Co-founder of Macedonia’s first wine club, Ivana Simjanovska has been promoting the country’s produce since entering the industry in 2007. A writer and critic of international acclaim, she is editor in chief of www.vino.mk and has judged at some of Europe’s most prestigious competitions including Mundus Vini, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the Balkans International Wine Competition.
Ivana began her adventures in wine in 2007 by establishing North Macedonia’s first wine club and organising a series of successful tasting events. In 2011 she wrote and published the first Macedonian Wine Guide with Dave Vlam and four years later collaborated with Paul Caputo on the second edition.
Today, Ivana is an important writer and critic with a widely recognised specialist knowledge in Macedonian viticulture. She continues to promote the country’s wine at festivals and fairs throughout Europe, gives educational lectures on the subject and makes regular contributions to a range of international wine publications. Ivana is also a specialist in wine tourism at Macedonia Experience and organiser of the Skopje Wine Salon - Vinodonia. Her personal blog can be found at www.ivanasimjanovska.com.
Ivana scores wine using the following rubric:
• + 95-100 - Unique and exquisite wines which age extraordinarily well
• 90-94 - Excellent wines, perfectly balanced with depth, complexity, and potential to age well
• 85-89 - High quality wines with expressive varietal and terroir characteristics
• 80-84 - Pleasant wines for everyday consumption
"Temjanika wines (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) are quite popular on the Balkans and are predominately made in a dry version. Such is this one, produced from Temjanika variety from the winery’s own 15 year old vineyards located in the village of Koria where the soil is sandy-clay. It is characterised by crystal light-yellow colour. An aromatic wine showing abundance of floral aromas of white and elderberry flowers, honey and basil. On the palate it opens in layers with white peaches, basil and fresh juicy lemon dominating, complemented with spicy undertones of white pepper and grapefruit skin, adding additional complexity. Wine with remarkable freshness and long aftertaste. A truly enjoyable wine!"
"Dry wine produced from Temjanika variety from the winery’s own vineyards located in the village of Sokolche. It is characterised by crystal light-yellow colour and aromas of elderflower and honey. Wine that reveals freshness of juicy lemon in the taste accompanied by spicy white pepper notes and long lingering aftertaste. A good Temjanika for everyday consumption."
"Dry wine produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, Stanushina and Kadarka varieties from the winery’s own vineyards located in the village of Sokolche. It is characterised with light salmon colour (in Macedonian it would be onion skin colour) and aromas of red currant, forest strawberries and candy bonbons. Likeable, fruity wine with pomegranate freshness in the taste accompanied by a spicy note and long grapefruit skin aftertaste."
"Dry red wine produced from the Vranec variety, from the winery’s own 21 year old vineyards where the soil is mostly clay. The microlocation is known as Orle and is located at 500m on the Kozuf Mountain in the Tikves Wine District. It is characterised by deep dark red colour and aromas of ripe blackberries, blueberry jam, plums, and additional notes of dry tobacco leaves, violets and cinnamon. Elegant, luscious and full-bodied wine with tamed velvety tannins, rich in dark berry jam taste, harmonic acidity and long dark chocolate and canella aftertaste. By ageing it will gain on complexity and splendor in the years to come."
"Dry red wine produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon variety from the winery’s vineyards located in the village of Muratov Dol. It is characterised by red ruby colour with dark red hues and aromas of ripe red cherries, blackberries and spicy notes of cocoa, green pepper and mint. Elegant, full-bodied wine with fruity-spicy character, soft and velvety tannins, harmonic acidity and long aftertaste of liquorice and roasted coffee beans due to the ageing in new French barrels."
"A truly big wine with a huge potential although this might not be the first thing you write at an opening of a wine tasting note, unless you are truly blown away by it. It’s a dry wine produced from the Merlot variety from the winery’s own 18 year old vineyards located in the village of Zad Gradishte, where the soil is predominately clay. It is characterised by an intense dark red colour and aromas of red and dark berry fruits, accompanied by cinnamon and cocoa notes, the result of ageing in new French barrels. Elegant, complex and full-bodied wine with fruity-spicy taste, tamed and velvety tannins and long plum marmalade and dark chocolate aftertaste."
