About Tikveš Winery

By Paul Caputo

Tikveš Winery is without doubt the founder of modern day wine making in Macedonia. Their 130 year story is heavily intertwined with Macedonia’s agricultural past and culturally embedded into the fabric of wine consciousness throughout the Balkans. As the oldest and one of the largest and most powerful wine producing institutions in South East Europe, they are fundamental to understanding the existing wine traditions in Macedonia.

Back in 1885, Pano Velkov, a merchant, nobleman and landowner added trade in wine and grapes to his commercial interests. As the 20th Century approached, little could he know the extent to which Tikveš Winery would progress to become a regional institution and at the heart of pioneering the development of the modern Macedonian wine industry.

Since the winery’s modest creation though, the winery has faced many challenges, been through many different stages of development and experienced its fair share of structural change. Many voices and ideas spread across multiple generations are responsible for the Tikveš we know today.