One of North Macedonia's much underrated producers. Jordan Trajkov and his team make some interesting estate grown varietal wines from the Demir Kapija locality of the Tikveš district.
Popova Kula Winery is without doubt one of the main wine tourism attractions in Macedonia, boasting excellent hospitality, picture post card surroundings and an impressive range of clean, authentic wines to match. The winery, now approaching its 15th year, has been been working diligently to protect the rare Stanušina, one of the very few indigenous Macedonian grape varieties in existence. Thanks to the dedication of Jordan Trajkov, the founder of Popova Kula, and his team of oenologists, Stanušina has been saved from extinction. Early results are promising and use of the variety will hopefully spread. The winery and its vineyards are located on the southern slopes of Veliko Brdo west of the town of Demir Kapija. This area is particularly well suited to quality wine making. Vineyards are irrigated with pure water flowing from three different rivers, the Boshava, Doshnica and the Vardar and the area benefits from 280 sunny days per year. The winery pays respects to the wine tradition in the region in many other ways as well - Popova Kula was named after an important tower, the Popova Kula (Priest’s Tower) which once served as an important checkpoint on the old Roman road that passes next to the location. In tribute, they have erected a new seventeen metre high tower and named the winery Popova Kula. The winery owns almost eighteen hectares of vineyards, most of them surrounding the winery and produces wine from nine different grape varieties: Stanušina, Vranec, Prokupec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Temjanika, Chardonnay, Žilavka and Muscat Ottonel. The plantings of Stanušina cover 1.36 ha, Vranec 4.6 ha and Prokupec 0.87 ha. Some of the new planted vineyards stretch on eight hectares and are located less than seven kilometres from the winery, in the micro-locality called Besvica, situated at an altitude of 350m above sea level. At this location the following grape varieties are planted: Temjanika, Žilavka, Muscat Ottonel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Prokupec. Occasionally, the winery also buys a small percentage of grapes from several grape growers whose vineyards are located within ten kilometres of the winery. Popova Kula’s wine portfolio is divided in five lines of wines: Perfect Choice, Reserve, Classic, Demir Kapija, and a special line is dedicated to the Stanušina. Popova Kula wines can be found throughout the country, both in restaurant and supermarekts, in addition to being exported to Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Canada, Hong Kong, Poland, Sweden, Germany, UK etc. Within the winery, there are a hotel, restaurant and a wine tasting room with a magnificent view on the Demir Kapija Valley and the surrounding mountains. The rooms in the hotel are decorated in a traditional Macedonian style and each named after a different grape variety. The restaurant serves typical traditional dishes from locally sourced ingredients.
