Top 100 red wines of Kosovo

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

Discovering the wine region of Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe, formerly an autonomous province of the former Yugoslavia. Until the outbreak of the civil war, Kosovo had a large area of productive vineyards. Many of these were subsequently abandoned, and the industry is still in the early stages of recovery. It is a disputed land, claimed as sovereign territory by Serbia but considered independent by the ethnic Albanian majority living there.

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

Millions of cases of Amselfelder were shipped to Germany each year, and the brand was at its peak when the war broke out. The logistics of wine production and export are virtually impossible in wartime, so for nearly a decade, vineyards that were not damaged were largely abandoned; the brand disappeared entirely. Its place on the German wine market was taken by several similar-style wines from other regions. Amselkeller, a red from Valencia in Spain, was the most successful rival, appearing only 18 months after the start of the Kosovo war.

News from the vineyard of Kosovo

US: Two men charged over wine investment fraud scheme

An alleged investment fraud scheme claimed to broker loans between investors and ‘high net worth’ fine wine collectors, with expensive bottles purportedly held in storage as collateral, US authorities said this week. Prosecutors filed an indictment in a New York federal court charging two British men, Stephen Burton, 57, and James Wellesley, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in connection to the scheme – which was allegedly perpetrated through their compa ...

Big plans for Bolney as Wine GB welcomes acquisition

Freixenet Copestick has revealed a host of plans for its newly acquired English winery, Bolney Wine Estates in Sussex, as it embarks on its first English wine venture. With the ink barely dry on the deal, which was signed late last Friday (14 January), Freixenet Copestick MD Robin Copestick is not short of ideas when it comes to improving the already successful English winery. Describing Bolney as ‘the perfect match’ for Freixenet Copestick, he said: ‘When we arrived at Bolney in early September ...

Angostura unveils a Caribbean gem

Earlier this month, The House Of Angostura (well known for its ubiquitous brand of cocktail bitters) unveiled Zenith, the latest in a line of ultra premium rums in its Private Cask Collection series. The release brings together different rum styles from two of Trinidad and Tobago’s most distinguished distilleries: both the namesake Angostura distillery and the now legendary Caroni distillery, which closed its doors forever in 2003. Aged in charred American ex-bourbon oak casks, Zenith comprises ...

Top wines in regions and sub-regions of Kosovo