{"id":8242,"date":"2021-04-09T09:33:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/?p=8242"},"modified":"2021-04-09T09:33:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:33:33","slug":"kosovo-stone-castle-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/2021\/04\/kosovo-stone-castle-vineyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Wine – Kosovo\u2019s Stone Castle Vineyards Provides Pride, Hope & Jobs #WinePW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The #WinePW group of writers is talking about under the radar European wine regions this month. And I knew just the country whose wines I wanted to feature. Kosovo! Particularly those from Stone Castle Vineyards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I\u2019m able to write an article with small amounts of research and can get it turned around pretty quickly. The same holds true with travel planning. But other times, I find myself spending hours doing research just to understand the status quo and how and why we are where we are. In the case of travel, this happened when I took trips to places like Croatia and Slovenia as well as places like Hungary<\/span><\/strong><\/a> and Austria<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. Particularly when I visited Croatia<\/span><\/strong><\/a> and Slovenia<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, I found myself going down the rabbit hole and studying the former Yugoslavia all the way back to the First World War. I just hate to be ignorant and not understand what I\u2019m looking at when I travel. That\u2019s what beach trips are for! I still recall some of the thought-provoking conversations we had with a driver in Croatia and because I was armed with some knowledge of Croatia\u2019s history, I had context for her comments – even through the haze of all the Croatian wine. As an aside, I still contend that of all the places I\u2019ve visited, I never felt more welcome as I did in Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, when I heard about Kosovo\u2019s Stone Castle Vineyards and Winery, I again went down the rabbit hole to understand more of the country\u2019s history, particularly as it relates to the state of the current wine industry. So once again, I was back studying the former Yugoslavia from its early beginnings all the way up to its breakup and beyond. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not going to give a history lesson – this is a wine blog after all – but the background certainly helped me to understand the importance of the rise of Stone Castle Vineyards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t know much about it now, chances are you\u2019ll soon be hearing more about the Kosovo wine industry. Kosovo has a long history of cultivating grapes and producing wine (thousands of years in fact) albeit with the techniques that are a carryover from the former state-owned system. Production and exports were humming in the 1980s under the tutelage of the government. Wine production had long been an important part of the country\u2019s agricultural business as wine was one of the leading exports. But the breakup of Yugoslavia, followed by the conflicts of the 1990s, wreaked havoc on the vineyards and production facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But changes are a-happening. After the wars of the 1990s, both the government and private business showed a renewed focus on the industry. With privatization and an emerging economy in transition, new entrants are slowly entering the industry. At the end of 2019, there were 27 licensed producers in the country. Hmm, could this be my chance to invest in a vineyard? Inquiring minds want to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The country is also tackling its laws surrounding viticulture and wine production. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development has put in a great deal of work in this area during the past decade, with the hope of finalizing the rules by 2025. They also plan to establish consistency with European wine law as well as make Kosovar wines more prominent in both regional and European markets. Wines are currently exported to over 30 countries, with Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Slovenia, and Switzerland making up the largest markets respectively. Work is also being done to shore up vineyards and production facilities, establish new cultivation systems, and diversify the wines produced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The future certainly seems bright for the Kosovar wine industry. There are even \u201cwine routes\u201d that are cropping up, pointing thirsty visitors to the various vineyards and wineries in a burgeoning wine tourism destination. The wines are also receiving international accolades, further cementing the country\u2019s status as a place of quality wine production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kosovo is comprised of 18 distinct wine regions, with the bulk of the production in the Rahovec region (where wine growing dates back to 1 AD) followed by Lipjan and Prizren.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKosovo Wine Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
History <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Regions and Grape Varieties<\/h4>\n\n\n\n