The Eternal Guardian of the Wine Peninsula

Tikveš Winery – Where Balkan History Pours into the Glass
There are wineries that make wine, and there are wineries that make history.

​Tikveš belongs to the second kind. Founded in 1885, it has lived through empires, wars, new borders, and changing times, yet it has never stopped pressing grapes into stories. For 140 years, it has stood as oldest continuously operating winery, a monument of tradition and resilience of Macedonian vignerons.

Step into its vineyards and you feel it instantly, endless rows of vines glowing under the sun, winegrowers exchanging stories as they work, and the hush of barrels resting in cool cellars. Tikveš is the largest winery in Southeastern Europe, yet behind its scale lies something intimate, the joy of sharing wine as part of everyday life.

From rakija warming family tables, to elegant wines gracing international competitions, Tikveš bridges past and future. It is the first Balkan “green winery,” investing in sustainability, guided by world-renowned experts, and crowned with hundreds of awards.
This year alone, 12 of its wines earned 19 international awards above 90 points, more than any other winery on the peninsula. Among them, the Luda Mara Cuvee Red 2022 and Luda Mara Vranec 2022 both reached 94 points, proving that Balkan terroir speaks with world-class authority.

But Tikveš is not only about medals. It is about moments, the clink of glasses in historic cellars, the laughter of friends around a table, the way a sip of wine carries the warmth of the land itself. Today, its bottles reach over 30 countries, even extending into France with Château Gourdon in the Rhône Valley.
Yet the heart of Tikveš remains firmly rooted in its homeland.

At Taste of Awards 2025, guests will experience this legacy firsthand: the strength of Vranec, the elegance of Bela Voda, the wine peaks of Barovo, the rivers-embraced vine terraces of Babuna, and the grace of Lepovo. More than wine, it is an invitation to taste 140 years of Balkan history in a single glass.

Tickets