Vranec (also spelled ‘Vranac’) - derived from an Old Slavic word, ‘Vran’, which means dark or black, but also ‘black stallion’ - is a red grape variety that is renowned for giving wines that are high in alcohol, full-bodied, and, as its name suggests, deep in colour.
Despite a heritage of 6,000 years, the country’s wines remain relatively unknown outside the former Yugoslavia. There is, however, a unique and outstanding story to be told, with producers large and small striving to create novel and distinct styles of Vranec. New locations are being identified and old plots revitalised.
Vranec - the black stallion - makes dark, rich wines
Wines of Macedonia, whose members comprise the vast majority of the wine industry, is committed to promoting the quality and image of Macedonia wine globally; including by making Vranec World Day a date of global significance.
The art of transition
Tikveš Wine District is home to some of the country’s most renowned wineries, including Tikveš, Stobi, Bovin, and Popov. A pronounced mountain range protects the vineyards from northern winds, allowing them to savour the southerly Mediterranean influences.
Over 140 years, Tikveš Winery has preserved its wine tradition through various turbulent periods, becoming an anchor of the country’s wine identity and culture. As the largest winery, it has spearheaded the transition of the last 20 years or so, introducing sustainable viticulture techniques and engaging numerous foreign experts to help explore Vranec’s characteristics.
Tikveš Winery has worked with grape growers to modernise viticulture practices, placing an emphasis on the vine and identifying ideal locations for premium Vranec.The unique expression deriving from various terroirs has made Tikveš a model to be replicated. Its red Barovo (a blend of Vranec and Kratosija) and Bela Voda (Vranec and Plavec/Plavac) demonstrate the excellence of traditional Macedonian red blends.
Consumer focus
Nurturing the grape admittedly has its challenges. Dane ‘Hermes’ Jovanov reveling in his label’s successful arrival on the market, concedes that wines from Vranec can be “difficult to tame and produce”. Dane Hermes achieves just that using a mixture of oak barrel sizes (2,500, 1,000, and 225-litre), giving a sophisticated, elegant wine that will age and develop for at least the next decade. The 15.5% of alcohol is so well integrated that you would struggle to guess the level.
Dane Hermes is one of those market-influencing winemakers, attentive to the desires of consumers while pursuing his vision of how wine should be made.
Chateau Kamnik is a major producer of Vranec
Another is Chateau Kamnik, from whose terrace one is treated to panoramic views of Skopje, with Vodno Mountain and its large cross in the distance. The city’s high rises contrast sharply with the manicured vineyards immediately beneath. Often wineries sit in glorious isolation, oblivious to the markets they must ultimately find or help create. Here there can be no such evasion.
Under the sage guidance of winemaker, Sandra Georgievska, Chateau Kamnik - which recently celebrated its 20th birthday - has quickly established itself as one of the region’s leaders. Its Vranec Terroir Grand Reserva 2011 was Decanter’s best wine from Central and Eastern Europe in 2013, whilst its Terroir Vranec Grand Reserva 2020 was named best red wine from an indigenous variety at last year’s Wine Vision by Open Balkan.
“Blending past and future, traditions and the sophisticated state-of-the-art approach, nature and science, challenges us to find the most captivating wine tastes,” says Georgievska.
Chateau Kamnik is committed to keeping traditional values whilst, in Georgievska’s words, “adapting them to the demands of the modern fine wine market”.
To oak or not to oak?
Antonio Brzanov is looking to trial different styles of wine with Vranec
Antonio Brzanov - whose winery is in Gazi Baba, in Skopje’s vicinity - is determined to test Vranec’s limits. Though weighing in at a heady 17% alcohol, his Vranec Elixir 2015 is a master of disguise. Late harvested by hand before being macerated for 57 days, it is aged for four years in new barrique barrels. In Brzanov’s hands, Vranec demonstrates its tolerance, absorbing oak and developing complexity that evolves with age.
The interference of oak is frequently the bane of the Balkans. Some wines embrace it with glee, but others are suffocated; their true voices strangled before they've had the chance to sing. This tendency partly derives from a formulaic and imported sense of how red wine should be - generally bold and big, even if the grape can’t carry the weight. Vranec’s acidity and structure, however, means that oak can help it excel.
In the eye of the beholder
Vranec has the potential to be many things in different hands. For Bovin Winery, the first privately owned winery in Macedonia, experimentations with grapes left to dehydrate on the vine (unlike on the rack or in drying chambers with Amarone) define their unique selection of wines such as Era, A’gupka, and My Way.
As Bovin’s oenologist and manager, Kristijan Sotirovski says, “what makes these wines special is that the grapes are planted at 650m above sea level altitude” in specific micro-locations in Dissan, one of the country’s prized areas. Through green harvesting, they ensure the remaining grapes accumulate higher sugar levels and dry extract. The temperatures in this micro-location ensure the grapes dehydrate perfectly on the vine, and, as Kristijan points out, “because of the thick skin of Vranec, and because of the higher altitude, the grapes don’t get attacked by insects and they don’t spoil and rot.”
Fruit forward Vranec
Others such as Peshkov Family Winery, Venec Winery, and Kievo Winery are dedicated to more fruit drive and easy drinking Vranec.
Petre Peshkov, a young oenologist from Kavadarci in the Tikveš region, pursues an organic approach. “Everything is about the grapes - the vineyards are in a very good location, 480 metres above sea level - the soil is like hummus, it is very healthy,” he says, adding how the altitude means he doesn’t typically harvest until the first or second week of October to ensure fully ripened grapes.
“Vinification is under a controlled temperature of 24-25 Celsius in stainless steel. I do a longer maceration - 25 to 30 days,” he adds.
After the juice is pressed, the wine spends 14-15 months in a combination of new and old 225-litre oak barrels, before being mixed. Unfined and unfiltered, they spend a further year in the bottle. “The acidity is very good,” says Peshkov.
For Ivana Simjanovska, an international wine judge and author of the ‘Macedonian Slow Wine Guide 2024’, some of the most elegant Vranec wines are Macedonian: “Nowadays, many of the younger Macedonian winemakers are refining the Vranec, using shorter oak aging periods and larger barrels to avoid over-oaking, allowing the fruitiness of the variety to take center stage.”
Vranec has enhanced the country’s wine reputation, and could, so Simjanovska concludes, help elevate the stature of other grapes in Macedonia such as Stanušina and Smederevka. “The wine world is always eager for something new, and we have plenty to offer,” she adds.
On Vranec’s future
For some, honing Vranec’s potential requires a clearer relationship between geographic origin and specific quality standards.
Zvonko Herceg says there needs to be more finite rules about how Vranec is produced
“We need to increase awareness about appellations and set up rules of production,” says Zvonko Herceg, wine education associate at Tikveš Winery, WSET educator, international wine judge, and expert, while leading an authoritative masterclass on Vranec in Skopje. “We need rules on how long to age etc., so that you know what to expect.”
Zvonko is also convinced that Macedonia needs to be more dedicated to Vranec, amid the plethora of international and native varieties being nurtured here. “We need to focus on Vranec. You cannot play with all grape varieties. We have to get out of the mainstream that Vranec is monochromatic, for the attributes of the variety are an excellent expression of the terroir, adaptable to different styles of wine, excellent development in the bottle, a perfect partner in the Balkans traditional blends,” he explains.
“We have to be the best and if we are not the best then we shouldn't try” - is the guiding spirit of Tikveš Winery. It is a sentiment shared by an increasing number of the country’s winemakers. With new and old players striving to push the boundaries of Vranec, the pipeline of possibilities is promising; one that demonstrates Vranec’s capability to produce wines that satisfy various tastes. So mark your calendars for October 5 - Vranec World Day.
* You can find out more about Vranec World Day here.
* You can taste Vranec wines at ProWein on Wines of Macedonia stand Hall 9 / E100.
Ian Bancroft is a writer and former diplomat based in Belgrade, Serbia.
