may change the status of the products in the marketplace within a short time. The methodologies are well-known. My role is educate and support the producers who choose the high road.

It is difficult for one person to design, maintain and provide the content for a web site of this size. Unfortunately, this is a one man show. All the responsibility, down to the last button, falls on my shoulders. I am really neither a writer, photographer, nor a professional web designer. If there are missing pieces, problems or inaccuracies, feel free to inform me. I will get to them as soon as I can.

This site is dedicated to my father, Charles K. Cobb, a man whose professional achievements inspire awe and whose appreciation for the good things in life is contagious. He is my hero. I never would have had the strength to undertake a project of this magnitude without his example.

Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity to thank some people without whom this project would likely have amounted to nothing.

Special thanks go to:

Richard Kzirian and Larry Bender for understanding, supporting and respecting my desire to pursue this project.

Sam Catechis for Xynogalas and for participating in a dialogue I hope continues well into the future. George Xynogalas for Manolis and for pushing hard in all the right directions. Manolis Giamnadakis for everything to do with Greek wine, but more importantly for friendship and support.

Thank you to all the winemakers and company representatives we met for sharing their stories, philosophies, wines and more–and for accommodating our chronic tardiness. We remember every act of kindness we received. To those we missed this year, don't worry, this is just the beginning.

Lastly, and most importantly, to my love, my partner, my translator, my secretary and, most significantly, my Syndrofo, Christina. Much more than this web site would be missing without your inspiration.

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