Good practice:

Amyndeon Oenos Wine Cluster

In the prefecture of Florina, in the region of Western Macedonia, lies the Amyndeon plateau, one of the most important vine-producing zones all over Greece. It is a zone that has been accredited the Appellation of Origin of Superior Quality (OPAP) classification. Amyndeon’s wine producers having realized the increased winemaking needs of the area, founded a non-profit organization named ‘Amyndeon Oenos Wine Cluster’’ in order to enhance their position in the wine market all over the world.
Objectives of the cluster:
- Study, identification, preservation and promotion of the authorized vine varieties of prefecture of Florina and in particular the variety ‘’Xinomavro’’ that is cultivated in PDO Amyndeon area.
- Cooperation with academic community for the study of Xinomavro.
- Collaboration with national and international Wine Institutes.
- Support of sustainable development in Amyndeon area.
- Formulation of proposals and transfer of know-how to the Greek State.
- Administration and implementation of programmes financed by Greek State and EU, which promote ‘’Amyndeon Oenos’’ causes.
‘’Amyndeon Oenos Wine Cluster’’ organizes workshops, conferences, information campaigns, professional training seminars and also undertakes the publication and editing of books and journals associated with the wine production of the area.
The organization's beneficiaries are the local area vine growers and wine producers as well as restaurateurs, hoteliers and accommodation owners.

The wine producers’ group that set up "Amyndeon Oenos" is the main human and financial resource of the organization.

This is the first time that a wine cluster is developed in the region of Western Macedonia, including more than 20 wineries of Amyndeon area, sharing a common purpose: gaining greater market share.
"Amyndeon Oenos Wine Cluster" has participated in plenty of wine promoting programmes that took place in different countries. In years 2010-2013, the cluster took part in the Programme for the Promotion of Wine to Third Countries (Russia) with great success.

Not all members of the cluster run their firms in a common pace which creates difficulties in terms of instant communication and knowledge management. The main lesson is:“A challenge/problem of one member is probably others’ problem/challenge as well and that’s why clustering is of utmost importance

As long as there is a strong agrifood advantage in an area (Amyndeon area is an optimum place for viticulture and the area produces significant amount of biomass) and there is a strong willingness and commitment by local businesses, then a cluster idea like this can be easily implemented everywhere.
The cluster legal form is very flexible for its members to act as a group of companies in order to gain from its participation in projects, common export activities and extend in general its extroversion efforts worldwide.
The cluster activities and its brief business plan have an extended transfer potential of similar initiatives in other wine regions, mostly in rural ones.