Every summer, wine-lovers beat a well-worn path across Napa Valley, the south of France and Tuscany in search of the perfect tipple. But what happens if you want to escape the crowds? We pulled TI writer Chris Deliso aside for a chat about Europe’s last undiscovered wine route, the south Balkan trail…
TI: This is a wine route lots of travellers won’t have heard of before. What length of trip would you recommend for a first timer, and what mode of transport is it best to take?
Chris Deliso: Certainly, the South Balkans remains an unexplored – yet highly worthwhile – wine tourism destination. Although there are public transport and even some organised tours, the best way to do it all is definitely by car. This allows you the freedom to get off the beaten track, see additional complementary sites, and to follow a route that is not traditionally connected by any means.
Just note that if you plan to rent a car and do the entire triangular route, you will need to ensure with the rental company that you can take the vehicle across borders. Given the availability of flights and efficiency factor, starting and ending the tour in Greece’s northern second city of Thessaloniki probably makes the most sense.
TI: What vineyards would you particularly recommend?
CD: There are plenty of options: here are some must-see wineries along the route.
The first, just a 20-minute drive east of downtown Thessaloniki in Epanomi, is Domaine Gerovassiliou. For location, atmosphere and wine together, this is one of the most extraordinary wineries you can visit in the region. After rising up and up through rolling vineyards on the drive up, you reach the winery itself – stunningly situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the Aegean. From here, the city of Thessaloniki is partly visible, extending along the Thermaic Gulf to the west; past it, far, far away in the distance, rises the mighty peak of Mt Olympus.
These extraordinary visuals are complemented by the pungent aroma of mints, thyme and other herbs and flowers carefully planted along the walkways leading into the main building of the winery. Along with a tour of the premises and sampling of Domaine Gerovassiliou wines, dapper owner Vangelis Gerovassiliou will lead you into the very cool downstairs wine museum; here everything from ancient Roman wine amphorae to delicate early modern glass vessels, and 19th-century Scottish canes with bottle-openers inside the handle are displayed.
Intriguingly, a variety of hundreds of ornate, centuries-old corkscrews are exhibited, the most comprehensive such collection in the world. The winery produces a good variety of whites and reds, including an excellent, intense Syrah.
Next, continuing north from Thessaloniki across the border into Bulgaria, visit the wine-making village of Melnik. This lovely, cluttered assortment of 19th-century traditional houses set between sandstone cliffs has a storied history as a prime wine-making centre. There are many small wineries serving the local classic, the robust, ruby-red Shiroka Mehichka Loza. Melnik’s signature wines have long had a wide reputation, and were formerly ordered by the barrel by Winston Churchill himself.
In Melnik, make sure to taste local wines at the Kordopulov House, a museum and small-scale winery impressively set on a hill at the far end of town. This well-restored 18th-century home of a local winemaking aristocrat preserves the place’s sumptuous original furnishings, and features a cellar tasting area. Here you can wander tunnel passageways gouged out of the bedrock- here you can insert small coins into the soft stone, as have hundreds of other visitors, as a symbolic gesture of good luck for future harvests.
Next, turn westwards into the Republic of Macedonia at the border crossing near Petritch. After an hour’s drive you’ll reach the edges of what is perhaps Europe’s best-kept secret for wine – the Tikves Wine Region. With arid temperatures and unique microclimates, this area of central Macedonia is ideal for vintners and much of the population is indeed involved with it. Here you’ll find the Popova Kula Winery just above the small town of Demir Kapija, flanked by a massive gorge carved out by the River Vardar.
Among Macedonia’s many up-and-coming wineries, Popova Kula is unique for its unique traditional decor, hearty wines and on-site modern accommodation. The friendly owners provide regular tours, which of course include plenty of wines served up together with a selection of meats and cheeses. The hearty red Vranec grape varietal, common in the Western Balkans but especially associated with Macedonia, is a stand-out here, but my personal favourite is the Stanoshina – a pale, fragrant rose, good for warm summer evenings, and the only grape varietal totally unique to the country.
From Demir Kapija, you are smack on the north-south European highway linking Greece with Serbia, via Macedonia. Head south to cross the border and, instead of returning directly to Thessaloniki, head westwards to the sprawling wine region centred around the towns of Edessa and Naousa. The latter boasts one location of the veritable Boutari Winery, an enterprise over 125 years old and one of Greece’s most famous wineries. Here too you will get a friendly welcome and be treated to great local wines and intriguing information about the history of winemaking in this family-run business.
TI: What else is there to explore along the way?
CD: There is so much to explore in the area around these wine regions that you will never lack for physical exercise or cultural edification to counter the effects of too much drink.
For example, Domaine Gerovassiliou is just a three-kilometre drive from sandy beaches at Epanomi, if you’re looking for a swim; alternatively, just a bit further east begins the celebrated Halkidiki Peninsular, a favourite with Greek and foreign holiday-makers. On the first two fingers, Kassandra and Sithonia, you can find everything from quiet beaches to pumping nightlife in summer; the third, the monastic dominion of Mt Athos, preserves the monasteries and religious rites of the Byzantine Empire. Almost unchanged over its 1000-year history, Athos today can be visited by male pilgrims (with advance preparations in Thessaloniki).
For its part, all of Melnik is a historical site, a place where you can clamber over Byzantine ruins, hear traditional music performances, and visit Rozhen Monastery some 7km east of town, originally dating from the 13th century.
In the Tikves Wine Region of Macedonia, you can enjoying hiking, bird-watching and boating on Mt Kozuf (near the Greek border) and Lake Tikves, respectively. Also, clinging to one side of the highway opposite the village of Gradsko, the expansive ruins of the ancient Roman city of Stobi are well worth a visit.
Back across the border in Greece, the airy waterfalls of Edessa make for a refreshing break from summer heat. South of Naoussa and Veria, the museum and tombs of Vergina are a testimony to the power of ancient Macedon, with finely wrought ancient gold items on display. And Thessaloniki itself, a cool urban centre of around 1 million, is full of cultural events, museums, nightlife and great restaurants.
TI: Is this something you can do with the family in tow, or is it more suited to couples?
CD: It really depends on how much wining and dining you plan on doing, and whether the additional activities (the beach, the sites, etc) are the focal point of the trip or not. The kids might get restless on a winery tour and marvel as mom and dad develop that warm glow that comes from imbibing fine wines, but if the logistics are handled properly, it could work out just fine.
That said, this winery route is really ideally suited for couples or small groups of friends who can have the flexibility to make plans on the fly, and the devotion to enjoying and learning about great wines. Not only that, but you’re also getting unique insights into distinct but complementary cultures that, despite occasional politicised grievances, live side by side, all having their own stories to tell and traditions to celebrate. The hospitality is excellent, as is the wine. Put together, all these factors have the makings of what could well be a really unique and unforgettable trip.
TI: Any more important stuff to remember?
CD: Just keep in mind that the wineries and sites listed are barely an introduction to the possibilities that travellers, depending on time, have in terms of winery visits in these three regions. There are dozens more worthy contenders as wineries to be visited, all in close proximity – for true devotees, it’s an area – relatively overlooked when it comes to European wine tourism – that abundantly repays all efforts to get there.
Wine lovers could easily spend two weeks on this route without coming close to exhausting all the possibilities.
Inspired? Check out our listings for luxury hotels in Greece and luxury hotels in Bulgaria
When Chris Deliso isn’t extolling the virtues of the south Balkan wine route, he can be found posting recommendations for very best of Crete and reviewing luxury TI hotels like the Hempel in London.
Tags: bulgaria, greece, macedonia, vineyards, Wine, wine route
I’m on my way to Macedonia for a few weeks this summer. Can’t wait to stop and drink some vino. Se najubavo!