The Brief Wondrous Life of Grapes and Projects

            Here in the Tikves region of Macedonia, we are known for our grapes and products produced from grapes.  The cycle of the grape season begins and ends with two important events: Sveti Trifun in early February and Tikveski Grozdober in early September.  Similarly, the project design and management life-cycle has its own important demarcation moments.  My counterpart from the Municipality of Kavadarci and I, along with the team from Edessa, worked these long months on the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) from the European Union Second Component Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) called “Kaimaktsalon”.  It is no coincidence that in Kavadarci, our project cycle matches that of the annual life cycle of the grape vine. 

            Snow melting atop sleeping vines and the warming of the earth below it marks the first cycle known as weeping.  This begins when the sap from the vines begin to concentrate where they had been pruned.  Likewise, in early spring, we and our CBC partners began to enliven our ideas that would be mutually beneficial for both towns.  We decided on a project which aims to strengthen the regional economy through promotion of the common gastronomy routes as potential for developing tourism.

            With spring still in its infancy during the second stage, budbreak, the vines are very sensitive to the fickle chilly freezes of the season.  In the CBC cycle, the team is still very sensitive to each other’s needs for the project and outcomes.  One important agreement made was how to address the political disagreement with “the name issue,” because when there is good teamwork between partners, the borders and conflicts don’t exist. This has proven to be
effective and moved us past this stage in good cooperation. 

            The maximum yield of the vineyard is set in the third stage of early grape development and flowering.  During this stage, the flowers are pollinated and begin their maturation process.  Also, in the project life cycle, the components of the project are set with the amount of funding being allocated for each, and the planning stages begin.

            Next, the grapes begin their maturation process in the fourth stage called fruit set.  The grape flesh begins to thicken and any fruit that does not properly develop is pruned.  Equally, each side of the CBC began to work feverishly on their own plans for dissemination of the project.  We agreed that there would be four dissemination events two in each city, where the citizens are invited to participate.

            A critical time in the life cycle of the grape vineyard is the fifth stage because it takes skill and experience from the grape growers on how and when to prune the canopy and excess grape clusters. This stage is known as veraison.  In the veraison period of the CBC project, our first kick-off meeting occurred in the city of Edessa with the mayors from each town and project team.  This meeting marked the official agreement of the project schedule and all of its components.

            The harvest time, and final stage, is strictly at the discretion of the grape growers.  Oftentimes, it depends on growers preference of the varietal, sugar, and acid levels of the grape.  During the wine festival “Tikveski Grozdober” in Kavadarci, held annually, our team kicked off the dissemination event for “Kaimaktsalon” on 08 September 2012 from 17:00-18:00 in the House of Culture.  The event included the cross-border presentation of Kajmaktsalon: “From Water to Wine, from Cherries to Grapes”.  Gastronomy experts from Edessa and Kavadarci provided discussion about the common gastronomy in both cities.  This event was a huge success with attendees from delegations as far as Turkey, Italy, and Slovakia.  It was covered by the local television stations in Kavadarci and the local newspapers.  Both cities’ project teams were satisfied with the event, even sparking a new recipe made from jello, wine, honey, and cherries.

            In the following months, the vineyards are again laid to rest until the grapes are active with another cycle.  However, our team will be busy throughout the year with future dissemination events and creating cross-border goodwill.

 “Annual Life Cycle of the Grape Vine” Calwineries, 23 September 2012, <www.calwineries.com>