When one mentions winemaking, most people picture the sun-kissed vineyards of Tuscany or Bordeaux. Both are leading regions, and rightly so. Yet one country has a winemaking tradition almost as old as the country itself. North Macedonia is small, and it sits in a useful place: a latitude and a set of conditions that have a good deal in common with Bordeaux and the Loire. Growers there have used that to make some very good wine. The Tikveš valley is the most important region of the lot, and here is why.
A note on who we are
We are a London company. We do not make these wines. We buy them direct from Tikveš, and we check the vintage on every bottle when it lands. Everything below is about the winery and the region, not about us.
The History Of Tikveš
North Macedonia is one of the older wine-producing countries in the world. Tikveš, its largest and best-known wine region, has roots going back to the 4th century BC. Under the Roman Empire, Macedonia was recorded as producing wine of real quality.
Growers in the region carried that knowledge forward into the modern era, and the winery that took the region's name became known well beyond the local market. Tikveš today is the largest winery in South Eastern Europe, and it has kept a foot in both camps: traditional practice on one side, modern technique on the other. More recently it has concentrated on single-vineyard wines from micro-locations such as Bela Voda and Barovo.
Grape Varieties Of The Region
Chardonnay
Chardonnay grows almost everywhere, because it adapts. The Macedonian plantings sit around the Vardar River valley, and they produce two broad styles. The fruitier ones show apple and stone fruit, sometimes with a tropical note, and have real freshness. The more structured ones come from poorer alkaline soils in micro-locations like Barovo and Bela Voda, and they lean closer to Burgundy in character.
Temjanika
Temjanika is the local name for Muscat Blanc. It is much loved in North Macedonia, mostly for its aroma. Elsewhere the grape is often used for sweet and fortified wines, but the Macedonian style is usually dry and fruity, with intense floral aromatics, refreshing acidity, a light body and a medium finish. It suits summer food: fresh salads, fruity dressings, lighter dishes.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc usually wants a cooler climate, so its success in North Macedonia is not obvious. It has found its spots, mostly on the banks of the Vardar, and the wines show citrus and delicate fruit with a refreshing palate and a light to medium body.
Vranec
Vranec is the star. The name translates as black stallion, and the wine drinks like one. The grape originates in Montenegro but has done its best work in North Macedonia, which now has the largest plantings anywhere, spread across more than a dozen sub-regions.
When growers recognised its potential in the 1950s they planted a great deal of it, and not all of that planting chased quality. The good examples are dark and spicy with firm grip and a long finish, showing ripe forest fruit, prunes, berries and spice. Ours is Vranec Luda Mara, which is hand-picked, fermented in concrete, and rested a year before release. It suits full-fat cheese and anything off a grill.
If you want to taste the region rather than read about it, the reds sit together on the reds page and the whites on the whites page.