Wining your way around Plovdiv

Our wine connoisseur-in-residence Magdalena Rahn tours the wineries around Plovdiv. Come along.

Text: Magdalena Rahn

The south-central area of Bulgaria is known for its high concentration of wineries, and the fact that this is where mavrud, one of the country's top native grape varietals, calls home. These three wineries – Starosel Wine Cellar, Todoroff Wine and Spa Hotel, and Villa Vinifera – stood out for their innovative techniques and commitment to quality.


Secluded wine sanctuary

Starosel Wine Cellar
village of Starosel, Hissarya municipality
Tel (hotel): 089/ 787 09 08 [hotel@starosel.com]
Tel (wine tastings): 089/ 660 85 56

It was recommended to first visit the Thracian ritual temple at Starosel, then make my way to Starosel Wine Cellar.
They’re only two kilometres apart, but as the winery appeared first on the road, it received me beforehand. Upon first view, the facility recalls a California winery, with its white plaster facade and tile roof. Then closer, the arches and the Revival-era dcor say: only in Bulgaria.

Like the wine that Starosel produces, and in a good way, too. Wine maker Kiril Minchev showed me around the winery, which had its first harvest in 2005. Taking inspiration from the location, the hotel-winery complex makes discerning use of Thracian decorative accents, like the reproduction of the two metre-long wine trough in the inner courtyard, and the motifs on the wooden furniture. The Enoteca, too, a six metre underground sanctuary-like hall used for the ageing of barrelled and and bottled wines and for group wine tastings. The dome of the hall is of the sort that if you stand under it (and the painted image of Dionysus, the Thracian god of wine and fertility) you can hear yourself talk and it sounds funny. It’s also possible to reserve this space for parties, or to arrange for re-enactments of Thracian customs and life.
With an annual production of about 700 000 litres of wine, Minchev said that the winery focuses on red varietals like cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and whites like chardonnay and muscat. The region in which Starosel itself is located – about an hour north-east of Plovdiv – is better for growing red grapes; own vineyards supply about half the production needs.

All the stainless steel equipment is spotless, from the screw feeders to the fermentation tanks to the machines that stick the labels on the bottles. The tanks for reds are of 10 and 15 cubic metres, with the smaller ones producing more compact wines with a higher extract content – such are better for ageing and barrel fermenting. Fermentation of reds takes place in a ground-level room, with whites occupying a space below-ground, where tanks range from two to 15 cubic metres. As Minchev said, because wine grapes come from different regions, they prefer to have the possibility of fermenting in smaller tanks, as it allows more options for results.

For whatever reason, maybe because it looked like a fairytale house, the rakiya distillation room fascinated me. The 1500 litre-capacity vat is fed by a dancing and glowing wood fire.

The rooms in the hotel part are designed in a sort of streamlined rustic style, with woollen carpets on the hardwood floors, and traditional bed covers on the artistically simple bed frames – all while keeping with a sense of comfort, homeyness and class. A room for one costs 50 leva a night, while a room for two people is 60 leva. The most expensive, an apartment is 95 leva a night. In all, there are two apartments (both with fireplaces), eight single and eight double rooms, and four studios, for a total of 50 beds; prices include use of the complex’s pool and breakfast. In addition, there is a spa and fitness centre and jacuzzi (paid use), conference facilities and a traditional-style restaurant. Advanced orders can assure a lamb or pig to roast over the water-powered outdoor spit.

There are two options for wine tastings: three types of wine for 12 leva, or five types for XX leva. Either selection is is accompanied by little nibblies.

I tried the Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2007, a fresh, fruity wine with an aroma of strawberries and raspberries, and was, while offering a touch of sweetness, had a good balance of acidity. The Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon Terroir 2006 recalled red fruits, like ripe cherries and plums, while also having notes of coffee and cacao in their sweeter forms. It was easy to understand why this wine won the bronze from the European Order of Knights of Wine.

The village of Starosel itself is a bit worn, but charming. The church has a wooden belfry. While walking back to the winery a bit later, someone stopped and offered a ride. It turned out to be the town mayor, Ivan Zhoutev.

Walking into the depths of history

Starosel, a Thracian ritual site
Open: every day, 9am to 5pm (last tickets sold at 4pm)

Perhaps what struck me most about the Thracian complex at Starosel was the precision and astrological knowledge with which the temple was constructed back in the fifth or fourth century BCE. The only time that light naturally enters the cult rotunda is the winter solstice (December 22).

The actual name of the site in Bulgarian in Chetinyova Mogila (Четиньова могила), which means Chetinyova tumulus. It was discovered by archaeologist Georgi Kitov and team in 2000 and is the largest Thracian cult complex to have been found yet. Its exterior wall of more than 6000 stone blocks has a circumference of 241m and maintains a constant height of 3.5m; the mound as a whole is about 20m tall.

From the entrance to the temple, the valley pans out beneath, offering a view of what the Thracian kings of 2500 ago would have looked upon before walking up the perron. Inside the antechamber, separated from the inner sanctum by a 700kg stone door, and then the actual inner temple itself, it’s cool and dark and seems small, though they say that its 5.4m diameter is large for such an object.

Ten equidistant half columns of the Early Dorian style, each with nine flutes, line the walls of the inner sanctum, 10 being a number significant to the Thracians, the ticket-seller/guide told us. Remnants, red, grey, blue, black, of the once-coloured wall accents and cupola ceiling still can be seen, though the guide said that the paint used to be more vivid, when the temple had just been opened...

Around the back is a sort of deep (five metres) stone trough, plastered to be waterproof, that was used to hold wines – more than six tons. Wine was an important part of Thracian rites and celebrations. As in the temple, what colour remnant there once was has greatly faded, here to the point of being almost invisible.

A preserved grave, a cenotaph, is found near the temple, still on the same site. Around this there were uncovered three pits, each with the remains of a body and gifts and necessities for the after world, like dishes, gold rings, horse accoutrements and weapons.

The site is though to have been a heroon, or shrine dedicated to a hero and used for his worship. Here, the person in question was most likely the Thracian king Sitalk (also called Sitalkes), the first ruler of a united Thracian empire.
The Starosel area has, in total, 120 mogila (basically, mounds with something hidden inside, usually a grave or a temple), typically in which the elite would go through ceremonies granting them immortality.

When the Thracians decided to close down Chetinyova Mogila, which was dedicated to the cult of the sun and Bendida, the mother goddess of earth and fruitfulness, they tore down the cupola and removed all the outer dcor.

Boutique spa hotel with boutique wines

Todoroff Wine and Spa Hotel
1 General Gourko Str
Brestovitsa, Plovdiv region
Tel: 03142/ 2166 [todoroff-hotel.com]

It would be hard to miss the Todoroff Wine and Spa Hotel upon entering the village of Brestovitsa. At least a storey higher than any of the existing structures, its sunshine-yellow facade stands out from among the otherwise tile-roofed grey and beige houses. An ample private car park leaves frees guests to simply pull up, turn off the ignition and enter into the Victorian lodge-like facility in peace.

Come for the spa experience, come for simply a few relaxing or romantic days, but specifically, come for the wine. Todoroff is best known as one of the first boutique wineries in Bulgaria, brought back to life in 2001 by Ivan Todoroff from a formerly nationalised winery, which was originally started as a private enterprise by the Andonovi brothers in 1945. Their endeavours, however, only survived for two years, until 1947, before being taken over by Narodna Vlast. As part of his undertakings, Todoroff had restored the dilapidated structures and had built the present hotel, which was opened in December 2006. Total, it has 14 guest rooms (four one-bed rooms that can sleep two, two double rooms, one deluxe double room, four junior suites, and three luxury suites), a restaurant for 50, spa centre with sauna and tepidarium, wine tasting hall for 50 people, two multimedia-equipped conference halls, a mehana with space for 26 and a summer barbeque garden with seating for 30.

The cheery guest rooms – mine was a buttery yellow with poppy red bed linens – all have satellite TV and free wireless internet access. Prices range from 120 leva a night for one person in a single room, to 220 leva for one or two people in a junior suite, to 320 leva for one or two people in the President suite. Included in this cost is breakfast of your choosing at the hotel restaurant; use of the Roman/steam bath, biosauna and tepidarium; a 10 per cent discount on wines purchased at the hotel; and a tour of the grounds and guided tasting of three wines.
Because Todoroff exists due to its wines, after all.

With Nestor as guide, we took a tour of the original wine cellar, a stone building with character, where humidity is 75 per cent and temperatures do not surpass nine degrees Celsius. The annual production capacity of the winery is about 240 tons, which is fermented in stainless steel tanks at the above-ground level, and in oak barrels in the underground level. Near everything is fully automated, and completely spotless and professional. Todoroff makes three lines of wine – Gallery [made from mavrud (also spelled mavroud), cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, with the reds ageing for three to four months in oak barrels], Boutique (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, mavrud, aged for four to 12 months in oak) and Teres, named for a fifth century BCE Thracian king (special selection of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, mavrud, aged in oak for six to 10 months, after which they continue their maturation in the bottle).

About the term Gallery: from each bottle of the Gallery collection sold, Todoroff donates one lev to a fund for students of the fine arts.

The first wine in our degustation was a Cabernet Sauvignon Boutique 2006. Having the scent of red fruits, it was fresh and balanced in the mouth, complementing the toast spread with choubritsa-herbed cream cheese and topped with a shaving of fillet Elena. I should note that the tasting of three wines included in the room rate is accompanied by a selection of mezze. The second was a Todoroff Gallery mavrud 2006, smelling of freshly cut wood, nuts and stewed fruit. This was followed by a Teres Merlot 2006, which, due to the time spent in barrel, was more concentrated, recalling organic matter, leather and plum jam.

Throughout the process, Nestor explained the concept of each wine, and helped the tasters find the right vocabulary for what they were experiencing. If one would like to taste more than three wines, there is the possibility of a five-wine tasting (20 leva a person), gourmet tastings with three (20 leva) or five (30 leva) wines, which is accompanied by a fuller range of mezze; and tastings of three (44 leva) or five (50 leva) wines accompanied by a four course lunch or dinner. All these options, including the basic three-wine tasting (14 leva) are available without having to stay at the hotel.
It is recommended to make reservations for group tastings and for hotel stays at least one week ahead.

The calmness of Brestovitsa, the romantic atmosphere of the hotel, the authenticity of the cooking and the innovative spa options – wine massages and the like – keep Todoroff Wine and Spa Hotel in demand the whole year round.

The house of mavrud

Villa Vinifera
Brestovitsa, Plovdiv region
Tel: 032/ 624 011 [villavinifera.com]

The dedication to tradition that Villa Vinifera holds as its raison d’etre pays off in the quality of its wines. Here, at the small Brestovitsa facility, all wines are fermented in oak barrels – for both primary fermentation, when the glucose and fructose (the two grape sugars) are converted to alcohol by the action of natural or added yeast, and the secondary fermentation, a sort of anaerobic transformation that causes the remaining grape sugar be converted very slowly, thus increasing the alcohol content to a higher per cent and further improving the wine’s flavour and aroma.

The winery, called Misket when it was built in 1936 by Metodi Hadjiyankov, focuses on producing high-quality wines. History continued, and in 1998 it was purchased by Starho Co, in the person of Rossitsa Kyuchoukova, with its name being changed to Villa Vinifera.

When guests come to the cellar for tastings, they visit the original structures, which have since undergone renovation, all in keeping with the historicity of the place. It is nice, actually, how, in walking through the residential streets of Brestovitsa, one can unwittingly come upon such a location – from the street, it appears to simply be a gated house. Enter, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The three levels of the wine-making areas upstairs contain huge open oak vats (going up to 25 000 litres in size) for the primary fermentation, where one can witness the different stages through which grapes go through in order to become the liquid that we love; a ground-level area with somewhat smaller barrels (250 to 5180 litres) of ageing wine; and yet another storey, this underground, where wine tastings are held – also a sort of depository for bottles of wine dating back 70 years – and where wine is set to age, in barrels ranging from 1500 to 5500 hectolitres: ideal temperature and humidity.

The barrels themselves are historic – not all wines take well to new oak. But for the new ones, they come from France, or are made for Villa Vinifera by their resident cooper.

The only steel used is for testing out coupages, otherwise it’s all wood.

At their Plovdiv office, winery owner Kyuchoukova told The Sofia Echo that the cellar has an annual production capacity of about 6700 bottles, a large portion of which is set to age. She is set on making high-quality wines, focusing on Bulgarian varietals. Villa Vinifera has vines in locations around the country, as varietals like mavrud (also spelled mavroud), Melnik and gamza (also spelled gumza) have specific climatic requirements.

She also likes to try out new concepts, like making a ros? from mavrud (they were the first to do so on a commercial level in the country) or creating the rakiya aged five years with honey and 26 herbs. Kyuchoukova herself is the fifth generation of a winemaking family from the Vidin area.

The oenologist-led wine tastings at Villa Vinifera run from about 15 leva per person for a selection of three wines, or two wines and a rakiya, to about 28 leva for a degustation comprising eight types of wine and two rakiya. In this price is included transport from Plovdiv (15km north) to Brestovitsa, though this has to be arranged in advance. All options are accompanied by bread and cheeses. If one wants a fuller meal, this, too, is possible.
It is requested that arrangements are made at least one week in advance.

On the day I visited the cellar, Nedko Roussev showed me around. He said that in warmer weather, guests often makes plans and have parties there, enjoying lamb or pork spit-roasted in the courtyard while tasting the cellar’s wines. Up to 30 people can be accommodated in the inside degustation areas, and up to 120 if the gathering takes place outside.
The winery has six wine collections: King’s Wine Red (cabernet sauvignon, mavrud, merlot), King’s Wine White (chardonnay, misket, muscat), Barrel Fermented, Special Collection (Ros? from Mavrud, La Cave – a coupage of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Nuovo and Merlot Nuovo), VIP Collection (private firms can have barrels of wine set aside for their own use) and Rakiya Royal (Royal Originalle, an alluring digestif distilled with honey and 26 herbs; Royal 3, distilled from muscat grapes; Royal 5, distilled from misket and chardonnay; and Royal 7, a rakiya from misket and muscat; all are aged in oak barrels as well).

Keeping with the limited production, the winery has a welcoming, family-like atmosphere, all while maintaining the highest standards and quality.

Source: Month2Come