An Ode to the Palate

After 10 years (this September) of living in Bulgaria (alternately with Romania), I thought I knew my Bulgarian wines – at least the whites to which my metabolism still allows me access.

I had, after all, spent full weekends at the last three of Sofia’s most recent annual wine fairs (which take place in November) – and duly swilled, spat and carefully awarded my scores (out of 5.0) in the little note books with which they supply you….

Last year, indeed, I had posted the results of this courageous endeavor…..  making the distinction between my basic favourites (at just over 3 euros) and the new (slightly more expensive) vintages

But that was before I stumbled on the superb new little wine-shop Tempus Vini here in Sofia since last autumn. Kallin’s in his thirties and will shortly qualify as a sommelier – which shows, since he is the first person I’ve met in more than five decades of appreciating wine who has actually helped me understand why I get the variable impressions I do on my palate and throat when I swill, view, smell and then first hold the liquid on my tongue and then lei it trickle down the back of my teeth…..and into my throat….Quietly, with no pretensions, he offers his various explanations – which have deeply enriched my wine experience..

I’ve been able to visit his k(Aladd)in’s cave every few days since February – each time tasting about three whites, discussing the effects and then moving on to get reasons - and directions for future tastings…..all the while updating my copy of the little Catalogue of Bulgarian Wines which the KA and TA team produces annually in time for the Sofia wine fair and which carries the details of more than 150 wineries in the country…... Kallin’s policy is not to stock the wines found in the supermarkets – but he will happily find and deliver a crate for you – which he did when I recently found an amazing  Riesling/Varnenski Misket from Varna Winery (at 5 euros)

The result has been a delightful educational experience – with the drawback that each year’s harvests are always different… (last year’s wines began to come into the shop in April) and that I am becoming more daring in buying bottles at 6 euros!!

Remember that Sofia boasts quite a few of these enticing shops where you can buy regional wine in barrels and caskets – for 2 euros a litre! My favourite is one (near the Eagle Bridge) that stocks Karlovo wines – including the famous Chateau Copsa and its Karlovski Misket

At the beginning of the year I was particularly impressed with the Miskets (particularly Sandanski and Karlovski); then moved on to Muscat; Viognier; Tramin; and Dimiat; discovered the amazing Macedonian Stobi range; moved back to Moscato Bianco; and cuvees such as Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc. Last week Kallin gave us a presentation of wines from Malketa Zvezda – the Enigma range

Last night I tried a bottle with a rare blend of Chardonnay (85%) and Tamianka in the Symbiose range produced by Bratanov winery – from the same (southern) part of the country

Little wonder that when I visited my dentist yesterday, she commented on how happy I looked!

Again - it proves that independent shops offer so much more value than supermarkets! 

The charm of wine boutiques!

Markets are fascinating things – whether it's farmers harvesting and distilling grapes and distributing the bottled product to supermarkets and wine boutiques – or artists crafting their materials to delight us in galleries with their canvasses or sculptures. All the choices to be made – and the different activities and roles involved in bringing such things as wines and paintings together with customers and clients. ........Since a cycling trip through France as a teenager, I’ve always appreciated wines – but been happy until recently to settle for whatever was available cheaply in the nearest shop…

Bulgaria has made me more aware first of the scale of artistic endeavor – the annotated list of Bulgarian artists in the latest edition of Bulgarian Realists is now almost 300 (without even starting to give serious consideration to contemporary artists!) – and, now, of the scale and variety of its wines… ..

But it’s been a gradual process of learning about its wines - ever since the first stunning taste of a Targovishte Muscat at Balcik in 2002 - on our way back from a trip to the Aegean!

What has helped my education, of course, are the annual wine fairs here in Sofia – with more than 70 Bulgarian vineyards offering a sample of their wares….almost 500….and the lovely little annual catalogue of Bulgarian Wine which gives notes on a sample of those vineyards......But all that can be a bit overwhelming….

So I’ve been delighted to find these days that young Assen’s Vinoorendo has been joined by no fewer than 3 other wine shops - first Rumen’s Winebar 52, Alabin St where we had a lovely evening last week tasting 5 of the Santa Maria selection – for 5 euros

Then I stumbled across Tempus Vini at 81, Tsar Boris – open just 2 months ago and Kallin always poised with an open bottle to welcome us.

And yesterday morning I noticed Enjoy Wine 19, Ivan Shishman st - whose Ivo welcomed us not only with amusing quips but with a couple of tastings. 

Most of Kallin’s wine stock is Bulgarian – and the same is true of Enjoy Wine (which organizes not only wine tastings but trips to vineyards)

If you have money, it’s not difficult to part with it in such places – as the owners share their information and passion for the various bottles on offer!

While googling about the idea of wine markets, I came across this superb blog by a Prof of Political Economy who clearly takes his wines seriously – while making the whole subject of the wine market fascinating….. 

Sofia's Annual Wine Fair

My fourth annual Bulgarian wine fair this past weekend in Sofia and what a feast if not feat!!

More than 200 wines tasted by yours truly in 3 days. And a hugely popular event as you can see from the pics.
I'm not prepared these days to pay more than 5 euros for a very good Balkan wine and twelve wineries caught my palate for their "best value" wines. Plus half a dozen old favourites........I've selected them by Region...................

Danube Region

Bononia – this was the first year’s tasting for this new Vidin vineyard, Their Istar Sauvignon and Traminer were amongst the best – for 5 euros.

Gulbanis winery is actually nearer Veliko Tarnovo and offers several award-winning whites – particularly the Moscata Bianco 2015, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay – all for 4 euros

Black Sea

BOY AR from Pomorie whose Dimyiat was only 3 euros.

Dives winery is also at Pomorie and had a Sauvignon as well as a Muscat and CS rose – all for 4 euros

This was also the price of the Miskets, Pinos Gris and Gruner Veltliners from Varna Winery

The Zelanos whites from its winery just outside Burgas were a bit pricier at 7 euros

Eastern Thrace

"Angel’s estate" wines offer a great SB and Chardonnay for 4 euros

Domain Marash is near Yambol and offered a lovely Muscat at just under 5 euros; and a tasty CS rose for 5 euros

villa Yambol had a great Muscat for only 3 euros; and a CS rose for only 2.5 euros!!

Sakar

The Malkata Zvezda vineyard is in the Rhodopes near the Greek border and offered a Traminer; Chardonnay and Rose each for 5 euros.

Western Thrace

Karabunar operates near Plovdiv and, in what they called the Bulgarian Heritage Original Collection, offered a Misket; a Dimyat and Mavrud Rose – each for 5 euros….

Zagreus also has its vineyard near Plovdiv but offers organic wines at great prices – white Mavrud; rose Mavrud at 3.5 euros each ,

Struma Valley

Zlaten Rozhen has its vineyards at Melnik and its Sandanski Misket has become a favourite of mine (5 euros); at the fair I had my first taste of its Chardonnay and Viognier – also 5 euros

old favourites

Black Sea Gold – Pentagram, Ponti 3.5 euros

Ethno – 3 euros

St Ilia (Sliven) – 3.5 euros

Targovishte (centre) – 3.5 euros

Santa Maria (south-east) – 4/5 euros

Here's last year's notes by way of comparison......and 2013

On resilience; and wines and painters from Pazardzhik

So much happening – the continuing human and political crisis of the ongoing wave of immigration to Europe’s shores; the Panama Papers and its political fallout in Britain – not least on the Brexit vote; the last remnants of the steel industry being sacrificed in Britain to the neo-liberal God…..and all I  do is wallaw in self-pity from the facial discomfort of the past 2 months!!

I know our various worlds have always been governed by cycles of gloom and bravado but, somehow, in the past half-century, social “expectations” seem to have experienced a tectonic shift – such as to have made us incapable of dealing with a world that is in decline….

A few years back, there was extensive talk of “resilience” – the social capacity to deal effectively with crises….why some communities seem to have this….and others don’t. Sad that this concept seems to have gone the way of all fads…Or is it perhaps that we have simply become overwhelmed with the notion of “Crisis”???

Bulgaria is a society which, at first sight, seems to have avoided the temptations of debt-driven modernisation….even in Sofia most people eke out a living – and one-person businesses seem to be the norm. A wine-tasting in young Asen’s little Vina Orrenda (at the Russian Monument) offers a real social occasion in such a modest society and I was glad to have made the trip last Thursday. Not just for the excellent taste of the Riverside range of wines being offered by the Manistira winery (3 whites; a Rose; and 2 Mavruds) but for the easy conversation which flowed between us. The left part of my face is still semi-frozen and I therefore have problems tasting – but I coped manfully!

It was the first time I had attended a group wine-tasting – and I appreciated the ceremonial aspects as Asen and a young lady first introduced the winery and the wines and Asen then poured us our respective samples…

It was also nice to be approached by one guest and be asked for my opinion on the wines….and to have the chance to speak to the 2 young ladies representing the winery (who remembered me apparently from the November wine-tasting!). It's in a village near Pazardzhik and I suggested they might put Pazardzhik’s most famous painter on one of their etiquettes – Stoian Vassilev. He was a prolific painter (the local museum is reputed to have some 5000 of his paintings and sketches). I have 4 of his - the first being very untypical. The second is more typical of his style......

Yes to Yustina Wines

Despite my 7 years’ appreciation of Bulgarian wines, I’ve only once actually visited a Bulgarian winery – and there are apparently 150 of them in this small country according to the latest issue of the small gem which is the Bulgarian wine bible - the Catalogue of Bulgarian Wine (by T Tanovska and K Iontcheva - annual).

I had almost made it to the HQ of one of the Russe vineyards but last week offered an opportunity since I was visiting Pazardzhik on the edge of some of the great wineries around Plovdiv - which stretch up to Sliven and Stara Zagora…I selected three – two in the famous wine village of Brestovitsa (site of my sole effort so far) and one in a neighbouring village of Yustina. The selection was done in consultation with my young wine merchant, Asen, who has a marvellous little shop Vinoorenda at the Russian Monument.

To reach the villages from the main Sofia highway, you take the signpost for Asenovograd at the Plovdiv roundabout and turn right when Brestovitsa is signposted. We were heading first for Villa Vinofera whose Muscat Bianco had caught my fancy – the premises looked interesting but seemed lifeless…eventually a couple responded to the bell but looked bewildered by our request for degustation and purchases…..

The atmosphere in the spa hotel of Todoroff – the village’s most famous winery – was not much more welcoming and we decided to pass the opportunity they gave us for wine tasting (at a price) – as well as what we felt would be an uninspiring lunch. I left Bulgaria’s “village of wine” in some dudgeon……

An excellent lunch in a village pub en route restored our good spirits…

And third time was lucky as we rolled through the gates of Villa Yustina into a spacious cobbled courtyard with two superbly crafted stone building complexes on two sides. One was a beautifully-designed set of open offices – with guest, storage and tasting facilities – and a friendly welcome.

A few minutes later we were being shown with great pride the modern (wine) reception, bottling and dispatching facility. It was my first glimpse of this process and, as the owner branched out in 2006 from his main business of metal containers, it’s clear that he sees this winery’s facilities as a shining marketing tool to demonstrate the superiority of that produce range – let alone the wines themselves……

Our guide did the Bulgarian education system proud…..in her early 20s, Elena had the sort of poise, enthusiasm and humour you need for such a job…Just completing her education at Plovdiv’s Food Technology College, she makes a point of visiting Bulgaria’s various wineries and therefore speaks with an obvious note of confidence when she sings the praises of the Yustina wines – which I got to taste in the coolness of a large, tastefully-designed (excuse the pun) room….I left with a box of its white Cuvee (4 euros)   
Apparently the winery also organises "food-matching" evenings.....obviously one stays over for those!!

While writing this post I came across this comment from the 2013 DiVino wine tasting in Sofia -

Two stalls left the greatest impression - Villa Yustina (established only in 2006 and located in a village in the Rhodopes foothills near Plovdiv) by virtue of the enthusiastic and helpful approach of their sales guy Vencislav Lyubenov. And the stall of the well known Katarzyna Estate (located on the Greek/Turkish border) - by virtue of it being the only one whose staff (women) were encouraging feedback from their customers.

So, full marks for consistency!

A Hard Day's Night

Bulgaria is famous for its red wines – I remember first coming across them in the Glasgow Oddbins in the 1970s and, lo indeed, 40 out of the 50 best wines recommended in the Bulgaria’s magic little annual “Divino Guide” are red.

But it was their white wines which were the great discovery for me when I first motored through Bulgaria in 2002 on the way to Turkey. I was quite stunned by first the crispness of the vastly underrated Targovishte Muscat (which rightly won a bronze medal in a Paris fair a couple of years back) and then by the sheer variety I was encountering.

Now my palate (and body) reject red wines – apart from those from the Melnik area and the Struma valley which crosses the border with Greece

But there were still more than 100 varieties of white on offer at the 2015 tasting of Bulgarian wines which took place a week ago at the Narodni Dom Kulturna (I always confuse it with NKD – which my young Bulgarian friends tell me is proof that I was a spy!).

That’s quite a slog for one day – so it was very early to bed that evening. Sunday was for the roses (the liquid variety) – fewer in number so I was able to emerge after a couple of hours with a clear head and an even greater commitment to their whites….  I had missed last year’s tasting but had been sober enough in 2013 to keep some notes of how I marked the whites

To prepare for the 2015 tasting I had pulled out and checked the scribbles on my copy of the great little Catalogue of Bulgarian Wine (by T Tanovska and K Iontcheva - annual) which I use to record my impressions. The Wine Routes of Bulgaria (Vina Zona 2014) is also a nice little – if less technical – profile of 64 of the good Bulgaria vineyards. No fewer than 66 vineyards were presenting on 20-22 November – which means about 400 bottles were waiting to be tasted!!

Six wineries battled it out for my palate’s favour this year

Marvin’s Traminer (6 euros) is from a vineyard in the Sliven area (in the centre of the country) - an area whose wines were the first to make an impression on me some years ago

Boi and AR Pomorie  had a great Chardonnay and Viognier (6 euros). Pomorie at the Black Sea has some of the best white wines - but this particular winery was new to me….

Domaine Menada –  had a winner (Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) for only 3.50 euros! A long established winery – near Stara Zagora in the middle of the country

Edoardo Miroglio – (a Chardonnay Barrique) – Sliven area again….

Villa Yustina is in the foothills of the Rhodope mountains near Plovdiv  and had a lovelyTraminer for 3 euros

Santa Maria at the moment is my favourite winery – in the south of the country near the Greek border – and offers two white wines (Sauvignon Blanc; and a Chardonnay - 4 euros) which won great applause at my own home wine tasting earlier in the month

Seven jostled closely behind -

Chateau Bourgozone - a favourite of mine on the western part of the Danube stretch – actually had 2 wines which caught my fancy – a Sauvigon Blanc; and a Chardonnay Barrique.

Levent – also on the Danube – had a wonderful Traminer/Miskat from the Russe wine house

Eolis - from the southern borderregion - had a lovely Gewurztraminer

Alexandra Estate – Vermentino (Sakar Region). a new grape for me

Four Friends vineyard is in the central region, near Stara Zagora and had a great Sauvignon Blanc (6 euros)

Neragora is a new organic vineyard in the Plovdiv area (receiving Italian help). Their Chardonnay and Misket was very acceptable

Todoroff – two of their wines pleased me - Rainbow Green (Muscat and Aligote); and Rainbow Silver (Cuve – SB and Chardonnay with some Viognier). Todoroff are in the amazing village of Brestovitsa (boasting 7 vineyards) very near Plovdiv

And, finally, four which didn’t score quite so high but which deserve a mention -

Levent – Riesling (5 euros)

Zelanos – Pino Gris (7 euros)

Saedinenie – Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier

Villa Yambol – Chardonnay (2.5 euros!)

Favourite Vineyards in south-east - Bratanov; Milidare; Medi Valley; Katarzyna;

Favourite Vineyards in south - Strymon; Villa Melnik

Favourite Vineyards at Black Sea Black Sea Gold; Ethno – in a village near Burgas on the Black Sea near the border with Turkey; and Slavyansti - ditto

Central - Targovishte winery; Starosel; Vinprom Yambol

The things I do for science!!!

Bulgarian Whites

Perhaps understandably, I failed to mention the annual 2 day Bulgarian wine fair I attended 2 weekends ago here in Sofia. 
It was hard work – and required a rest afterwards! For 10 euros I had a 2-day pass and more than 200 wines to taste. 
I did my best on the Saturday – the white and rose day - but found red Sunday a bit of a slog – with my pallet and tongue fairly quickly getting badly coated!

For some reason, I decided to score the wines out of 6.0 and the white wines I appreciated came out as follows -

• Lovica - Chardonnay (6 levs!) 4.5 out of 6.0
• LV - Colombard (5 levs! and 4.5 score) and Sauvignon Blanc (SB)
• Black Sea Gold - Muscat El Mar (6 levs) - find of the day! Salty Hills Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (15 levs) - one of the best (Silver medal)
• Minkov - Rheinriesling 
• Katarzyna - SB (4.2)
• Marvin - Viognier and Chardonnay and Viognier - both 4.5s in my scoring
• Villa Yustina - Blanc Cuvee (8 levs)
• Zagreus - white Mavrud - 4.5 on my scoring
• Medi Valley - Chardonnay Incanto (4.9!!) 18 levs and Chardonnay and Viognier
• No Man's Land 600 SB  12 levs
• Kapatovo - Chardonnay and Viognier 4.5 (18 levs) 

On Sunday, the only wine which impressed me was the Ethno range of wines. They are from the Sungurlare valley near Burgas on the Black Sea and the Chardonnay I am now drinking (3 euros) got a silver medal (in the 2013 "Chardonnays of the World" somewhere). How do they do it??

Tomorrow I will try to find some specimens of all these wines in the CaseVino chain - the Bulgarian version of Oddbins – and subject them in the next week to some tough tasting and testing. 
No rest for the conscientious!!

The photo is of the wine museum in Sungurlare village - the wine area very near Burgas