site.btaRomanian Wines Less Familiar to Bulgarians but Well Received - Wine Expert

Romanian wines are less familiar to Bulgarians, but they are well received, BTA learned from Anelia Hristova, a certified wine expert and tour guide, as well as a member of the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals. On Friday, she organized yet another Romanian wine tasting event in Ruse.

The idea for such an event was sparked by master classes organized in September 2025 during the wine festival in Ruse, when Hristova and her Romanian colleague presented opportunities for wine tourism in Bulgaria and Romania as well as for presenting common products.

Hristova held the first presentation of Romanian wines on December 1, Romania's national holiday. "The wines we tasted impressed us with their quality and were from local varieties and wineries that I had the pleasure of visiting recently," she told BTA. 

She noted that Romanians travel more to Bulgaria, are interested in and consume Bulgarian wines, while Romanian wines are quite unknown to Bulgarians.

"Nevertheless, Romanian wines are appreciated for their taste, quality, and the history behind them. There is also interest in the wineries themselves as places that we are just discovering. Bulgarians are pleasantly surprised by the quality. This was also the case with Bulgarian wines, which were approached with reserve, based on mass production during socialism... At some point, when tasting such wines, this view is reversed, i.e. people are pleasantly surprised by what they taste," Hristova added.

Traditionally, this month she also organizes creative workshops, quizzes, and events to present wines from various regional Bulgarian wineries.