THE HOME COUNTRY OF DIONISIY, MERRIMENT CARELESSNESS, VITALITY

The cult of Dionis originates from Thracia. He has been the god of vegetation, vineyards, wine, and unrestrained merriment – since the ancient times up to now. He embodies the live-giving power of the nature. Sanctuaries were built in his honor, remains of which there have been on our land so far. Festivities, organized in his honor, are accompanied by satyrs and Bacchantes, decorated with wine-twigs and they were distinguished for unrestraint liveliness in the thick of the woods. The legend about Orpheus connects his death with frenzied Bacchantes. Later other gods of wine appeared as Asdules, Bakhus, Liber, Trifon Zarezan, but their worship reached so large scale that one Bulgarian khan made laws against drunkenness and eradicated the vineyards.

Many folksongs sing about red wine. The past glory of the smallest town in Bulgaria – Melnik is connected exactly with the exclusive qualities of Melnic’s wine, which was so thick that it could be carried in a piece of cloth. Caravans of wineskins tailed as far as Spain.

Nowadays you can see in Melnik the biggest wood barrels for wine, built-in the rocks.

In the course of time, the festival alters, but the festival of life continues the vineyards in February and with wine traditions.

Over 30 varieties of grapes, grown in our country, are a reason for the aromatic bouquet of flavours, which our wines are remarkable for and make them ever more marketable: Cabernet, Riesling, Aligote, Tamyanka (variety of white grapes with a strong pleasant scent), Chardonnay, Dimyat, Gamza etc.

The oldest wine co-operative in our country in the town of Suhindol (since 1909) still keeps one of the first places in quality and output. The wine cellars in Lyaskovets, Pomorie, Preslav, Stambolovo, Targovishte, Ruse, Lozarevo, Damyanitsa, Slavyanovo, Karaisen and many others are in no way interior to the stated above.

Nowadays the most marketable are the wines Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay Khan Krum and Preslav, Aligote, Pamid, Misket Dimyat, Riesling, Rkatsiteli…