In honour of the state visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev last week we bring a special feature on their wines. Bulgarian wines are a jigsaw of modern attitude and antique history says Dr. Elissaveta Velianova, our guest writer from Bulgaria .

Bulgaria has had an antique history of wine:

Bulgarian wines are known to many wine aficionados. But behind the contemporary image remains hidden centuries-old winemaking tradition. The winemaking history of the country dates back to ancient time - the Thracian tribes, which populated the territory of contemporary Bulgaria, grew grapes some four thousand years ago. Indeed, Homer praised the wines of the ancient Thrace in the Iliad and the Odyssey. During the ancient times Bulgaria was a melting pot for Thracians, Slavonic and Protobulgarian tribes, Greeks and Romans. The latter two also contributed to the advances in viti- and viniculture by introducing new techniques and expanding the area under vine. Wine was further integrated into the daily life of medieval Bulgaria.

The first mention of a grape variety was in a legend that has survived to present days. The 'Mavrud' legend probably dates back to the time of the Bulgarian ruler, Khan Krum in the nineth century. Mavrud is an indigenous variety which was named after a youth who was brave enough to ignore the Khan's recently introduced wine prohibition order. Mavrud drank wine, made from a secretly kept vine. It gave him the strength and courage to capture a lion that roamed free after escaping from the Khan's palace. His bravery convinced the ruler that wine should be cherished and the grateful citizens named the variety Mavrud.

Winemaking not only survived the 5- century Ottoman rule (end of IV-XIX century) but notes of merchants, travellers and, later on, Western journalists and diplomats mentioned wines of different regions and incorporated comments on their qualities.

Phylloxera hit Bulgaria too:

The Phylloxera that struck Europe in the nineteenth century did not spare Bulgaria's vineyards either. However, this disaster acted as an incentive for the growers who introduced new varieties, disease-resistant stocks. At the time, growers started to co-operate to improve their access to finance and technology.

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