If in the Balkan area, at the same latitude as Italy, few wines go beyond local interest, the reason is definitely political. Conditions are optimal for the vine and tradition is deep. The wine business in Serbia has experienced mixed fortunes. The Turks uprooted its vines, the Habsburgs promoted its spread. The country's wine-growing area is larger than Croatia's, with about 60000 hectares, many of which are disused, but attracting the interest of more and more artisanal wineriesnow around 50 challenging the very few large industries. The northern province of Vojvodina is very similar in climatic conditions with the Pannonian Plain, and is in fact the land of Welschriesling, and Pinot. The chain of the Fruska Gora is the most famous area and the one with the greatest potential, and runs right along the course of the Danube north of Belgrade. The countryside around the capital is similar to its arid Croatian counterpart, while in Subotica, Horgos and Cokhe wines here are culturally much more Magyar than Serbian. South of Belgrade we find the town of Smederevo, which gives its name to the Smederevka grape varietywhose whites are not memorable. In this area, however, excellent bottles are coming out from Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. In southern Serbia, one can appreciate convincing reds from Prokupacbut it is the sub-region of Oplenac stealing dinner with its wines from SAuvignon Blanc and Franckovka.
Other countries in the area:
La Bosnia Herzegovina was once an important vineyard in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and still today a splendid dry, full, apricot-flavoured white from grapes Zilavka. Kosovo, despite its size, has a respectable wine-growing area with Rahovec as the main area boasting 22,000 hectares. The wine movement was mainly based on the export of theAmselfelder, a sweet blended wine for the German marketbut the Serbian blockade put an end to it. The vineyard area of theAlbania has only 4,000 hectares of vineyards, from which fresh, clean wines are produced, also thanks to the skills of Italian oenologists. Albania's indigenous grape varieties are the Shesh i Bardhe, the Pules and the Debinefor white berries, Shesh i zi, Kallmet, Vlosh and Serina for the reds. In Montengro The vineyards cover an equally small area, about 4300 hectares, of which 60% belong to the Jul Plantaze winery, the largest in Europe. Local grapes include the Vranactannic and with a great capacity for ageing and the Krstacfor fresh, light wines. And finally the Republic of Macedoniathe three wine regions, Povardarjiethe most important one, Pelagonja Polov and Pcinja-Osogovo.