site.btaBulgarian Wine Outlook: Smaller Harvest, Higher Quality, Rising Prices

A high-quality grape harvest is expected in Bulgaria this year, but in small quantities, Union Of Bulgarian Enologists Chair Stanimir Stoyanov told BTA. The wines will be good but at higher prices, he added.

In recent years, Bulgarian winemaking has faced increasingly significant competition from other European Union Member States, Stoyanov explained. This is also due to the structure of the industry in Bulgaria. There is a trend towards the creation and development of increasingly smaller family boutique wineries, which cannot compete strongly on foreign markets, unlike large industrial wine producers, he noted. Years ago, the country's wine production was export-oriented, but recently everyone has been competing on the domestic market, and this is likely to continue in the coming years. Large wine producers worldwide are becoming increasingly larger and competition with them is difficult, but this allows attention to be focused on quality wines and products with good added value, said the oenologist.

Wine production in Bulgaria has seen a decline in recent years, and the area covered by vineyards is shrinking, Stoyanov explained. He added that the bigger problem is related to viticulture, which is evident in difficult years such as the last few, including this one. The industry is complex, labour-intensive and it is difficult to find people who can work and produce the raw materials needed for wine production, said the oenologist. Manual labour is no longer the only requirement, because high technology is also involved, he explained. Automation has advanced, spraying is even done with drones, which requires operators with the relevant knowledge, skills and documentation.

The vineyards in Bulgaria produce grapes that are relatively expensive, and so the wine product is also produced at a high price, Stoyanov explained. This is influenced not only by the human factor, but also by climatic conditions. "This year, spring surprised us with late frosts and snowfall, which led to late spring frost damage in many places. This was followed by a dry and hot summer, similar to what we have had in recent years. This was not a big surprise, because we saw that this has been the trend lately, but nevertheless, the vineyards that cannot be irrigated are still suffering from severe droughts, leading to yield losses. Local hailstorms that hit certain vineyards are also an unpleasant factor. All these factors have led to expectations of a slightly lower harvest in terms of volume," said the oenologist.

In Bulgaria, the variety of grapes is constantly changing, Stoyanov said. "The trend of the last ten years to pay more attention to the development of our old traditional varieties is still clearly evident. This is one of the factors that may determine the future of Bulgarian winemaking. Classic international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot still account for the highest share of production, but there is now a clear need and demand for local varieties such as Mavrud, Rubin, Gamza, Varna and Vratsa Muscat," he explained.

"In recent years, there has been a significant increase in demand for white wines, and our traditional white grape varieties are highly regarded," said the oenologist. Recently, they have been a dominant sector, surpassing red wines, but there is a shortage of them. These are the various Muscat, Dimyat, and Tamyanka varieties, he explained. People are looking for them, and this determines the Bulgarian wine market. As for rosé, it is a modern niche. This type of wine is developing but maintains a stable share of about 15% of total production, and there are no clear trends for a significant increase, Stoyanov explained.