Top 100 wines of Macedonia - Page 5

Discovering the wine region of Macedonia

The Republic of North Macedonia is a country located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It is quite distinct from modern Greek Macedonia, with which it shares a border of over 160 kilometres (100 miles). The wine industry is dominated by red wines. Production is centered on two indigenous Grape varieties (Vranac and Kratosija), as well as a few international varieties such as the ubiquitous Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The main wine-producing regions are Pcinja-Osogovo in the north, Pelagonija-Polog in the south and Povardarie. The republic as a whole has a stable area of 23,000 hectares (56,850 acres) of vineyards and a slightly larger coverage of vines harvested for table grapes. Although it is a landlocked country (it is separated from the Adriatic Sea by Albania and from the Aegean Sea by Greece), the republic experiences continental and Mediterranean influences on its Climate. Its northeastern corner is separated from the nearest coast by 200 km (125 miles), while Lake Doiran, at its southeastern end, is only 55 km (35 miles) from the Greek coastal city of Thessaloniki, on the Gulf of Thessaloniki.

Along the Albanian border, in the southwest corner of the republic, several large lakes temper the climate. The shelter provided by the local topography combines with other geological factors to create particularly productive agricultural land, especially around the lake towns of Struga and Resen. Grapes play an important role in the local economy and agriculture. Lake Prespa, which Northern Macedonia shares with Greece and Albania, is the highest tectonic lake in Europe.