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Dunavska Ravnina

One of the wine-growing regions (Danube plain) in Bulgaria; see there.

The Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България) in south-east Europe with the capital Sofia covers 110,994 km². It occupies most of the eastern Balkan Peninsula and borders Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. The state is divided into 28 provinces.

Bulgarien - Landkarte, Flagge und Wappen

History

Bulgaria is one of the countries with the oldest wine-growing tradition in Europe. Based on archaeological finds and traditional texts, the origins on the territory of today's state point to a beginning as early as 5,000 years ago. Thracian tribes to the north and south of the Balkan Mountains cultivated wild vines and practised a pronounced cult in honour of the wine god Dionysus. The Thracians are credited with cultivating the oldest Bulgarian grape varieties and their ancestors such as Mavrud, Pamid, Dimyat, Melnik (Shiroka Melnishka) and Gamza (Kadarka). At the time of the Roman Empire, wine from Thrace was a sought-after export to Greece, Sicily, Asia Minor (Anatolia, Turkey) and Egypt.

Viticulture reached its peak in the Middle Ages thanks to the monasteries with their extensive vineyards. In 1393, the Bulgarian Empire was conquered by the Ottomans and remained under Islamic rule for 500 years until 1878. Only the production of table grapes was permitted. The ban on alcohol led to a serious threat to viticulture. The fact that a wine law was passed immediately after Ottoman rule in 1879, even before a constitution was passed, shows how important viticulture was considered by the state. However, viticulture was only resumed on a larger scale after the First World War and was exclusively practised by small winegrowers with autochthonous varieties.

Viticulture in the modern era

After the Second World War, wine production was gradually industrialised during the years of socialism. A collective system was introduced, viticultural schools were founded and European grape varieties were planted. In the 1960s, Bulgaria developed into a major wine exporting country. Until the 1960s, the largest quantities of wine were made from traditional varieties. Temperature-controlled fermentation tanks were the exception rather than the rule. As the wine industry became export-orientated, the proportion of domestic varieties increased. This, together with the introduction of high vine training and more modern cellar technology, led to major export successes.

The political change in 1989 led to a rethink. In 1990, the state winegrowing monopoly VINPROM was dissolved and most of the businesses privatised. This came as a surprise to the new owners, many of whom had no knowledge of viticulture. From 2000 onwards, however, things started to look up. Since then, the focus has been on quality rather than quantity. Many family wineries were established. In addition, the excellent wine-growing conditions attracted many foreign investors to Bulgaria. Accession to the EU in 2007 opened up good sales prospects on the European market. The simultaneous loss of other markets (Russia, North Africa) increased the quality of the wine.

Wine-growing regions

There are five wine-growing regions, shown in colour on the map, which are divided into sub-regions....

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Thomas Götz

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