Tikveš and Stobi: the back story

About Tikveš and Stobi: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Skopje Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

An hour south of Skopje, the Vardar valley opens into the Tikveš region, a sunny basin of vineyards around Kavadarci and Negotino. On the way you pass Stobi, once one of the great cities of the region.

Stobi

Stobi stood where the Crna Reka meets the Vardar, on the road between the Danube and the Aegean. It grew from a Paeonian town into a Roman city and an early Christian bishopric, with a theatre, palaces, basilicas, a synagogue and superb mosaic floors.

Wine country

Tikveš is the country’s most famous wine region. Hot summers, cool nights and limestone soils give rich reds from Vranec and fragrant whites from Temjanika and Smederevka.

Stobi was a crossroads of the ancient world.

The wineries

The Tikveš winery in Kavadarci traces its history to 1885. Popova Kula at Demir Kapija has a cellar, a restaurant and rooms in the vineyards, and Stobi winery stands near the ancient city. Many smaller family wineries welcome visitors by appointment.

Lake Tikveš and Demir Kapija

South-west of Kavadarci, Lake Tikveš winds through the hills behind a dam on the Crna Reka. Further south, the Vardar squeezes through Demir Kapija, the “Iron Gate”, a gorge popular with climbers.

Harvest time

September is harvest time, when Kavadarci celebrates with its grape-harvest festival. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant times to visit; summer is very hot.

Our advice: visit Stobi in the morning before the heat, then book a tasting and lunch at a winery. Stay overnight at Popova Kula to make it a relaxed trip, and drive home through the Demir Kapija gorge. Do not drink and drive: hire a driver or join a tour.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Tikveš and Stobi: the back story before you go.