Thinking of starting your own vineyard as long
as you are here?
Well, you’ll have to extend; from the time of planting,
grapes take three years to mature enough to produce a
yield. Just in case you do find the time, here’s what to
expect:
Plant grape vines 19 cm apart and rows 2½ meters apart.
Unlike growing vegetables in a hothouse, grape growing
is not continuous work: it has key elements that require
attention at certain times of the year, depending on conditions.
Calendar of grape growing…
February: ?????? (Pruning)
March: ???????? (Taping, tying)
May:
?????? (Hoeing)
This is done by hand, between the main grapevine trunks.
During this period, leaving, flowering, and budding of
grapes occurs. You must hoe more often if your vines are
newly planted and young, when grass still grows between
rows. ????? (Cultivating) complements the hoeing
between the grape trunks. If a farmer has access, cultivating is done with a tractor three times a season. From May
through September, there is the least work for a grapegrower: watering (but not too much), applying pesticides if
certain blights or illnesses appear, and pruning the “green
parts” every 2-3 weeks.
Aug/Sept:
??????? (Picking, harvesting)
crushed grapes for wine
12 - pauza
their grapes, no doubt so
quality would not suffer
and they could again
“buy” grapes from local
farmers the next year.
Though most grapes are
now sold inside Macedonia’s borders, there is
a move to export grapes
to take advantage of better foreign prices.
Marina’s family owns a
large vineyard in Tikves.
Starting this year, Marina’s father became one
of only seven men in the
region who buy grapes
wholesale from other lo- breakfast before harvest day
cal farmers. Her father’s
job is to examine grapes in local vineyards before the harvest, to
appraise their quality, then to distribute empty wooden crates to
the chosen farmers. At harvest time, those farmers deliver grapes
in the crates provided and Marina’s father measures the sugar
content, providing payment if satisfactory. The grapes are loaded onto one of three large trucks. Marina’s father then decides
where he should transport the grapes to sell outside Macedonia,
and where all depends on who is paying and how much.
“Yesterday I talked to a buyer in Montenegro,” Marina explains.
“He asked me how much grapes are being bought for here. I told
him for about 16 denars per kilo. He said if I brought him our
trucks of grapes, he would give me 20 denars per kilo and pay all
my travel expenses. And that is what we do.”
vineyards
Most people in Negotino either have their ownvary widely or
know someone who does. These vineyards
in
s i z e from one to one hundred decares or more, but all at least
have enough yield to make their own domashna brews of wine
and rakija for personal consumption or sale.
Therefore, be warned: it can be a ridiculous gesture to bring a
bottle of commercial wine or brandy as a gift when going “na
gosti” in this region. So bring chocolates or homemade cookies instead, and, knowing the generosity of people around these
parts, chances are you’ll leave with a bottle of the homemade
stuff under your arm. I think you’ll find those bottles hold the
sweetest kind.