In the hills below Mt. Paiko, in a quiet corner of Macedonia, there\u2019s a really fine town for wine. Goumenissa has a lot going for it: sunny days with cool nights in summer that let the grapes rest; clay-rich soil; and slopes caressed by gentle breezes. There\u2019s a long tradition of winegrowing here, reinforced by the arrival of Greeks from Eastern Rumelia with their own strong winemaking heritage. Their Feast of St. Tryphon, patron saint of the vine, is a highlight of the cultural and religious calendar. Tradition is also central to the PDO; the regulations set forth by the Department of Agriculture require that the grapes be tended in a certain way prior to harvest.<\/p>\n
The other thing central to the PDO is the local grape Negoska, a relatively rare variety that makes up perhaps a little more than a tenth of the total grapes grown in the area. Nonetheless, it\u2019s notable. Negoska has long had its admirers, including the many French soldiers posted here in WWI, honored in the inscription on the fountain in Goumenissa\u2019s main square that reads \u201cPassager, souviens-toi le soldat fran\u00e7ais.\u201d With its deep color, higher alcohol content, and softer tannins, Negoska is said to have been the soldiers\u2019 favorite.<\/p>\n Xinomavro and Negoska share a story, even though the former is well known, starring in the PDOs of Naoussa, Amyntaio, Rapsani and Goumenissa, while the latter features only in Goumenissa\u2019s PDO zone, the smallest of the four. Some believe that before the names \u201cXinomavro\u201d and \u201cNegoska\u201d took hold, they were both referred to as \u201cPopolka.\u201d According to this theory, Xinomavro was Xini (\u201cSour\u201d) Popolka, while Negoska was Glykia (\u201cSweet\u201d) Popolka, reflecting how the grapes taste when eaten straight from the vine. This is not a certainty, however, and nor is the origin of \u00a0the modern name for the grape.<\/p>\n Although Negoska is exclusive to Goumennissa\u2019s PDO zone, many say it\u2019s named after Naoussa, which was once known as \u201cNea Augusta\u201d \u2013 \u201cNegusha\u201d to their Slavic neighbors. (If so, that means the grape took off in Goumenissa but faded into obscurity in its native town.) Periklis Tatsis suggests another possibility: \u201cSome men of my grandfather\u2019s generation were at the winery having tsipouro and meze, and reminiscing, telling stories they had heard as kids about the days before the first world war, before the phylloxera, when brokers from France would come to buy wine in bulk. They called these brokers \u2018Negotia,\u2019 a Greek version of the French word \u2018n\u00e9gociateur.\u2019 With its deep color and softer tannins, Glykia Popolka was their favorite. They paid a premium to have it vinted separately: Negoska, the choice of the Negotia.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides once sharing the name Popolka, the two varieties share complexity and durability, as both age well. Periklis Tatsis describes Negoska as a sibling of Xinomavro. But that deep shade of ruby sets it apart; Xinomavro, despite its name meaning \u201cSour black,\u201d is not rich in color. They\u2019re siblings in taste, too, but while the classic Xinomavro profile has notes of tomato, olive and chocolate, Negoska presents a lot like it looks: full of ripe red fruits such as black cherries and berries. Its lower acidity poses a challenge; it needs finessing to bring out its liveliness. On the other hand, its very workable tannins are a plus. Tatsis describes Negoska\u2019s tannins as \u201crounder,\u201d illustrating the tannins in Xinomavro with a sharp peak (in The Wines of Greece, Konstantinos Lazarakis MW describes the tannins in Xinomavro as \u201cangular\u201d), and, for comparison, Merlot\u2019s with a gentle curve. (Of course, flavor characteristics are subjective, so you won\u2019t know what you think until you try the wine yourself).<\/p>\n Besides the PDO wines, many other Goumenissa reds include Negoska. With its thick, polyphenol-rich skin, it has much to contribute. The depth of color, pleasing red fruits and plentiful tannins are all easily distinguished in the glass, especially when comparing wines; a Goumenissa PDO (Xinomavro blended with a minimum of 20% Negoska) is generally rounder than a Naoussa PDO (100% Xinomavro). Negoska\u2019s lower acidity and tannins make it a fine complement to Xinomavro. \u201cIt has a big personality,\u201d says Tatsis.<\/p>\n The brothers Stergios and Periklis Tatsis felt the grape could stand on its own and produced their first single-varietal Negoska in 2007. Ten years later, they made Old Roots Negoska, using grapes exclusively from vines that were 70 to 100 years old. Vasilis Tsaktsarlis of Mikro Ktima Titos makes an elegant 100% Negoska ros\u00e9, whose notes of red fruits are complemented by floral aromas. Ktima Aidarini has a single varietal, unfiltered, wild ferment Negoska from the 2017 vintage (bottled three years later) called Si-La-Vie, which complements their Si-La-Vie Xinomavro. In 2018, Chatzivariti Estate introduced two single-variety Negoska reds.<\/p>\n According to Chloi Chatzivariti, \u201cyou have this strong tannic level, but you don\u2019t have the freshness of the acidity that can balance the effect of the tannins, the astringency.\u201d As a result, she dealt with the grape\u2019s characteristics in two ways: she blended a ros\u00e9 from grapes harvested early to retain some acidity with a red wine made from later harvest grapes for the wild fermented, unfiltered Spin; for her Negoska Carbonic, she employed anaerobic maceration to bring forth red fruit aromas such as sun-dried strawberries, as well as notes of warm spices.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an agreeable grape in the vineyard. Oenologist Maria Tatsis, raised among these vines, tells us why: \u201cNegoska is fragile at the flowering stage, very sensitive to rain, but sturdy after that and resistant to most diseases. Shoot thinning and leaf removal are both quick work, and the comparatively large bunches make for an easy harvest. The grapes are loose in the bunch, so they\u2019re all at a similar stage of ripeness. Moreover, because there\u2019s less fruit, the vine can offer more concentrated nourishment, resulting in excellent flavor and character.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria opens a bottle of their 2017 Negoska and swirls it in the glass before having a look. Its legs \u2013 poetically known as \u201ctears\u201d in Greek \u2013 indicate the alcohol content; at 13.5%, it hits the nose with the aroma of red fruits. She mentions how well the wine works with food, holding up to rich meat dishes and cheeses. It also works nicely on its own, opening up considerably after 20 minutes or so. The tannins soften, revealing its complexity. The finish is pleasing and long. The grape has many fine qualities. \u201cBut it\u2019s more than that,\u201d says Maria. \u201cNegoska is central to Goumenissa\u2019s unique identity.\u201d<\/p>\n With each of the wineries that makes a PDO Goumenissa offering a single varietal Negoska \u2013 or sometimes more \u2013 coming across a bottle these days is easier than ever. Goumenissa\u2019s wine community is increasingly interested in giving voice to its signature grape. \u201cThis will be a focus for me; Negoska is our future,\u201d says oenologist Fotini Aidarini, of the new generation at Ktima Aidarini. \u201cIt\u2019s what makes us special, all of us in Goumenissa, together.\u201d<\/p>\n This article appeared in Greece Is (www.greece-is.com), a Kathimerini publishing initiative.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"negoska-tales-the-rise-of-a-rare-grape0\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/583A2273.jpg?1739645270587\")
Two tales entwined<\/h3>\n
![\"negoska-tales-the-rise-of-a-rare-grape2\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5C5A0779.jpg?1739645319975\")
A grape with a big personality<\/h3>\n
![\"negoska-tales-the-rise-of-a-rare-grape4\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Konstantinos_Tsakalidis_SOOC_Greece_Is_Goumenissa_Aidarinis_0156.jpg?1739645413041\")
Challenging and charming<\/h3>\n
![\"negoska-tales-the-rise-of-a-rare-grape6\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/583A2131.jpg?1739645483223\")
![\"negoska-tales-the-rise-of-a-rare-grape8\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/583A2294.jpg?1739645517561\")
Ruby red future<\/h3>\n