Wine Tourism
Why have Bulgarian wines done so much better in the West than that
of other East European countries? One reason is that it got off
to an early start, thanks to specialization within Comecon countries,
the East European Communist counterpart to the European Economic
Community, under Krushchev during the 1950s. During the 1970s Bulgaria
successfully exploited the western predilection for Cabernet Sauvignon
(which now accounts for one in four vines), and since then it has
never looked back.
Production has fluctuated during the 1980s. As exports to the Soviet
Union dropped during this period, vines were pulled up, reducing
output by a quarter. Years of drought in the late 1980s 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. But the 1990 vintage was "the best in forty-five years"
according to the Bulgarian Vintners Company (B.V.C.). Rain during
1991 relieved the worst effects of the drought, and production approached
normal levels.
Short harvests in the early 1990s moved Bulgaria from fifteenth
to about twentieth in the volume league table of wine production.
Nevertheless, it was the second largest exporter of bottled wine
in the world up to 1990.
Of the regional designations Shumen, Varna and Targovishte in the
Eastern Region have the best track record for white wines, including
Chardonnay. Oaky Khan Krum is best known outside the country, but
Novi Pazar and Preslav also produce moderately good Chardonnays.
Suhindol, Pavlikeni and Pleven in the Northern Region are best known
for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the native Gamza, which produces
full-bodied, chunky wines that can age well. Svischtov and Lozitza
Cabernet Sauvignons are particularly rich. |
