Wine regions in North Macedonia 1 growing regions
Description to North Macedonia
The Republic of Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, became independent in 1991. For historical reasons, both Macedonia and (for the region of Macedonia with the three-fingered peninsula Chalkidike and the monk's republic Athos) claimed for themselves (see also under Macedonia). After many years of dispute, the two states came to an agreement in 2018. On 12 February 2019 the official renaming into Northern Macedonia (Republika Severna Makedonija) took place. Wine-growing in Northern Macedonia has a long tradition, as in all other former Yugoslav states.
Wine growing areas
The Mediterranean-continental climate is characterized by mild winters and warm, sometimes even subtropical summers. The topography is characterised by mountains and barrenness. There are three wine-growing regions where "Vrvno Vino" with a controlled denomination of origin is produced:
Povardski (Vardar Valley)
Here 85% of the wines of Northern Macedonia are produced. The wine growing areas are centrally located along the river Vardar. These are Gevgelija-Valandovo, Kochani-Vinica, Ovce Pole, Skopje, Strumica-Radoviste, Tikveš, Titov Veles and Veles.
Pcinsko Osogovski
Here are the wine-growing areas of Kocani, Kratovo, Kumanovo and Pijanecki, located in the east.
Pelagonijsko-Poloski
Here you can find the wine-growing areas of Bitola, Ohrid, Tetovo, Kicevo, Prilep and Prespa, located in the west.
List of grape varieties
About 80% of the vineyard area is planted with red wine varieties and 20% with white wine varieties. The vineyards cover 24,777 hectares, of which about 1 million hectolitres of wine are produced. The grape varieties in 2016 (Kym Anderson):
Grape variety |
Colour |
Synonyms or name in Northern Macedonia |
Hectare |
| Vranac | red | Vranec | 9.500 |
| Dimyat | white | Smederevka | 6.500 |
| Merlot | red | - | 1.240 |
| Cabernet sauvignon | red | - | 1.020 |
| Tribidrag | red | Kratošija | 1.000 |
| Riesling | qwiß | - | 900 |
| Chardonnay | white | - | 750 |
| Pinot noir | red | - | 500 |
| Rkatsiteli | white | - | 460 |
| Prokupac | red | - | 445 |
| Muscat Blanc / Muscat Plate | white | Temjanika | 400 |
| Stanušina Crna | red | - | 400 |
| Muscat d'Hamburg | red | - | 350 |
| Welschriesling | white | Graševina | 270 |
| Pamid | red | Plovdina | 250 |
| Župljanka | white | - | 250 |
| Blanc sauvignon | white | - | 185 |
| Žilavka | white | - | 185 |
| Plavac Mali | red | - | 50 |
| Kadarka | red | - | ? |
| Opsimo Edessis | white | - | ? |
| Traminer | white | Traminac | ? |
| Začinak | red | - | ? |
| Ohridsko Crno | red | - | ? |
| Terrano | red | - | ? |
| remaining red varieties | red | - | 71 |
| remaining white varieties | white | - | 51 |
Wine law & producers
The Wine Act, which came into force in 2004, is based on EU standards. The designation for the quality wines with controlled origin is Vrvno Vino. In the 1980s, two thirds of Yugoslavia's total wine production was produced in the SR Macedonia. Today, the approximately 40 wineries are fully privatized. The most important producer is the Tikves Winery, founded in 1946 as a winegrowers' cooperative. Others are Bovin-Negotino, Lozar-Veles and Povardarie-Negotine.
Picture: From F00700I - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
