Where the Grape Vines Grow
By Aryn Bloodworth and Ben Long
Exploring Wine in Macedonia
While just about everything grows in Macedonia, we typically associate Macedonia with a few predominate crops – that
ubiquitous Macedonian red pepper that literally overflows
from pazar stands in the late summer, the tobacco that supports whole village economies, and the grape. Forget the bread
and salt, the constant flow of homemade wine and rakija in
Macedonian homes is the true representation of Macedonian
hospitality. However, and not to discount the domasna stuff,
but there is a whole world outside of T’ga and home brew, and
any wine lover owes it to himself to explore the diversity of
Macedonian wines.
Macedonia’s unique climate and geography provide great
conditions for wine making, and as quality control increases,
Macedonian wineries are really meeting their potential and
creating some great wines. Since there are still some real values to be had, we have found that living in Macedonia is a great
opportunity to explore wines, or to just appreciate some of the
classics at reasonable prices.
While the Peace Corps living allowance might draw you
toward some of the low-end, dirt-cheap wines, once you do the
math, spending a little bit more starts to make sense. The average bottle-top or plastic jug of Macedonian wine (Kavadarka,
etc.) has a price tag of around 120 MKD. That’s pretty tempting compared to a 300-plus bottle of wine. But that 300 MKD
could buy you roughly three drinks on a night out on the town,
and you’ll get about six out of that bottle of wine. So, a night in
enjoying good wine with friends isn’t really going to hurt you
bank account that much.
Buying Wine in Macedonia
In the typical store, there are several wine options. Unfortunately, many of them are nothing special. We’ve found that
there are three general price points to consider when selecting
a Macedonian wine. At the low end, 60-200 MKD, sit the bulk
wines and the bottom of the barrel stuff from the big wineries
(Tikves, Bovin, Skovin). It’s pretty easy to buy a liter of cheap
wine in Macedonia for less than two dollars, but as a rule, these
aren’t great wines for drinking. Moving up a little to the 200400 MKD range, there are some great bargains. The difference
in spending an extra 100 MKD is significant, and this range
offers the most choice. Moving along to 600+ MKD, are the
top of the line wines from the major wineries.
Best Bargain
If the idea of paying upwards of five dollars for a bottle of wine
still doesn’t sit well with you, you’re in luck. Exclusively at
their retail locations, Skovin sells decent wines (a vranec blend
and a white) for 60 MKD per liter. While these wines aren’t
going to win any awards, they’re decent, drinkable, and can be
as good as or better than T’ga za Jug. A great choice fo ????????)?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????%???????????????????????????M????????????)???????????????((?????????()5???I????)I??????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????Q?????????????????????????????????????????????M??????????????????e????????M?????e?
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