Top 7 destinations for wine tourism in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a destination with very favorable conditions for viticulture and winemaking. Because of its specific climate and geographic characteristics it is possible to grow a wide range of wine types.

Bulgaria has several wine regions each one of which specializes in producing specific types of wine. The warmer South produces more red wines, while the Nord is famous with its white wines.

Typical Bulgarian wine varieties such as Gamza, Dimyat, Mavrud, Red Muscat, Pamit and others are well known to connoisseurs. With the rising tourist interest to wine tasting in the country over the years many wineries started offering unique winetasting experiences.

In some ways you can even compare the wineries with famous chateaus in France or Italy. If you’re planning a wine vacation soon here are the top 10 destinations for wine tourism in Bulgaria:

Melnik – Sandanski

Along the valley of Struma river can be found the local red variety ‘the broad-leaved Melnik vine’. You can taste wine made of this variety in the regions of Melnik and Sandanski.

Kordopulova house is of special interest for many tourists. This is the biggest Revival house on the Balkan Peninsula. It is built specifically for wine producing, storage and trade. There are few wineries on the ground floor and the wine is stored in the basement with constant temperature.

There is also a Wine Museum in the center of Melnik. It hosts an authentic collection of tools, utensils, equipment and technologies for the production of wine and brandy. A qualified guide will walk you through the eras of creation of magic liquid.

The region of Pleven

The only Museum of wine in Bulgaria is located in Kayluka park, in the region of Pleven. Here visitors can learn a lot about the history of wine in Bulgarian lands as well as to taste various types of wines.

The oldest wine in the museum is almost 100 years old. It stores about 7000 wines in total. In the region of Pleven, Suhindol, Rousse can be found the typical in northwest Bulgaria Gamza wine – red wine with fresh taste and light structure.

The region of Plovdiv – Pazardzhik – Asenovgrad

Near Asenovgrad, Pazardzhik and Plovdiv grows a very old local vine variety – Mavrud. Its flavor is juicy with a dominance of ripe berries and spices. Several wineries in the region offer wine tasting with excellent quality and even a room availability.

Some of them are Dragomir Winery Estate, Bessa Valley, Todoroff Wine Cellar, etc.

Euxinograde

This was a summer residence of Knyaz Alexander I Battenberg. It is located near Varna on the north Black Sea coast. It is a nice tourist spot. Under the palace a cellar for the royal family was built. You can taste high quality white wines here and enjoy the royal atmosphere in the palace and the park nearby.

The Valley of Roses

The region around Karlovo in the Valley of Roses combines the unique specificity of the soil, climate, topography and sunlight in the area. The Balkan mountain stops the cold air masses from the Nord, making the region suitable for vine growing.

The Valley of Roses produces one of the best dry and semi-dry wines with rich fruity aroma in Bulgaria. Some of the wineries in the region are Chateau Copsa, Starosel Wine Complex, Sopot Winery and others.

Black Sea coast

There is a great opportunity to combine a beach holiday with some wine tasting. There are some great wineries not far from the Black Sea coast making it a perfect daily escape for wine lovers.

Among the most famous wineries are Chateau Medovo near Sunny Beach, Tohun Winery in Pomorie, Salla Estate near Provadia, and others.

Magura Cave

A really exotic way to taste some excellent wines offers Magura Winery. The degustations usually take place at the Bat Gallery of the Magura Cave.

The so called Bat Gallery has been utilized for decades for wines to mature in natural conditions. The history and the setting turn this wine tasting experience into a memorable journey.