Wine culture has been thriving in Bulgaria, with more and more locations and events drawing a growing number of wine lovers and boosting interest in wine tourism.

Demand in wine tasting has gone up significantly in 2024, weekend advance bookings for the period around Christmas and the New Year having started as early as autumn, explains enologist Krassimira Kodukova from one of the most popular wine tourism platforms in this country, in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. People are now better informed, and what they are looking for is high-quality wine and an authentic experience, combining a visit to a wine cellar with gastronomy and getting to know local landmarks and traditions. 

In the winter months, tasting aged, full-bodied wines in a cozy wine cellar, often with traditional food, creates an atmosphere to be remembered. As it turns out, the winning combination this season is wine and spa.

“The most popular locations in winter are the places that offer wine and spa, as well as adventures. The winter landscapes and the cold tend to draw people’s minds to warm spa procedures and to getting to know the local wines,” says Krassimira Kodukova and adds:

“In Bulgaria there are about 10 such destinations where a wine cellar, which makes wine out of its own vineyards, also offers accommodation plus spa. Some of these destinations are located in regions where there is mineral water – like Sandanski, for example. There are others that might not be able to take advantage of mineral water, but they do offer additional experiences. For example, there is a wonderful spot in Gotse Delchev where you can combine a visit to a wine cellar with a tasting room, with a great restaurant and spa procedures with grape seed extract. 

So that if you are not into wine all that much, the other adventures will draw visitors and they will get to know the local wine traditions. There is a very nice wine and spa destination in Tryavna with its own wine cellar and a higher class hotel with a spa pool with procedures. A winery in Glavan village in the southern Sakar mountain, though not quite so luxurious, also offers an experience of this kind, as do other locations around the country.”

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But wine tourism is more than wine, spa and accommodation. If the winery is near historical landmarks this makes it more popular compared to wine cellars which only offer wine, or wine and spa, says Krassimira Kodukova.

“There are more than 350 wine cellars in Bulgaria, and at least 150 of them make high-quality wine, fully capable of competing with foreign wines. We have more than 100 wineries which have tasting rooms, or which offer wine tasting without accommodation. These wine cellars are open to tourists all the year round with advance booking. One of the things that are different in Bulgaria, compared to countries with advanced wine tourism, is that here, when you go to a wine cellar you may well be welcomed and walked through the entire wine experience by the owners or the technologists themselves. 

This personal touch shows they do not regard visitors as ordinary customers, but as their personal guests. This is something many foreign tourists we send on a wine adventure in Bulgaria highly appreciate,” says Krassimira Kodukova.

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Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: winetours.bg, Reuters, Freepik.com