Bulgaria, while far from the most famous or prestigious of the world's wine-producing nations, certainly ranks among the most prolific. This Eastern European country has a Long history of viticulture, and its wine has more to offer than the sea of cheap reds (mostly Cabernet Grape/sauvignon">Sauvignon) that flowed westward in the 1980s would suggest.
The country now has a growing number of promising wine pioneers, but perhaps the most remarkable era of Bulgarian viticulture dates back to the mid-14th century, just before the once-mighty Bulgarian Empire began to fragment and cede Power to the Ottomans. Bulgarian art, more than 1,000 years Old, depicts wine as Part of Bulgarian culture, especially among the ruling classes.
A remarkable painting from 811 AD shows the Bulgarian monarch Khan Krum drinking wine from the skull of the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus I, his opponent at the Battle of Pliska. Today, Khan Krum's Cellar in the Black Sea region bears his name.
Bulgaria is gradually regaining its identity as a modern wine-producing nation, discovering New terroirs, grape varieties and styles. It has yet to establish a distinctive "Bulgarian" wine style, opting instead for reliable and marketable names such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat.
These French varieties were introduced to Bulgaria in the 1960s, at the height of the communist regime, and their productivity earned them a place in many Bulgarian vineyards. They quickly replaced traditional varieties such as Kadarka (Gamza), Mavrud and Melnik.
Only two sub-regions have been officially recognized by the EU at PGI level, which is roughly equivalent to a French PGI or an Italian PGI. These are
- The Danube plains, including the northern part of the Black Sea region
- The Thracian lowlands, including the Struma valley and the southern part of the Black Sea region
In addition, there are 52 designations at PDO level (PDO/DO/DOC).
White muscat is a white grape variety of Greek origin. Present in several Mediterranean vineyards, it has several synonyms such as muscat de Die, muscat blanc and frontignac. In France, it occupies a little less than 7,000 ha out of a total of 45,000 ha worldwide. Its young shoots are downy. Its youngest leaves are shiny, bronzed and scabrous. The berries and bunches of this variety are all medium-sized. The flesh of the berries is juicy, sweet and firm. Muscat à petits grains has a second ripening period and buds early in the year. It is moderately vigorous and must be pruned short. It likes poor, stony slopes. This variety is often exposed to spring frosts. It fears mildew, wasps, grape worms, court-noué, grey rot and powdery mildew. Muscat à petits grains is used to make rosé wines and dry white wines. Orange, brown sugar, barley sugar and raisins are the known aromas of these wines.
white wines from the region of Bulgaria go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) or shellfish such as recipes of cajun jumbalaya rice, garba ( ivory coast ) or creamy risotto with scallops.
On the nose in the region of Bulgaria often reveals types of flavors of earth, tree fruit or citrus fruit and sometimes also flavors of microbio, oak or non oak.
