Wine, names and borders disputes: Southern Macedonia
By Naomi Conrad
A train-ride from northern Greece, with which it shares a border and a disputed name, leads to the lush green hills of Southern Maceondia, a region that in communist times used to produce the wine for Yugoslavia. Small towns, which still retain their communist charm and statues of Tito in their main paved squares, cluster among the vineyards and wooded mountains; connected with newly asphalted roads to the bigger towns and cities.
The mountains hide many archaeological sites, some of which are currently being excavated with Italian and German co-funding: Ancient Macedonia, before today’s borders divided it into the country Macedonia and a Greek region Macedonia, was the heartland of Alexander the Great’s empire – and wine cultivation. Alexander’s burial site in Greek Macedonia contains several silver banqueting sets, including various utensils for drinking and preparing wine.
In Tito’s times Southern Macedonia served as the wine-basket of Yugoslavia: huge wineries churned out thousands of litres of cheap mass-produced wine of dubious quality for the thirsty masses in Yugoslavia. Wine was also exported to the Soviet Union.
Since the end of the communist era, the large cooperative wineries which relied on outdated machinery have fallen into disrepair. The privatisation drive of the 1990s, which swept across the Balkans and other regions, not only opened the door for corruption, but also local entrepreneurs: Many of the old communist vineyards have been turned into private enterprises, which lease the land on which they grow their wine from the state. The land is particularly fertile in the warm South, producing wine that is trying to make its way branded as high-quality products into the shelves of American and European supermarkets.
Yet despite the small wages paid to the seasonal labourers, producing the wine is expensive: machinery and technical know-how are all exported from abroad, mostly other European countries, and exporting into the European Union is providing to be a difficult process, as exporters face stringent health and quality regulations. Until Macedonia and Greece settle their name dispute, Athens continues to block Skopje’s accession to the European Union - and easier, cheaper access to the European market for wine producers. Exporters hope for a reconciliation that would bring with it membership of the united market and the political stability that EU members enjoy. They also hope that the foreign investment which flowed into Eastern European states before their accession might be replicated.
In the meantime, according to the co-owner of one winery, the costs remain high and wine must compete with cheaper Australian or Californian wine. “We are trying to brand it as an exotic niche product”, he explains, particularly in Asia and for luxury super markets in the United States. The exotic appeal of being produced in a small, little known formerly Yugoslav country.
Yet, as the current crisis is making itself felt in numerous sectors and societies, its repercussions are also strongly affecting the region: the economic downturn has led to a decline in the purchase of expensive goods and so much of the wine is sold in Macedonia and the wider region, in Czech bars and Polish supermarkets, rather than Australian wine bars.
Private cars, many of them owned and driven by Macedonians with Bulgarian nationality acting as private taxi drivers, take about two hours to get from the wine region to Bitola, a small bustling university town. The locals and expats, who have returned for the summer break from Australia or Germany, sit in the cafes lining the main shopping road, seem to prefer iced-coffee or beer to the wine produced down the road.