Bulgarian wine?

[Dinner]

I've been told that Bulgarian wine is the new "new thing" in the wine world but I'm unable to find a local store which carries any Bulgarian made wine. Has anyone tried Bulgarian wine before? Was it any good or is this all just hype?

I recall that in the late 1990's the wine magazines were all running articles on how Croatian wine was going to explode however that never seemed to happen (at least not here in America) and instead South America and Australia seemed to be the big growth areas. Has eastern Europe's day finally come or is the wine not up to snuff?

[DanS]

I don't know anything about Bulgarian wine, but a lot of Moldovan and Georgian wine might be headed our way.

[Gangerolf]

Funny, I bought a Bulgarian red wine the other day. Aida Stambolovo. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm not expecting much from it. I bought it because it was quite cheap.

Speaking of Eastern Europe, there are some good Hungarian wines out there too. Forgot what they're called.

[Winston]

I still anticipate the day when all the wine connoisseurs of the world will realise that, when all is said and done, it's really just fermented fruit juice with fancy labels.

That said, Bulgaria

[Kropotkin]

The swedish liquorstore monopoly have been selling a bulgarian wine with the name "Sophia" for as long as I can remember. My parents used to drink it when I was a pupp back in the 80s. I'm not that much into wines, but I guess it's pretty ok for a cheap wine. Haven't drunken it for years so I can't really recall what it tasted.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Gangerolf
Funny, I bought a Bulgarian red wine the other day. Aida Stambolovo. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm not expecting much from it. I bought it because it was quite cheap.

Speaking of Eastern Europe, there are some good Hungarian wines out there too. Forgot what they're called.

Bluda is a type of Hungarian wine famout up until the ned of WW2 when it became unavailable in the west. Supposedly it was a very rich wine which was the exact color of blood thus the name.

[BlackCat]

I have tried several and they are fine but not exceptional - typically a good everyday wine.

If you have the choice between a bulgarian and a french at the same price, choose the bulgarian, it will probably be better.

There is no "bulgarian hype" here - they have been in the stores for the last 10-15 years.

[VetLegion]

I Recall That In The Late 1990's The Wine Magazines Were All Running Articles On How Croatian Wine Was Going To Explode However That Never Seemed To Happen (at Least Not Here In America)

Californian wine production was launched by a Croat!

http://www.grgich.com/html/winery.html

Whether Croat producers from Croatia got a foothold in USA is another thing - I have no idea. Supposedly we have some very fine brands here, but I'm not into wines, so I wouldn't really know.

Macedonian wines are popular here for their cost/quality ratio which is very good. Perhaps Bulgarian are in the same league, as they are geographically in the same region.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by VetLegion

I Recall That In The Late 1990's The Wine Magazines Were All Running Articles On How Croatian Wine Was Going To Explode However That Never Seemed To Happen (at Least Not Here In America)

Californian wine production was launched by a Croat!

http://www.grgich.com/html/winery.html

Whether Croat producers from Croatia got a foothold in USA is another thing - I have no idea. Supposedly we have some very fine brands here, but I'm not into wines, so I wouldn't really know.

Macedonian wines are popular here for their cost/quality ratio which is very good. Perhaps Bulgarian are in the same league, as they are geographically in the same region.

I'm sure the guy is a great wine maker who has earned his reputation but I think California's wine production goes back a bit further then 1976. In fact the Spaniards planted the first vines in the 1600's.

[Drogue]

Bulgarian red is a lot like French country wine - still old world style, but with large, round fruit flavours and lacking in the complexity of expensive, classed growth Bordeaux and Burgundy. Very cheap though. In the UK, for under a fiver, it pretty much has to be Eastern European or South American, but you can get some pretty drinkable stuff. At £6-8 you can get some very nice Eastern European wine - Romanian and Bulgarian mostly - that's as good as anything else I've found at the price. However nothing above that really.

It's been in the UK for ages, since I started looking at wine ~8 years ago or so. Have yet to see much white from there though.

Hungarian red is generally pretty ordinary, though I've seen a small amount around. Hungary is far more famous for it's sweet wine - Tokay or Tokaj, depending on language - of which decent examples (4+ puttonyos) are pretty expensive, even in Hungary. It's also quite famous for Pálinka and to a lesser extent, Unicum. Pálinka is a spirit, usually made from peach, apricot or other such fruits, and Unicum is a herbal digestif that's spirit strength - think Jagermeister.

[Sir Og]

Hungarian wines taste more like liquor. They are too sweet for my taste.
I drank some Chilean wine once but I don't remember it's name. It was deffinately better than the Hungarian wines but still not as good as top Bulgarian wines.
Even though I have no experience with French and American wines I am pretty sure that no other wines can compete with our wines in price/quality ratio.

Here is a webpage that can give you some idea of what to expect from Bulgarian wines.

http://www.bulgarianwines.org/pages.php?&name=indu_1&ParentName=indu&lng=en#txtthrace

Here you can find some wines from my region. I recommend "ORIAHOVITZA CABERNET SAUVIGNON" - Special Selection, Vintage 1994 and "OLD RED FROM ORIAHOVITZA" - Vintage 1997

I have no idea how much these would sell for in the US if they are exported there but here a bottle of these wines would cost you less than 10 euro in a restaurant and you can buy it even cheaper in stores.

[Chemical Ollie]

"Plovdiv" is a great red wine

[Heresson]

I know "Sofia" wine. It's cheap and good, i think. I recall once Bulgaria had financial problems and it wanted to pay its debts to Poland in wine. I wouldn't mind.

[Drogue]

I think Sofia wine is just wine that comes from the capital.

[Sir Og]

"Sofia" is just a trade mark for the wine as far as I know. There aren't meny wineries around Sofia. It is a metropolitan and industrial area.