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Bulgarian Wine History
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Bulgaria may be the oldest wine producing region in the world. Archaeological studies indicate
that wine was produced in this area between 6,000 B.C. and 3,000 B.C., thousands of years
before the Romans. The main livelihood of the population in the Pomorie region since times
immemorial has been vine growing and wine making. Bulgarian wines are the most popular
wines in Europe in the affordable price category. They are particularly strong in the United
Kingdom and Scandinavia. Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands also are very receptive to
them. As a matter of fact, Bulgarian wines outsell four to one other wines in the same price
range in Europe. Japan and the Pacific Rim are also showing increased interest in Bulgarian
wines.
Some interesting facts and time lines on Bulgarian Wine History:
Thracians planted the first vines on the northern and southern slopes of the Balkan
Mountains thousands of years before the Romans.
Around 500 B.C. Greek settlers arrived on the Black Sea Coast, bringing their experience
in wine preparation and providing a local wine that was considerably improved in taste and
enhanced the trade.
The Romans came to the Balkan Peninsula in the 1st Century A.D. and issued several
decrees, including the planting of vines in areas previously reserved exclusively for growing
wheat. They introduced new methods of viticulture and viniculture and skilled wine makers.
Wine production was serious business to the Romans in the 2nd Century A.D., enacting a
law demanding severe punishment for anyone caught damaging vines.
In the 4th & 5th Centuries A.D., the wine trade increased considerably when the Eastern
Roman Empire was founded with Constantinople as the capital. Clay vessels called amphorae
were used to transport large shipments of wine from Black Sea ports. Grape juice was poured
into phythos, large clay pots buried in the ground to maintain constant temperatures for
fermentation, from which the fermented product was transferred to the amphorae for shipping.
In 681 the Bulgars arrived, establishing the first Bulgarian State, and ordering vineyards
destroyed because they determined the country had a drinking problem due to the widespread
wine production.
From 1186-1241, during the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom, the Black Sea cities became centers
of lively economic activities, including the production and export of wine. The local Bulgarian
Wine is mentioned in trading books as being a sought after commodity with a well-established
reputation in western markets.
Bulgarian wine making came under increasing influence in the Middle Ages. Monasteries
and churches stored their wine in the cold cellars beneath the abbeys and priories, which
influenced the storage methods used in Bulgarian Wine.
Bulgaria fell under the rule of the Muslim Turks who outlawed drinking, but the Turks
realized the value of wine exports and continued the wine trade, introducing dessert grapes for
the production of sweet wines.
In the late 1800’s the Phylloxera root aphids destroyed vineyards throughout Europe and
invaded Bulgaria.
In 1927-1929 the first vine growing and wine making cooperative was founded. Equipment
was imported from Italy and Austria and French technology was used for production. The
cooperative sold its wine domestically and exported to Germany.
Beginning in 1947 during the Communist era, the government confiscated land and wine
production was “nationalized.” The “State Organization for the Production of Spirits” was
founded, and was later renamed “State Spirits Monopoly” in 1948. It was later called “Vinprom”
and was privatized after 1989.
In the 1960’s, scientific classification of vine growing took place and grape varieties were
assessed for their growing needs and planted in the most appropriate regions. Classic varieties
were introduced, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Ugni Blanc.
All of Bulgaria, with the exception of a small area around Sofia, is declared a wine growing area.
During the 1980’s production fluctuated as exports to the Soviet Union dropped, vines
were pulled up, and output was reduced by a quarter. Drought reduced it further, from 4.5
million hectoliters/118,881,000 U.S. gallons in 1985, to a mere 1.8 million hectoliters/47,552,400 U.
S. gallons in 1990. Bulgaria was the second largest exporter of bottled wine in the world, up to
1990.
However, the 1990 vintage was “the best in forty-five years” according to the Bulgarian
Vintners Company (B.V.C.) and rain during 1991 relieved the worst effects of the drought with
production approaching normal levels. Short harvests in the early 1990’s moved Bulgaria from
15th to about 20th in the volume league table of wine production.
Political changes have affected the structure of the industry. Following elections in the
summer of 1990 Vinprom was disbanded. Vinimpex, its export arm, survived. B.V.C., which
used to market all Bulgaria's wines in the West, now faces competition, since individual wineries
will be able to make their own direct agency deals. It has also faced the end of cheap
government loans and price controls, which helped to make Bulgarian wines so competitive on
export markets.
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