Who we are
We're a London wine shop built around the wines of North Macedonia.
We're here to bring Britain the wines of the Tikveš valley in North Macedonia. Wine has been made there for centuries. Very little of it reaches the UK. We think the best of it belongs on British tables.
Great wine should be matched by complete transparency. If a wine has won an award, we tell you exactly which vintage earned it. If the bottle you're buying is from a different vintage, you know before you check out. No countdown timers. No artificial scarcity. No marketing tricks.
That's our promise. The rest of this page is the story of the region, the winery, and the people behind every bottle we choose to bring to Britain.
The region
Tikveš is the heart of Macedonian wine, home to the vast majority of the country's vineyards. The region is defined by the valley of the Vardar River, which channels the warmth of the Mediterranean north to meet the continental climate coming down from the other side. Everywhere you turn, mountains form a backdrop to the landscape, bringing refreshing breezes, and the foothills offer fantastic hilly vineyard sites. Constant sunshine makes it easy to grow ripe, healthy grapes, led by Vranec, the country's signature variety, known for dark, rich but also fresh red wines thanks to its natural acidity.
Wine has been made in this valley since at least the fourth century BC. Vranec is barely grown outside the Balkans, and most people in Britain have never tasted one.
The description above draws on the words of Dr Caroline Gilby MW.
The winery
Tikveš Winery is one of Southeast Europe's oldest and largest wineries, with a winemaking tradition dating back to 1885. Owned by Svetozar Janevski, the winery is dedicated to showcasing the unique character of Macedonia and placing its wines among Europe's finest.
The philosophy is "hand-picked, made with heart". Every grape is carefully harvested by hand, reflecting the discipline and craftsmanship behind every bottle.
Our wines come from three exceptional vineyard sites: Barovo, at 700 metres above sea level; Bela Voda, known for its distinctive clay soils and natural springs; and Babuna, a biodiverse valley between Mount Klepa and two rivers.
At the heart of Tikveš is Vranec, Macedonia's signature indigenous grape, which the winery continues to champion internationally.
The winery produces Kumova, a premium Macedonian brandy (rakija), crafted with the same commitment to quality and tradition.
The group also owns Château de Gourdon in the Southern Rhône, France.
The winemaker
Marko Stojaković, the winemaker, was born in Serbia and trained in France, at Bordeaux and Montpellier, under Philippe Cambie, the consultant they called the Pope of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Cambie taught him that great wine starts with respect for where it comes from, and that a winemaker's job is to reveal a place, not decorate it.
He joined Tikveš in 2010, aged 27, to help build a new generation of wines with one ambition: showing the world what North Macedonia's vineyards can do. Much of that work has centred on Vranec, the country's own grape, whose elegance and depth he helped bring back into focus. His rule has never changed: emphasise the terroir, don't mask the wine with tannins.
Ask him which bottle says it best and he doesn't hesitate: Barovo Red, a field blend of old-vine Vranec and Kratošija from high-altitude vineyards. In his words, the purest expression of what this land can do.
The founder of Tikveš London
Zak Pavlovski - 16 Years of Macedonian Wine in Britain.
Zak Pavlovski has spent the past sixteen years introducing Macedonian wine to Britain and helping people understand what makes it special. He founded the company in London in 2010, the same year Marko joined the winery in Tikveš. The wines were already of high quality and were reaching Britain through the trade, but there was no dedicated place where customers could discover the full range, learn about the wines, and buy them directly. That is what Zak set out to create.
Sixteen years later, he is still personally involved in selecting the wines, managing the shipping, and returning to the Tikveš region where it all began. That personal involvement means we can tell you exactly which vintage you are buying, which awards it has won, and, just as importantly, when a particular vintage has won nothing at all. Honest wines. Direct knowledge. Sixteen years of bringing Macedonia to Britain.
How we buy and deliver
We buy directly from the winery. One relationship, no middleman, and prices that reflect it. We ship with DHL.
Delivery is free on orders of £100 or more to England, Scotland and Wales, and that includes the Scottish Highlands and Islands and the Isles of Scilly. The Isle of Man is £30 whatever the order is worth. We do not deliver to Northern Ireland, to the Channel Islands, to BFPO addresses or to PO boxes. Our Delivery page has the charges and the timings.
No signature is needed. If you are out, tell us in the cart where to leave your order, somewhere secure at your address. A safe place you choose is used at your own risk, and once the delivery record shows it was left there it counts as delivered. If your order is left somewhere you did not ask for, the risk is still ours and we will replace it or refund it. We do not leave orders with neighbours, and there is no locker or parcel shop option. Anyone who takes your order in for you must be 18 or over.
Open a bottle and find it isn't to your taste? Tell us within 14 days of delivery and you can have a refund of what you paid for it, or another bottle up to that value. You keep the one you opened and nothing comes back to us. That covers one bottle an order.
If a bottle arrives damaged, email us within 48 hours with photographs of the bottle and the outer box. Nothing comes back and you pay nothing. A faulty or corked bottle is covered for six months on the same terms.
If you've changed your mind on bottles you haven't opened, you can cancel any time up to 14 days after delivery. Once you've told us, send them back within 14 days. You arrange that one and you pay the postage. We don't collect.
That's the place, and those are the people. The wines are this way.
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