In the Middle ages the greater part of the vineyards in Bulgaria were possession of the monasteries.

The wine making tradition continued during the ruling of the Ottoman Empire when the cult to the wine overruled the strict Islamic canons.

In 1978 Bulgaria was recognized as the fourth largest wine producer in the World.

Bulgaria produces typically Bulgarian wine sorts which are of international quality (White Misket, Tamianka, Dimyat, Red Misket, Mavrud, Melnik, Gamza, Pamid) apart from the well-known European sorts of wine (Aligote, Muskat Ottonel, Rkatziteli, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Chardonnay, Ugni Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pino Noir).

The wine and culinary taste sessions in the tourist programs and special wine tours give you the opportunity to travel in the wine regions of Bulgaria and taste the variety of high-quality wines produced of Bulgarian grapes and in Bulgarian wineries, to taste the traditional Bulgarian meals and to enjoy wine with a tasty ecologically pure food.

On a wine taste session several sorts of wine are tasted - white and red wines and sometimes 1 or 2 rakiya brands (if produced in the same winery) accompanied by the right appetizers. Experienced specialists tell the story of the winery, the production technology, the characteristics and the qualities of the produced wine and give advices to new wine tasters. Some tourist packages include lunch or dinner and folklore program and demonstration of traditional Bulgarian crafts.

The Bulgarian cuisine pretends to have given the patent to many Balkan specialities but at the same time has learned from the experience of the neighbours. The influence of the Orient is indisputable including the influence of Austria and Hungary as well as of the Mediterranean. The traditional cuisine is specific for the different geographic and ethnographic regions depending on the local food and customs.

Bulgarians have learned from experience to make heavy food like stews, gyuvetch (hotchpotch), fatty and spicy meat easy digestible using parsley, savoury, mint, dill and eating them with vitamin rich salads made of turnip, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, fresh peppers, carrots, onion and garlic. This generous use of vegetables and aromatic spices and herbs is one of the peculiarities of the Bulgarian cuisine.

As to methods of preparation - since times immemorial the Bulgarians have favoured stewing, roasting, boiling and the earthenware dish. The roasting of food on charcoal embers is also widespread, leaving the meat deliciously tender and succulant. Watch our Bulgarian Cuisine Impressions virtual tour (video clip, 02:14).

The Bulgarian culinary abounds in delicious specialities, exotic dishes and other temptations well worth trying. Tasty, spicy and varied, the Bulgarian cuisine goes well with good wine.

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