Vinos de Bulgaria

VINOS DE BULGARIA is the 1st ever Spanish business initiative exclusively dedicated to the best wines of Bulgaria – a country proud of its more than 6000 years of vinegrowing and winemaking traditions that date back to the ancient Thracian civilization. Bulgaria also claims to be the Motherland of Dionysis – the God of the Wine – as well as of Orpheus and Spartacus.

Nedko Nedev, General Manager Vinos de Bulgaria

Wine lovers attending the Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference from 1- 3 February 2010 will be in for a special treat as we are pleased to announce a Wines from Bulgaria wine tasting on Tuesday 2nd February at 18.00 in the Barceló Hotel Montserrat. The session will be hosted by Nedko Nedev, General Manager of Vinos de Bulgaria and widely recongnised sommelier Juan Manuel Gonzalvo. As well as tasting the wines we will also be discussing the current and future potential for Bulgarian wine tourism.

The following 5 wines will be included in the tasting:

• Salta Terra Mavrud 2006 (Mavrud being a local grape variety), Pulden Winery
• Unique Mavrud 2005  Pamidovo Winery
• Merlot 2006, Terra Tangra Winery
• Rubin Nobile 2006 (Rubin also being a local grape variety), Logodaj Winery
• Greo 2006,  ( Melnik & Cabernet Sauvignon) Logodaj Winery

If you would like to participate in the Wine Pleasures Wine Tourism Conference and specifically the Wines from Bulgaria tasting please complete a Registration Form

Bulgaria claims to be the oldest documented wine producing country in the world. The wines of ancient Thrace were first praised by Homer in both the Illiad and the Odyssey. Through the ages, these wines survived cultural and political turmoil to form the wines of modern day Bulgaria. It was the Romans who truly developed the Bulgarian wine industry from AD 681. Bringing in skilled wine-makers, the Romans set about introducing new methods of viticulture and vilification, whilst selecting many new sites for planting vines – including the Balkan Peninsula, and went on to significantly expand production to the benefit of the local economy.

During the Middle Ages the great wine-makers were monks who stored their wines in the cellars of the thick walled monasteries. Wine-makers saw the importance of storing the wines in cool, constant temperatures and cellars were built in Pliska, Perusal and Turnoff. Under Ottoman rule, dessert grapes were introduced from Asia Minor to produce sweet wines to satisfy their well known love of sweet things. In the late nineteenth century the vineyards were struck down by Phylloxera. Growers set about replanting their rootstocks with phylloxera tolerant rootstocks. The more entrepreneurial wine-makers, at this time, decided to join together to form cooperatives so as to purchase new technology and experiment with new methods of wine-making. . Subsequent to the fall of communism in 1989, the Bulgarian wine industry has experienced widespread privatization and benefited from enormous finance and investment. This has led to the increase in production of premium wines which are increasingly available on the world market. With the combination of centuries of traditional wine-making skills and the latest in wine-making technology the outlook for Bulgarian wine is very bright indeed.

Wine Pleasures Wine Tourism Conference 1-3 February 2010.