Systembolaget - the biggest chain of alcoholic beverages in Sweden, and at the same time, the fourth biggest importer of this kind in the world, has announced a tender for the supply of the red Macedonian wine from the indigenous variety "vranec", Telegraf.mk reads.
Macedonian wineries that will decide to participate at the tender will have the possibility to put their wines at the shelves in 130 stores, located across Sweden.
The wineries need to dispose of capacity to deliver 18,000 liters minimum in a period of 6 months, as the sole condition for participation at the tender, with Systembolaget guarantying the presence of the wine on the fixed list in the first three months, while in the three months that follow, the placement will depend on the sale's success.
The submission of the offers is being taken care of exclusively by the Swedish importer of wines, and it will begin on January 15, 2015, while the sale is expected to start on September 15, 2015.
A number of Swedish wine importers have shown interest for cooperation with Macedonian wineries, and their visit to Macedonia is being prepared with the support of the Macedonian Embassy to Stockholm and the Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism.
It is important to note that during negotiations on the placement of Macedonian wines on the Swedish market, the Macedonian Foreign Ministry, through the Embassy in Sweden, has pushed for a change of the insignia on the wine bottles - therefore in order to designate the wines' country of origin, instead of the temporary reference FYROM, the labels will say the Republic of Macedonia (the constitutional name).
