- Irina
Macedonia reloaded and reloading
It all started with a spontaneous wine tour to Macedonia 5 years ago. Since then I have been working on my interactive book about all the places in the world where wine is produced. In a retrospective way I will present snapshots from all world impressions till now, so stay tuned.
What actually happened in Macedonia that provoked my traveling passion is still unclear to me…
Unconsciously stimulated by my Macedonian roots, I was expecting to find a new family there. I proved to be right. I felt at home for the first time since I left Bulgaria in 2000. It’s difficult to explain but Macedonia, its people and wines gave me the feeling of freedom, belonging and safety without feeling obsessed and overprotected. All the people I met on the way were there for me, sharing love, mysticism and genuine emotions. They were just there without pretending to be something they were not. Macedonian wine impressed me with its authenticity. No gimmicks or tricks. Just the lovely nature, the locals and me! I was the master who tasted and sensed the wine. I had the power to feel. There were no benchmarks. Only the purity of the Macedonian wines the way they were. In my mind it was an unique blend of mystery, combined with a high level of complexity, rusticity, pheromones, plum & raspberry jams, red apples and most of all - love! A special taste that could only be sensed and hardly ever properly described.
Being part of the brand called ‘Wines of Balkans’, Macedonia can definitely be presented as the undiscovered, unpolished and spiritual pearl of the Balkans...Macedonia, with its tremendously large amount of terroirs and microclimates, mountains, hills and lakes, a few boutique wineries, young, passionate and ambitious wine makers, unique and in a sense rustic local varieties such as Žilavka, Stanushina, Vranec and others, has an enormous potential for wine styles experiments.
Macedonia is undoubtedly one of the hidden gems of the ‘Old World wines’ and can be attractive to people who are looking for forgotten rustic and genuine tastes, 'warm climate' wines and awesome spiritual vibes.
Expressions...
I wish the Macedonian winemakers gain more self-confidence and become proud of the uniqueness of their wines in order to present them successfully on the international wine scene. This is valid for all Balkan countries: do not bе shy! You have much more to show than you could imagine! Just express yourself and your land not considering the feedback!
And indeed there is a lot of it out there that has to be revealed...After visiting Wine-Macedonia, I was inspired to explore and improve my SELF on the road, talking to winemakers in Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Serbia, Germany, Georgia, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa...All impressions will be shared soon. Because they are more than inspiring! And in the end: it is not about the WINE, it’s about what’s around it: people, life philosophies, nature, climate... French knew this centuries ago. It is all about our personal terroir!