Stanushina: The Macedonian Red That Almost Disappeared

Stanushina is pronounced stah-noo-SHEE-nah.

Twenty years ago this grape was on its way out. Farmers in Tikveš were pulling old Stanushina vines and planting the international names that sold — the Cabernet, the Merlot, the varieties a buyer already recognized. What saved it was stubbornness: a small circle of growers who kept the old plots, and a Slow Food group that put its name behind them. That is the whole reason you can pour a glass of it today.

What it tastes like

Pour it and the first surprise is the color. Stanushina is pale, closer to a deep rosé than to what most people picture when you say red wine. The nose is crushed strawberry and raspberry, the fruit clean and bright rather than jammy. On the palate it stays light, carried by high acidity, with tannin so soft it barely registers. Alcohol usually lands around 11 to 12 percent, which is part of why it drinks so easily.

Treat it like you would a good chillable red. Twenty minutes in the fridge tightens the fruit and sharpens the freshness. Warm, it goes a little flat and loses the tension that makes it worth drinking. Cool, it comes alive.

Why it nearly went extinct

Stanushina grows in one place: the Tikveš region of central North Macedonia, on dry slopes around towns like Kavadarci and Begnište. The name traces back to a local word for an old shoot or sprout, a nod to a vine that has been in these hills a very long time.

Its near-disappearance was economics, not taste. As growers chased varieties the market already knew, and as factory work drew people off the land, the old Stanushina plots were the first to go. A grape that ripens late and stays pale and low in alcohol is a hard sell to anyone buying by the recognizable label. It took a deliberate rescue — a Slow Food Presidium built around a small group of Tikveš growers — to keep it in the ground and give it a reason to stay there.

Bottles to look for

The name to know is Popova Kula, the Demir Kapija winery that has done more than anyone to put Stanushina in front of drinkers outside the country. They make it as a light red and also as a rosé, both leaning into the grape's fresh, red-fruited side. Beyond Popova Kula, watch for bottles carrying the Wines of Macedonia or Slow Food Presidium association — that backing is a fair signal you are getting the real thing from the right plots.

This is the underdog case at its plainest. Stanushina is not rare because it failed a taste test; it is rare because it did not fit a sales sheet. That is worth rooting for. Here is my honesty, though: I have not yet tasted it myself, so you will not find a score from me on this page. When I have poured a few bottles and can say something honest about how they differ, a rating goes here — not before.

Where to buy

Disclosure: some links here are affiliate links — if you buy through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more

Be straight with yourself about availability: US distribution is thin. You are more likely to find Stanushina through a specialist importer of Balkan and Eastern European wine than on a big retailer's shelf, and stock comes and goes. Wine.com does not carry it yet, so your surest route is a good independent shop willing to order from a Balkan importer.

— Chris Berry

If you're switching from a famous grape

If you drink Pinot Noir for its lightness and lift — the pale color, the red fruit, the way it takes a chill — Stanushina lives in the same neighborhood for less money and far less recognition. It will not give you Burgundy's structure or depth, and it is not trying to. What it offers is the easy, fresh, summer-red pleasure people actually reach for. See Wines Like Pinot Noir, then Order This Instead.

Part of Lesser-Known Wines: 17 Obscure Grapes Worth Switching To — the full underdog-swap guide.