Prodromos Monastiridis, the Marketeer

The man who for many years heads the Marketing and Sponsorships department of one of the most important organizations in the city, the Thessaloniki Music Hall, has connected retsina with intense family memories of his youth and student years. And this relationship has not stopped since then.

"Retsina is a wine that has not received the attention it deserves. Innovative in its conception and creation, painstaking in its execution and bottling."

REFERENCE TO THE FATHER.

He literally lives in the music. In his daily life he has to manage everything related to it – from the world-famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, playing top works of the classical repertoire under the guidance of famous conductors, to a tribute to Greek traditional music, Nikos Gatsos, Vassilis Tsitsanis or rebetiko.

Probably one of the last sounds would accompany his first family outings for retsina: "I wouldn't say that retsina is present in my daily life", Prodromos Monastiridis clarifies, "but I have very strong memories with my brother from our first outings with our father taking us to taverns and me smelling retsina that paired his mezes. Most of us, of course, have associated retsina with our first student gatherings and our first outings in taverns or gatherings of friends. It functioned as a 'bridge' with the dinner parties and feasts of our childhood, where the adults would chat and we, the younger ones, would think about when our turn would come".

NEED FOR REBRANDING.

For the Director of Marketing and Sponsorships of the Thessaloniki Music Hall, retsina - despite being one of the most typical Greek wines - lags behind the rest for a number of reasons: "It is a wine that has not received the attention it deserves. Innovative in its conception and creation, laborious in its execution and bottling, with no marketing strategy for years now, it borders on the quaint and misunderstood. It lacks branding and repositioning in the market. But thanks to a new generation of winemakers, that picture is changing – and fast. Its connection with new trends, such as for example with gastronomy, is definitely a good sign".

The history of Thessaloniki has been identified in taste over the last six-seven decades, among others, with retsina (and this has not only to do with its consumption, but also with its creation and production). However, a large number of city dwellers consider the product misunderstood or for a few.

"It would be easy for someone to say that the workers, students, residents outside the center, the less privileged are the ones who prefer it" notes Prodromos Monastiridis. "However, the connection of retsina with our holidays and festivals is so deep, that I am sure that everyone has it in their minds".

Retsina (and wine in general) has always been by our side – in our festivals, joys, and sorrows. Countless conversations have taken place over a glass of wine, both in our happiest moments (like at the beginning of a relationship and at weddings) and accompanying comforting conversations with friends (about the fatal black hair who moved for more hugs...). What is the opinion of Prodromos Monastiridis? "Wine is an integral part of our life, our history and our culture since the time of the Homeric Epics. It has contributed in its own way to happy and unhappy moments, to disasters and triumphs, to joys and sorrows, to our small and big moments. In agreements and separations, in the big 'yes' and in the big 'no'. I'm sure it will continue to be that way".

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