Touring Bulgaria’s Melnik and South Sakar Wine Regions

Touring a Wine Region in Bulgaria

If you will be in Bulgaria and you enjoy wine, taking a tour of a wine region is a great day trip or overnight trip option.

Not only is touring a wine region or regions an excellent way to gain access to and taste wines from smaller wineries you might never find otherwise but it will also take you into some beautiful parts of Bulgaria. And who doesn’t like a wine road trip?

The two regions I visited were the Melnik and Struma Valley and South Sakar wine regions. Melnik and the Struma Valley (they are lumped together as one region) are in the Southwest, only a couple of hours drive from Sofia. South Sakar is in the Southeast and is less than a couple of hours drive from Plovdiv, a tiny charming city that sits atop a recently discovered ancient Roman city. Both Melnik and South Sakar are technically located within the Thracian Valley (a very large region designation in Bulgaria).

These two regions are largely considered to be the two regions producing wines with the most potential and, as both are fairly near major cities you might already be visiting if in Bulgaria, they are well worth seeking out.

Melnik

The wineries in Melnik are a bit more developed for tourism purposes and the area is a bit easier to navigate and see all the wineries within a small amount of time as well as find a restaurant to stop for lunch at or a hotel in which to stay overnight.

The region is very hot and dry and as such, tends to produce wines that are high in alcohol. But, Bulgarians like bigger, heavier more powerful wines (at least this is still where the majority of the Bulgarian market’s palates lean currently) so although the global trend for drinking more and more white wines and Rose has started to effect the wine market here as well, big reds are still a major focus for most wineries.

In addition to bigger reds you will also fine off-dry (slightly sweet) white wines, dry white wines and rosé. Winemaking methods are increasingly modern and the grape selection is quite international (you’ll see Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, a little Pinot Noir and so on) so to pinpoint something that Melnik does much differently than other regions is difficult at first. However, there are certain grapes that are really only used in this region in Bulgaria and these grapes are very different than any others I’ve ever tasted.

The grapes are Melnik 55 and Shiroka Melnik.

Melnik 55-A hybrid of the local Shiroka Melnik and a mix of French varieties (Durif, Jurançon, Valdiguié and Cabernet Sauvignon) created in 1963 with the objective of having an earlier ripening Melnik grape. When oaked (with some new oak) this grape can make quite an inky, heavy wine. If you are a Rioja or Ribera del Duero drinker-this might be the Bulgarian grape for you.

Shiroka Melnik –Translated as ‘broad leaved’ melnik, this indigenous variety has been cultivated since ancient times in the Struma Valley. It has a red fruit-forwardness (with some baking spices or tobacco) and medium body with more subtle tannins and tar notes than Melnik 55.

Villa Melnik, Orbelus and Orbelia are some of the mostly highly recommended wineries in this region. All have their selling points-but I loved the warm welcome and effusiveness of owner Nicolay at Villa Melnik, the traditional interior of the tasting room at Orbelia and the unique barrel shaped building at Orbelus.

See my notes on more of the Bulgarian grapes and wines I sampled here.

South Sakar and Bulgarian Wine Tours

South Sakar (in what is usually called the Sakar and Eastern Rhodopes wine region) is not an area that has been developed for tourism and this is clear when you drive around the region and attempt to visit wineries. There is not a hotel nearby nor many options for good restaurants. There are a total of nine wineries in this region currently and out of those nine wineries most of the wineries are very small and some don’t have facilities to easily receive visitors. That said, this is part of the charm of the region.

South Sakar is a region in which taking a tour with a local guide or company, like Zina and Vasil of Bulgarian Wine Tours is highly recommended.

They will make the calls to the wineries for you to set up the times for your tastings and arrange for lunch to be cooked and served at one of the larger wineries while other winemakers from smaller wineries come and share their wines with you.

It is a close knit community and most winery owners and winemakers are friends who get together and taste and compare notes regularly.

On my trip to the region, I was lucky enough to meet with all of the key wineries and winemakers doing exciting things in the region as well as do barrel tastings of a lot of different wines in different types of oak. I learned so much about Bulgarian grapes and what conditions certain grapes (like Mavrud) need to reach their full potential thanks to being pulled right into the heart of the region’s winemaker community by my amazing hosts, Zina and Vasil.

South Sakar is (slowly) up and coming and the small wineries making excellent quality red wines and white wines there have been started by dedicated and passionate people who have worked for decades in the wine industry and are now finally running wineries of their own.

Villa Bassarea

Take, for instance, Iliana and Kamen of Villa Bassarea. Iliana is the winemaker at nearby Chateau Kolarovo but also runs Villa Bassarea with her husband. They’ve been working in the wine industry for 20 years and now have their own company. Like many independent non-billionaire winemakers in the New World (and Bulgaria’s wine industry much more closely resembles the New World than the Old despite the age of the country) they made wine in other people’s facilities for many years before being able to have their own space.

You can see the value they place on and the joy they feel in finally having their own winery and production facility.

The wines from Villa Bassarea (made by Kamen) as well as from Chateau Kolarovo (made by Iliana) are well balanced and elegant. From the dry, pristeen & pretty Rosés to the red blends and varietal reds these two winemakers have a knack for blending, a light touch when it come to oak and an eye for detail when it comes to sugar levels and ripeness of the grapes as well as winemaking techniques in the cellar.

Their wines are clean. No major funk or wafting aromas of barnyard meet your nostrils when you delve into a glass of the Bassarea Syrah. And, the Kolarovo Merlot and Cab Franc blend is smooth, plum & blackberry spice with structure and balanced tannins.

The fruit, the winemaking and the vessel (Bulgarian or French oak in varying levels of new versus neutral) take the stage at Bassarea and Kolarovo.

*A tasting space to host visitors at Villa Bassarea is currently in the works (next door to the winery)-but for now you can taste with owner-winemaker Kamen in the cozy barrel room inside their production facility.

Bratanov Winery

This small family owned operation is currently being run out of a rented facility though they have their own vineyards. Tanya and Hristo (husband and wife team) have brought on winemaker/eonologist Maria to make the wines and their efforts are being rewarded.

Among my favorites of the Bratanov wines were the South Sakar Hills blend (Cabernet franc, Merlot and Rubin) and their Chardonnay-Tamianka blend. Tamianka is a grape that I found to be perfumey in most instances but blending it with the Chardonnay really toned down the overt perfuminess and added a mid-palate weight (though still a crisp, refreshing lighter bodied wine) that worked really well. It is clear that these guys are not just throwing popular grapes in a barrel and checking global trends to decide what else to make or how much to oak, etc. Which is a practice all too common now-in countries trying to grab a piece of the global wine market pie.

They are really looking at what varietals work best in the terroir they have, what type of blends enhance quality, what type of oak and how much oak benefits certain wines, etc. And, most importantly-they are making what they want to drink.

Most of the Bratanov wines are made in very small quantities-often only a couple or a few barrels. So, if you get a chance to try a bottle, you are really getting something special. A taste of South Sakar.

More information on the South Sakar region:

It is a pity that there is not yet a functioning website that provides information specific to South Sakar but it is in the works!

Passionate young winemakers and South Sakar ambassadors such as Svilen Georgiev from Malkata Zvezda Winery who are determined to make this region more accessible, know that information is crucial to helping grow the reputation of their region. Information and…….a hotel/restaurant that is. And that is in the works too, on the Malkata Zvezda estate!

Give this area 10 years and I think you’ll be amazed at what you see. Like most up and coming regions it takes a lot of hard work and many years to develop not only the infrastructure in but the awareness of a region to really start attracting people and getting them to make the effort to visit and learn about the differences between regions and sub-regions.

I remember when no one had heard of Sonoma County and had only (maybe) ever heard of a place called Napa when it came to wine and vineyards in California.

Just an example of how much things can change over a decade or two!

A few Bulgarian wine region resources (in English):

Wine Folly-Get to Know Bulgarian Wines

Bulgaria Wine Tours ‘Get to Know Bulgaria’ resources

JancisRobinson.com