Top 100 wines of Metohija

Discover the top 100 best wines of Metohija as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the wines that are popular of Metohija and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Metohija

Kosovo is a region of south-eastern Europe, once an autonomous province within the former Yugoslavia. Until the outbreak of civil war, Kosovo had a substantial area of productive vineyards. Many were then abandoned, and the industry is still in the early stages of recovery. This is a disputed land, claimed as sovereign territory by Serbia but seen as independent by the ethnic Albanian majority who live there.

Kosovo was governed by the United Nations until 2008, when the government of Kosovo was formed. The effect of the conflict on the wine industry was amplified because Kosovo's pre-war exports were heavily focused on a single wine brand aimed at a single export market. Amselfelder ('blackbird fields'), a Sweet red wine made from Pinot Noir and Gamay, was a massive success in Germany. The Kosovan wine market was disproportionately dependent upon it.

Millions of cases of Amselfelder were shipped to Germany each year, and the brand was at its peak when war broke out. The logistics of wine production and export are nearly impossible in wartime, so for almost a decade those vineyards which remained undamaged were largely abandoned; the brand disappeared entirely. Its place in the German wine market was taken by several similarly styled wines from other regions. Amselkeller, a red from Valencia in Spain, was the most successful rival, appearing just 18 months after the start of the Kosovan war.

News from the vineyard of Metohija

Berry Bros marks HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with new Good Ordinary Claret label

Designed by British printmaker and illustrator Tom Frost, whose work is characterised by folk art, matchboxes, children’s books, tin toys, and natural motives, the screen-printed artwork depicts a blossoming tree within a wine glass, referencing Berry Bros & Rudd’s commitment to sustainability. Officially launching at the end of this month [April], the Platinum Jubilee will be a limited edition run of 10,000 bottles. Berry Bros & Rudd will donate a percentage of its profits to char ...

Burgundy 2020 releases tap into ‘insatiable’ global demand

Liv-ex said the trade ‘is reporting strong sales’ of Burgundy 2020 wines following the first en primeur releases in recent weeks, despite higher prices. Decanter’s Charles Curtis MW rated Côte d’Or reds and whites highly in his Burgundy 2020 overview, published earlier this month. Liv-ex’s new Burgundy report also suggested that getting hold of some wines has become even more difficult. ‘The trade continues to report an insatiable global buying appetite that has led to reduced alloca ...

‘Space vines’ trial on-track, says team who put Petrus in orbit

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon ‘space vines’ that were fired into orbit alongside bottles of Petrus 2000 have been nurtured alongside their ‘daughter’ plants in western France, said researchers in an update on the project. ‘The first “space grapes” are now visible on the canes just a few months after the replanting phase that occurred in February 2022,’ said Space Cargo Unlimited, the start-up leading the project. A total of 320 vine canes spent more than a year on the Int ...

The best wines of Metohija in other styles