Jo Ahearne on Macedonia and the Vranec – Love at First Sip
Posted on Fri 28th Mar 2014 at 08:52
One of the great things about being a winemaking consultant is that you get to travel a lot. I've travelled on rickety buses over the Andes, followed snow ploughs through Italian storms and been stranded by flash floods in Spain. But sometimes you get to go to places that you may never have thought of going before.Many people's view of Eastern Europe is that it's cold but welcome to Macedonia, the Australia of Eastern Europe. Here sunshine is so much part of the culture that it is actually on their national flag. This sunshine informs the personality of the wine - bold and ripe reds sit al
One of the great things about being a winemaking consultant is that you get to travel a lot. I've travelled on rickety buses over the Andes, followed snow ploughs through Italian storms and been stranded by flash floods in Spain. But sometimes you get to go to places that you may never have thought of going before. Many people's view of Eastern Europe is that it's cold but welcome to Macedonia, the Australia of Eastern Europe. Here sunshine is so much part of the culture that it is actually on their national flag. This sunshine informs the personality of the wine - bold and ripe reds sit alongside generous international whites. While the local white varieties, having adapted to the climate, provide lighter more spicy characters. We have a fantastic selection of varieties which I'll introduce you to over the year - some local and some international. I've been a winemaker for nearly 20 years and as a Master of Wine I've learnt to recognise all sorts of grape varieties blind. But some varieties leave an impression. I can remember the first time I opened a bottle of the vibrant purple nectar that is Vranec.
Its heady aromatics and densebrambly fruit hit me like a train. It was love at first sip! So when I got the chance to work in a country that had adopted this variety as its own I jumped at it and was soon clambering down the stairs of Wizzair flight W6 7702 in Skopje to join the team at Stobi. Despite the early hour, one of the winemakers Andon met me at the airport and chatted about the winery, pointing out the important geological sites along the way. On arrival I was proffered a much-needed cup of coffee while the team came to meet me. (If you ever visit the winery do pop into the restaurant which not only does fantastic food but a very decent macchiato....) I'd met some of the team in London but it was great to see them on their own turf. Dane and his father George make a great partnership heading up the winemakers and viticulturists. With Dane's near perfect English, George's Macedonian-French and my Franglais we were soon deep in a weird linguistic mix of wine talk and tasting. The other members of the winery team arrived to join the tasting. Andon who studied winemaking in France so is embarrassingly good at both French and English (I can't vouch for his Macedonian) along with Risto who rules the laboratory with an iron rod and a million brain cells and Blazo who works as the important link between the vineyards and the winery. It was quite a busy tasting table where my Macedonian vocabulary increased by one word blagodaram - thank you.
The commercial team popped along at lunchtime and the whole table seemed like an extended family - noisey and affectionate. Nikola heads up the viticultural and winemaking companies with a decisive and inquisitive mind. Lidija looks after the sales force with a determination only equalled by her sense of humour. And Jadranka brings so much energy to the team that I'm sure the national grid must run off the excess. By the afternoon we had blended the white wines destined for the UK and added a local variety Zilavka to the stable. So with the Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel, Zilavka and the Stobi Cuvee safely under our belts we headed for the vineyards. True to form the sun was shining as we drove towards the vineyards where the viticulturists grow all the grapes for the Stobi wines. The grapes were long picked and safely in their cuves, barriques or bottles and the bare sticks that remain for winter belie the magic of the green buds that blossom and bare fruit for the next vintage. But they sat there all neatly pruned and patiently waiting for Spring. And that's what we all have to do - patiently hope that the warmer winter isn't followed by a late frost so that all those buds get to burst and become healthy, juicy grapes. I look forward to letting you know how the vineyards are progressing through the year I've attached a photo of the bare sticks but next time I promise they'll be delightfully green. Written by Jo Ahearne; Master of Wine, for Signature Wines Ltd.