Red or White Bulgarian Wine?

You see people selling wine throughout Bulgaria from road side stalls, market stands, corner shops and tourist tat hawkers. It is cheap and generally unlabelled, available in plastic containers, and thus illegal. It is so ubiquitous that it is part of the culture and a major thorn for ‘proper’ wine producers such as The Wine Makery Club and the Medi Valley Winery. How can serious, quality wine producers convince the general Bulgarian population to spend more to upgrade to better quality wine?

This particular home-produced duo was available in Melnik, south western Bulgaria, in the southwestern Pirin Mountains. The town is an ‘architectural reserve’ with 96 of its buildings designated cultural monuments. With a population of under 400, it is the smallest city in Bulgaria.