Bulgarian Galore
Written By: Romany Reagan on Mon, Apr 14th 2008
So yes it was quite tragic to me at first that I couldn't hook up the Bulgarian Film Festival with wine for their event with my wonderful skills - however imagine my surprise and glee at discovering what they did come up with!
I arrived post-hosting to the gala, quite glam in my evening gown if I do say so, to be welcomed with a glass of Vino Bulgari Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Tracian Valley 2001) which interestingly enough won the international Wine Packaging and Design Awards Silver Medal for Innovative Design. I am quite a slave for cute packaging, and the sleek lacquer-on-frosted-glass bottle sold me before we even said hello.
I didn't know a thing about Bulgarian wine before that evening. In fact, one thing the festival has taught me is people don't know much about Bulgaria in general. Ever since the fall of the wall the country has been going through amazing changes - and in the past five years or so the cultural evolution has been expanding exponentially. There is art and rebirth every where you look! New Line Cinema has a studio there, and festivals like the Tishman International Bulgarian Film Festival are just the beginning of an exciting east/west exchange that will hopefully breathe some much needed new life into our (for the most part) complacent art scene here.
All cultural developments aside, a lot of people don't even know the basics about Bulgaria as a country. Did you know it has some of the most beautiful destination beaches? That it has a temperate Mediterranean climate and central location from which it gathers rich international influences? Well, there's no way to go into all that here, so I'll just give you a crash course on some Bulg wine regions.
Bulgaria is broken down into the following wine regions: Northern Region, Eastern Region, Sub Balkan Region, Southern Region and South Western Region.
The Vino Bulgari we enjoyed was from the Southern Region, which includes the Tracian Valley from the Balkan Range to the Greek border. This isn't surprising as it has a Mediterranean climate which is particularly good for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The best Bulgarian variety grape-Mavrud grows in the Tracian Valley. Reds do great in this region. Jambol and Haskovo are some of the finest appellations. My particular red was not appellation-specific, but was an enjoyable red nonetheless. Vino Bulgari is imported by Black Sea Imports, Inc. for those who want to duplicate my experience.
The Northern region produces high quality wines from a number of different grapes, red as well as white. The reds are made from the local Gamza as well as from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varieties. Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc are the most prominent whites.
The Eastern Region covers the territory along the Black Sea coast between the Northern border with Romania and the Southern-most point on the sea coast where Bulgaria shoulders Turkey. The wines from the Eastern region are made mostly from white grapes. Almost all renowned white grape varieties may be found along with the native Misket and Dimiat. The whites from this region haven't been exported as much as people find them too spicy for the Western palate (that's not fair, I want to try them!) but they are greatly appreciated by Bulgarians and East and South Europeans.
The Sub Balkan Region contains deep valleys at Southern foot of the Balkan Mountain which produce unique micro climates. The famous, in Bulgaria, Sungurlare Misket comes from there as well as the excellent Sungurlare Eau deVie. White wines from different grapes are local specialty. Slavjantzi is a popular winery from this region.
The South Western region covers what is popularly known as Pirin Macedonia. The Struma Valley runs along it - it has a typical Mediterranean climate. Fine Cabernets are produced there. The appellation of Melnik is home to the Melnik variety -- an aromatic and hefty wine that ages very well. Damianitza is most famous winery there. Another interesting local variety is Keratzuda, a rose type produced only in the appellation of Kresna.
I had no idea there was so much wine produced there - and with so much diversity! It looks like there are a lot of good things coming out of Bulgaria nowadays, and if wine follows culture, we should be expecting some of these unexpected wines stateside very soon.
Cheers!
