Bulgarian Wine
Bulgaria! What are the three Bulgarian products that come first to mind? Probably yoghurt, rose oil and wine. Yes, wine! Even though wine may not come immediately to mind or if it does, you may expect cheap wine, placed on the lowest shelves – or at least that’s how some may know it form the late 80’s anyway.
But time passes and things change. Bulgarian wine makers have learned their lesson. In the last 10-15 years Bulgarian wine has undergone a real revolution. Many challenges along the way have helped it win its way back to the heart of the wine lover. Today Bulgaria can proudly say that it produces world quality wine. And bottles can proudly claim “Wine of Bulgaria”.
Wine is everywhere in Bulgaria. More than 350 officially registered wineries are spread over the entire territory of the country. About 80% of the wines are consumed by Bulgarians on the local market. Nevertheless export markets have also seen rapid development recently.
Bulgaria has indigenous grape varieties such as Mavrud, Rubin, Melnik, Gamza, Ruen, Bouquet (reds) and Dimyat, Misket, Kerazuda, Tamyanka (whites), which make up the country’s wine identity. Bulgaria is also a place where small growers make wine from own family vineyards for personal consumption. This is so common that you have the feeling that everyone makes wine there and they all take pride in the final product.
Apart from the above-mentioned grapes most of the plantings are international grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Pinot Noir from the reds, and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris from the whites.
Officially Bulgarian wine regions are just two, dividing the country in two big halves – North and South. It is, however, the smaller micro regions that produce wines with their own terroir driven style. Well known appellations such as Melnik or Struma Valley, South Sakar, Yakata, Rose Valley, Sredna Gora, Black Sea coast bring interesting nuances to the Bulgarian wine map.
The South wine region called Thracian Valley or Thracian Lowlands is the birthplace of the indigenous Mavrud grape variety, but also all main international grapes. You will come across an enormous concentration of wineries situated on unique terroirs. These terroirs form different sub-regions such as Struma Valley, where the indigenous Rubin and Melnik grapes flourish. Yakata is another sub-region, part of the Rhodope mountain range. In the central Thracian Valley at the foot of Stara Planinana mountain range is the Rose Valley, famous for the well-known Bulgarian rose and aromatic white wines like the local Misket and Dimyat. Continuing to the east you will reach the Black Sea sub-region with its intriguing white wines. The northern region, known as Danube Valley, spans the whole of northern Bulgaria. It is also famous for white grape varieties and the indigenous Gamza grape. Discover the Bulgarian Wine Regions …
Although Bulgarian wine has fully regained its glory from the past, it remains somehow overshadowed by the big names on the international markets. And that’s why we are here. Let us intoduce you to the “New Wines From The Old World”