Touring Macedonia's wine country

Vineyards show off the beautiful countryside and offer a taste of Macedonia's rich history.

By KEN BELSON, New York Times

Land-locked Macedonia often feels like a forgotten place, tucked among Greece, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Bulgaria. For centuries, it seemed to be part of someplace else, including, until two decades ago, Yugoslavia. Unlike Croatia, with its stunning coastline, or Sarajevo, with its airy hills, Macedonia has struggled for the world's attention since gaining independence in 1991 and lacks the allure of a must-see destination. Other than a smattering of castles and a few colorful bazaars, the country's cities are unexceptional.

But those who travel there are often surprised by its rustic charm and multilayered history. Macedonia has been a crossroads for about as long as it's been on a map, a tapestry of cultures and conquerors, some evident in the many archaeological sites in the capital, Skopje, and along seemingly every roadside stop.

As I learned on a visit this spring, Macedonia's best face is outside its cities, where snowcapped mountains, picturesque lakes and villages hidden in steep valleys evoke a lost kingdom. Even the country's biggest tourist destination, Lake Ohrid, a tranquil lake on the Albanian border, attracts far fewer tourists than swarm places like Venice.

Beautiful landscapes alone are rarely enough to satisfy travelers. That's why I was glad to discover several new and vibrant vineyards that provided an easy, inexpensive excuse to see Macedonia's countryside.

Wine, it turns out, has played a central role in Macedonia at least since Roman times, when the ruling emperors favored its grapes. Thanks to an abundance of sunshine, Mediterranean and continental breezes and rich rocky soil, wine grapes thrive in Macedonia. They are so ubiquitous that many families make their own stash.

Despite the abundance of grapes, the sluggish economy and decades of socialist rule (when the government controlled production and distribution) have stunted the development of a sophisticated wine industry. ...