Bulgarian newspaper "24 Casa" published an article about the beauties of Macedonia titled "Macedonia - Country of gourmets and hospitality".

Macedonia is a country of flavor. If you sit down to eat your appetite will increase even after the first bite of food. If you only drink a sip of wine, you will never again beat your thirst.

These people know how to enjoy the food and eating is a kind of ritual.Many sunny days are a source of rich tastes and flavors in Macedonian cuisine. The region is characterized by a climate that is suitable for growing fruit, vegetables and various herbs and spices.

Each year, orchards and gardens are filled with amazingly delicious frui, vine is here, and the meat is natural and with extraordinary quality. In Macedonia it is easy to answer the culinary desires of everyone - those who want specialty of meat or fish, and those who prefer diverse vegetarian food.

Each season has certain seasonal food, and each region has its own specialty. Simply, you have a selection of food and you cannot be wrong. Valley flavors satisfy the thirst of every tourist who comes to try the highest quality Macedonian wine. There is a legend for once the driest region in Macedonia.

- Tikvesh had more wine than water, the text reads. Macedonian wineries fully open the doors to all visitors. Together with a team of sommeliers, in a light, informal and relaxing way can taste wines in combination with different foods.

We invite you to deli and wine tour that will help you learn the secrets of undiscovered Macedonia, reads the text of Bulgarian "24 Casa".

The Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism of the Republic of Macedonia for a second year in a row is promoting active tourism at the International Natour Alpe-Adria Fair in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The agency also promotes traditional Macedonian food and wine, and visitors have the opportunity to taste Macedonian ajvar and cheese.

Agency’s delegation holds meeting with representatives of Slovenian Airline Adria Airways who showed interest in increasing the number of passengers from Ljubljana to Skopje.

The Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism underlines in a press release the meetings with tour operators Compas, Oscar, Elephant travel, Slovenia Experience and Association of Slovenian Guides with which they agree cooperation in sharing expertise and professional experience for the establishment of ethical code of tourist guides.

The Association of Travel Journalists of Slovenia, FIJET, also expressed interest in the wine route and mountain tourism, expressing a desire to promote the tourist offer of Skopje and Ohrid.

More than 330 tourism providers from 15 countries take part at the International Natour Alpe-Adria Fair which is held from 1 to 4 February. 

Macedonia – A Heady Mix of Food Flavours, Wine and Culture Macedonian cuisine is very simple to prepare, very rich not only in taste and smell but also in colour. 

Macedonian cuisine is a colourful fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. Thanks to an abundance of sunshine and fertile soil the national dishes are rich in flavour and the climate is also perfect for growing an array of exquisite wines.

Find out which special dishes are being served up in this Balkan country on “Macedonian Life” as we embark on a culinary adventure, Euronews says in its article.

It’s busy in the kitchen of one of Skopje’s finest restaurants. Chef Natalie Bojadjievska prepares traditional dishes like the Macedonian Pan, a mix of pork, beef, courgette and eggplant. She sums up what’s good about the food:

“Macedonian cuisine is very simple to prepare, very rich not only in taste and smell but also in colour. Our cuisine is our way of living, you know. It’s not just a meal.”

Over at Alexsandar Palace, head chef Gievski Ljupčo identifies why Macedonian food is so different:

“Our kitchen is different from those of neighbouring countries because we use more vegetables – both fresh and cooked – and salads and we concentrate more on healthy food.”

Ljupčo has been working as a chef for more than 30 years and is a dedicated ambassador of home-grown gourmet cuisine. On tonight’s menu is a typical dish: stuffed peppers with minced beef.

During the day and out in the streets, locals flock to the Green Bazaars, fresh food markets which exist in every city. They’re loved for their locally grown and seasonal foods. An abundance of sunshine and rich, rocky soil create ideal conditions for many different fruits and vegetables.

The influences on Macedonian food come from far and wide – it’s a melting pot of cultures which has evolved over the centuries.

Nebojscha Vukovich is the President of the Gastronomy Association. He spoke to us about the formation and origins of the country’s cuisine:

“Macedonian cuisine is a mixture of a lot of cultures from people who came from abroad to Macedonia and left their mark, as well as Macedonians who lived abroad and brought back the habits from the culture they had experienced. We can say that countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have had a historic impact on our food. In recent times we have had influences from cuisines such as Austrian, Hungarian, Italian and French cuisine.

Cooking together is another big part of the country’s tradition. Feasts at weekend country houses are particularly popular. The Jovanovski family spends every weekend at their getaway near Skopje and their children often stop by with friends.

Nina Jovanovski is an English teacher and told us about the country’s culture of dining in company:

“Macedonians often come together at weekend houses. We want to be together and to prepare food of course because Macedonians are usually well known as good eaters.”

But not only does Macedonian cuisine have a rich history, wine too has a long tradition. It dates back to at least Roman times.

The country’s wine heartland is the Tikveš region. Vineyards huddle around the Vardar River, the Popova Kula winery among them.

Founder Jordan Trajkov was a banker who visited California’s Napa Valley. It changed his life. The experience inspired him to go back to his roots and to continue the family’s tradition of wine growing.

He planted his first grapes over ten years ago and takes particular pride in one of the varieties he grows, one of the oldest in the world: Stanushina also nicknamed “Macedonian Girl”. He spoke about the difficulties involved in saving the variety:

“We saved the Stanushina variety from extinction. Its a local variety, it was a forgotten variety, nobody was producing wine out of it. I went with my father to remote locations, to remote villages into the backyards of old houses, abandoned houses, we took the plants and we planted them there behind us. Our mission is to save the local and regional varieties and to show them to the world, to the wine world.”

From rich flavours to breathtaking monuments: in the next edition of “Macedonian Life” we travel to Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage city that lies on the shores of the oldest lake in Europe. We’ll discover Byzantine masterpieces and archaeological treasures that reveal the story of a city rich in history.