Wineries in New World : Bovin in North Macedonia

Wineries in New World : Bovin in North Macedonia

The Macedonian Republic is a country at the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, in south-eastern Europe. The modern-day incarnation of an ancient Greek state of Macedonia , it is quite distinct from Greek Macedonia, with which it shares a border for more than 100 miles . It is now an emerging player of wine production.

So this time about Bovin Winery. It is the first privately build winery in Macedonia. It is located in small town Nigatino in North Region, owned by the brothers Kiril and Gjorgji Bogevski. Nigatino is on M1 highway running parallel to railway line connecting Skopje to Gevgelija in Greece. The company was established in 1998, the year when more than hundred thousand bottles of white and red wines were produced. Within a short span, it earned many accolades for quality of its wines.

Bovin wines are produced 80% from grapes picked from its own vineyards and 20% from selected vine plantations with the use of environmentally friendly vineyard practices that are protected only once or twice at most during vegetation. This coupled with carefully controlled fermentation and Bovin production style with modern production equipment, makes Bovin wines among the most exclusive and highly valued wines in the country.

Bovin focuses on red wines, only 30% of its production is white wine. The white wines produced by Bovin are Sauvignon Blanc, Rhein Riesling, Chardonnay, Symphony and Muscat Frontignan, and the red wines are varietals Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Vranec and the proprietary blends Venus, Alexandar, Dissan, Daron and Premier, and a rosé wine Hermes.

Bovin owns 60 hectares of prime vineyards in Tikvesh wine district. The Tikvesh is home of grapes , approximately 11,000 ha of grapes! It represents about one third of the total vineyard area of Macedonia.

By the way it is the driest area of Balkan Peninsula. The maximum daily temperature during July and August is regularly around 40ºC. With a deep plowing layer, the rich soils supply the grapes with a constant supply of water. Gentile north winds provide natural protection to the grapes. It reflects well in Bovin Wines. The Negotino wine region, which is part of the Tikves wine region, has around 5000 hectares of vineyards, and around 2000 hectares of those vineyards are with the grape variety Vranec, native of the area. The altitude of the vineyards in this region is mostly ranges 100 meters to 450 meters, but in few places reaches up to 600 meters. Most of the soil types are Rendzina , then Smolnik, Diluvium and insignificantly Alluvium.

Although North Macedonia is landlocked , it is separated from the Adriatic Sea by Albania and the Aegean Sea by Greece, the republic has both continental and Mediterranean influences on its climate. Its north-eastern corner is separated from the nearest coastline by 125 miles , while Lake Doiran at its south-eastern edge lies just 35 miles from the coastal Greek town of Thessalonika on the Thessalonian Gulf.

People say that most of their wines are really very good, I tasted Chardonnay from the winery. It is a high quality dry white wine with yellowish-green nuance. It is with complex aroma typical for the grape variety, with emphasized aroma of tropical fruits - pineapple, banana, citruses, but also melon and apple. The taste is long lasting, soft, balanced, and fresh.