site.btaWine Complex Offers Some 20 Wine Types, Focuses on Local Grape Varieties

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.

Equipped with state-of-the-art high-tech facilities from foreign and Bulgarian companies, the ChaTony Winery near the northwestern village of Darmantsi offers around 20 types of white, red and rosé wines in various sizes, one of the owners, Nadezhda Yordanova, told BTA. According to her, their newest products are Tamyanka white wine and Merlot red wine, in 375 ml bottles. 

The first sod of the wine complex was turned in 2019 with the intention of building a base that would be an example of modern wine production in Bulgaria. The complex consists of two parts - a winery and a hotel, where, in addition to producing quality wines, wine tourism can also be developed.

"In 2020, we planted the first 10 hectares of vineyards, focusing on Muscat Ottonel, Chardonnay Rosé and Chardonnay Bianco. This year, we are harvesting for the second year. In 2021, we put the winery into operation, marking the beginning of our wine history. That is when our first wine was produced," explained Yordanova.

Currently, the winery also uses grapes from other producers, but only after preliminary quality analysis in its own laboratory. The processing capacity of the facilities is about 500 tonnes of grapes per year. The winery also has a special room where the best wines are aged in oak barrels. The bottling line is automated and has a capacity of 1,500 bottles per hour. 

"This love for wine came after we became owners of a hydroelectric power plant in Southern Bulgaria, in the Sandanski area. When we went and tried their wines, my husband Tony Yordanov decided to take up a small winery as a hobby, which turned into this large enterprise," said Yordanova.

Currently, wine lovers can enjoy a wine tour of the complex, which tells the story of the wine and ends with a VIP tasting of a glass of wine and a specially selected delicacy.

According to Yordanova, there is a noticeable increase in demand for white wines of the Vrachanski Misket, Tamyanka and, more recently, Muscat Ottonel varieties. These are some of ChaTony Winery's most popular wines, along with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, she said.

"We want people to recognise the wines from this region, so we focus on local varieties, explained Lalo Geshev, the oenologist at the winery. According to him, because of what this Balkan micro-region has to offer, the wines from the cellar are characterised by greater freshness, better acidity, the red wines are softer, and the rosés are more drinkable and balanced.  

"For me, the most important thing is that people can recognise the wines from our region, so that when they hear "Northwest”, they think of the wines of ChaTony. The area is more white than red. Our white wines are made from the characteristic Vrachanski Misket, Tamyanka, Muscat Ottonel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer. Rosé wines are made from Shiroka Melniska Loza, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. Red wines in the classic varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Mavrud - from local varieties and for Cabernet Franc, we experiment with Pinot Noir. This is the varietal structure of the wines we produce, as we strive to cover the market with both pure varietals and blends," said Geshev.

He makes no secret of the fact that all the products offered by the winery are his favourites, but he also has his preferences - among the red wines, he prefers Syrah, and among the whites, Vrachanski Misket. "Over the years, I had never encountered it either as a variety or as a wine. In Bulgaria, we have many varieties of aromatic Muscat/Misket wines - Sandanski Misket, Vrachanski, Varnenski, Karlovski, Brezovski, Sungurlanski. But Vrachanski is very specific because, of almost all the varieties I listed, it has this balance between aroma, which is unobtrusive, as in Muscat Ottonel, for example, and the acidity and body of the wine itself," explained the oenologist, adding that their Vrachanski Misket is good as an aperitif, with food, and even as a digestif.  

Geshev explained that at this stage, the winery wants to focus on what it is currently producing, because wine is the slowest-moving agricultural product: "It requires persistence and consistency over the years. The cycle from the vineyard, through winemaking, sales and consumption by the customer usually takes between two and five years.

"We want to promote what we do, but we also experiment, of course. At the moment, for example, we are experimenting with a Riesling and focusing on local varieties. We talk to our colleagues about how, over the last 40-50 years, or even more, we have lost the identity of the individual regions in the country. That is why we now need to rebuild this identity. It is best for a person to first stand firmly on their own ground and then develop," said Geshev.

ChaTony wines can be found in various outlets in Northwestern Bulgaria, Sofia, Plovdiv and Pirdop, as well as in the winery's online store. Although it has only been on the market for a few years, the ChaTony Winery has won many awards. In the last exhibition it participated in - the 2025 Balkan International Wine Competition in Naoussa, Greece - it won four awards.