Celebrating the Patron Saint of Wine in Macedonia
Posted on Mon 13th Jul 2015 at 14:38
Every year on 14th of February the Stobi Winery celebrates St.Triphun’s day (pronounced St. Trufun) who is the patron saint of vineyards and orchards, and also the patron Saint of winemakers.
This is a rich tradition in Macedonia and all the municipalities within the Tikveš winegrowing region celebrate different events with priests from the local church in attendance at the vineyards to read prayers in honour of St.Triphun. These prayers are said to St.Triphun asking him to protect the vineyards from potential disasters like mould developing or bad weather. 
There are also prayers for the cellars which are said so that the wine barrels are filled with good vintage wine. Also on this day of celebration professional wine tastings are held for individual vine growers and a public announcement is made for the best wine produced from the previous vintage. In addition many seminars take place on how to improve viticulture and individual winemaking at home. On public squares wine bazaars are organized, where wine lovers can take part in the celebrations and enjoy several glasses of wine from different wineries. 
Every year the Stobi winery takes huge pride in celebrating the traditions of St.Triphun’s day, and for this occasion the winery invites approximately 550 people to attend the symbolic pruning of the vineyards for the first time of the New Year. The priests read the traditional prayer to St.Triphun for the vineyards to be free from moulds, and the wine casks to be filled with wine. For this special occasion, Stobi also invites guests from other countries including clients, business partners, government ministers and even professional singers to make the day a truly special event. This day is also a good occasion to promote wine culture, wine philosophy, wine tourism in the area, and of course the Stobi Winery itself. 