Down there, to the southeast of the Old Lady of Europe, on the hilly Balkans, is the entrance to Macedonia, the wine country where the sun shines forever… Thanks to the bright sun, Macedonian wines are on the top of the world map of (un)discovered treasures, which conceal a centuries-old tradition filled with memorable authentic tastes and experiences. Macedonia is a country where the wine tourism has huge potential.

We often even wonder if we are aware of the potential we are talking about, having in mind all the positive reviews of Macedonian wine that we get from all over the world.

When we talk about wine, the first thing that comes to our mind is the Tikvesh region. A region that hides a lot of untold stories about people who have invested everything they had to get quality bear fruit. Many families with their children worked in their vineyards from dusk till dawn for today to own their own wineries. They invested all their knowledge to build their own brand that will tell the family story to many tourists.

When things are learned from an early age, then we know how to appreciate them when we grow up.

Today we would like to tell you another story related to the Macedonian wines, the story of Aleksandar Klincharov, originally from the village of Resava, whose family spent his whole life in the vineyards. Alexander remembers his childhood, when all his friends were in the kindergartens, he spent his childhood with his grandparents who at that time were engaged in agriculture.

Today, Aleksandar is the owner of the winery “Klincharov” and selflessly tells us about the family centuries-old tradition that was transferred from generation to generation.

The Tikvesh region from which Aleksandar originates, more precisely from the village of Resava is considered to be the best grape growing region where the highest quality wine is produced. Even during the Ottoman period, his family was considered one of the largest grape growers, which can be seen by the amount of tax that his ancestors paid to the sultan.

Responsible for Alexander’s success is his grandfather Chando who motivated his nephew to fall in love with the vine and the production of wine and brandy.
Today, his family winery has an area of 1.2 hectares of vineyards, with an annual production of 17 to 20 tons of grapes. His wife Roska and his two daughters with his wife’s parents help him the most in his work.

Alexander says that they do everything together without additional help, except during the grape harvest.

The motive that family wineries are the future promoters of the Tikvesh region prompted him to register the family winery and put a stamp on the work of his ancestors. With the idea that the main promoters for the development of wine tourism will be the wineries, exactly two years ago was formed the association “Tikvesh Family Wineries”, which has more than 30 families.
His family winery has two locations. One is located in Crveno Brdo near the village of Begnishe, where the wine is processed, with a great view of the Lake Tikvesh, the mountain Visheshnica, the highest peak Orle and the beautiful vineyards. Alexander also opened a wine tasting room located in the city of Kavadarci.

Here he has decorated an ethno corner where he keeps the old tools inherited from his family, used to process the vine and make wine for decades.

Today, his winery offers four varieties of wine, “Temjanika”, “Rizlig”, “Stanushina”, “Vranec – Bela Cesma”. While with the wine tasting that is done in the wine tasting room in Kavadarci, they serve several types of prosciutto, different types of cheese, as well as the traditional Kavadarci pretzel with our traditional specialty – the Macedonian ajvar. Of course, the tasting wouldn’t be complete without the old yellow brandy (rakija) “Klincharovka”.
Reading the whole story, I think we managed to capture the whole picture of the paradise that awaits you in the Tikvesh region – the region of the best Macedonian wine. Cheers!