site.btaRaynov and Sons: Launching Three New Wines in 2025, Owner Eyes Growth in Wine Tourism and Exports

BTA will present dozens of Bulgarian wineries in the New BG WINE Leads the Way series ahead of the 9th UN Global Conference on Wine Tourism, which will be hosted in Plovdiv. The forum is organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization.

The Raynov and Sons winery in the village of Nisovo, near Ruse, plans to launch three new types of wine next year, said Dimcho Raynov, owner and managing director of the winery, in an interview with BTA. According to him, the new wines will be slightly different — fruitier variations of white, red and rosé.

Raynov and Sons is located about 30 kilometres from Ruse in the scenic Rusenski Lom Nature Park. It was established in 2006.

“We operate a completely closed production cycle, from grape growing to bottling. The winery will mark its 20th anniversary next year. It was designed according to a French model,” Raynov said.

Currently, the company owns around 80 hectares of vineyards and produces between 800,000 and 1,000,000 bottles per year, including wines packaged in bag-in-box formats. “Our main varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, blended reserves, Cabernet Franc, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gamza,” said Raynov. He added that before the COVID-19 pandemic, most of their wine was exported abroad, but now 50% is sold on the domestic market.

“Apart from the 6–7 hectares of Gamza, we’ve also introduced some more exotic varieties like Sémillon and Petit Manseng, which we use in our blends,” Raynov added.

He said that up until two years ago, the winery invested heavily in equipment, all with private funds and no participation in funding programmes. “We’ve equipped the winery with modern red wine fermenters with automated processes. For the whites, we’ve installed new vessels. We also have a new chilling plant for cooling white and rosé wines. We plan further investment in new plantations,” he shared.

Raynov and Sons recently took part in a wine exhibition in Las Vegas, where it submitted 11 different samples. “We received excellent ratings — nine of them won medals. One of our blended wines scored 95 points. Nobody expected wines from Bulgaria to get such recognition in Las Vegas, a global stage. We’re proud,” Raynov said.

“The problem is that here in Bulgaria we’re not organised enough to showcase the strength of Bulgarian wine. A few years ago at the Düsseldorf exhibition, Moldova had a 50-metre stand that radiated power and industry. Meanwhile, we from Bulgaria — despite our massive wineries and vineyard investments — were tucked behind small desks,” said Raynov.

He urged the Bulgarian government to invest in international wine exhibitions and support producers in attending.

Raynov and Sons is also investing in wine tourism. Raynov is currently renovating an old mill, built in 1925, located next to the winery. “We’re restoring the mill and will use it for wine tastings. It will also house a small museum and a shop. I hope we’ll have it ready by May next year,” he said.