Interview with Aleksic sisters, Founders and Owners of Aleksic Winery

Maja Aleksic Ilic, Dragana Janjic and Marija Aleksic

Aleksic Winery has existed for almost 20 years. Having been established by 3 sisters, it is also the first women-lead enterprise in the Western Balkans. Could you touch up on how did the process of developing a business in this industry look like for you?

Speaking of the very beginning, we always say that success requires multiple factors. Above all, we have our team behind us, without whom we would not have been able to do all this. We put effort and now we enjoy in results.

In winemaking, you need time and patience, both for growing the vineyard and for positioning on the market. We had enough faith and awareness of our own knowledge, as well as great desire and initiative. Today, the Aleksic winery produces 600,000 liters of wine, exports them to 9 international markets and has 92 awards from international fairs. The most prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards from London awarded us with 3 gold medals for Zuti cvet, Biser i Amanet.

Although success as a term does not imply numbers, the market likes success expressed in figures. Running the first women's winery in the Balkans never depended only on numbers, economics, or strategy, but mostly on a sense of business and people, both customers and employees. And that is what I would single out as a key factor for success.

Recently, you presented your wine selection at London Wine Fair, the largest annual wine exhibition in the UK, at the Serbian stand organised by NIKO Preston - the biggest UK importer of Serbian wines and a BSCC partner. Could you kindly let us know your view of the event and its outcome?

London wine fair is the largest and most important wine exhibition in London. In addition to presenting wine to the London audience, it was especially important for us because we also had the opportunity to hear the impressions of worldwide sommeliers and judges.

Today, thanks to the importer Niko, in the Michelin restaurant in England, the wine list includes a wine Amanet from Vranje, Serbia, which was almost impossible only a few years ago. If we look at this fact more broadly, it means that the English audience has the opportunity to enjoy the local tastes and aromas of Serbia. This is exactly where our focus goes, that our wines reflect the temperament of the south of Serbia and be credible representatives of the region all over the world.

Of course, all this would not have been possible without the great support of the BSCC.

Finally, we would like to hear more about your plans for the forthcoming period. Could you elaborate on what are some the biggest projects you will be working on?

Plans and wishes are always big and should be realised. As always, we know that having a plan is crucial, but having the flexibility to adapt that plan to the circumstances and current situation can be an even more important resource for achieving the aim.

This year, two new labels of red wines Prokupac and Kontra (Cabernet Franc) are on the market, and we expect another label of sparkling wine. We see great potential in our new labels and each of them speaks of a long process of listening to the market, researching wine trends and marketing new products. Our performance is always the result of strategy, innovation, but in accordance with the values ​​and vision of the Aleksic winery as a brand.

Market expansion is certainly a long-term strategic plan, as well as participation in wine exhibitions in America and China, which for us represents the opening of new opportunities.