The red grape variety comes from Northern Macedonia (crna = black). Synonyms are Gradesh, Stanouchina, Stanušhina Crna, Stanušina Grades, Stanušina Tikveško, Strnušina, Tikvesko, Tikvesko Crno and Tykveshko. Parentage (parenthood) is unknown. There is also an inferior variety, susceptible to small-berry, yield-insecure, called Stanušina Rehuljava (rehuljava = irregular), which is often grown in a mixed set with the better quality crna. A green-berry, low-acid mutation is Stanušina Zelena (zelena = green). This late-maturing, high-yielding vine is resistant to fungal diseases and well suited for calcareous soils. It produces simple quality red wines with moderate alcohol content and is used as a blending partner. The variety comes from the Tikveš area in the centre, from which the synonym Tikvesko is derived. In 2016, 400 hectares of vineyards were designated (Kym Anderson).
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