Belogradets winery was founded in 2011. Bulgaria’s wineries began just recently to invest in new vineyards, whereas we followed a different route – our winery was built to accommodate the 120 hectares of vineyards we planted in the period 2006 - 2008. Belogradets’s vineyards are located on the southern and south-western slopes of the Novopazarsko plateau - in the village Belogradets, about 45 km from the port city Varna and the Black Sea.
The perfect conditions for growing grapes in our vineyard combine the unique climate of the Danube valley, the closeness to the sea and the right exposure to the sun – all contributing to the unique soil formation /terroir/. We in fact continued an ancient tradition of growing grapes in this region – there are two Thracian tombs found near the vineyards, where archaeologists have found artifacts showing that even 2000 years ago, ancient Thracians were cultivating vineyards and producing wine at this location. We see the reasons today – there are just few other place in northern Bulgaria, where red varieties ripe so well, while white varieties fully develop their character without losing their freshness.
This allows us to grow a relatively wide range of grapes in Belogradets - White Chardonnay, Muscat, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Bulgarian Dimyat represent our whites. Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Malbec represent our reds. In around two years from now, we intend to offer a type wine of unknown variety in our modern days – an ancient local vine, found near the Tatul village, located in the Bulgarian Rhodopi Mountains close to the historical site of Perperikon. This type of vine is over 3,000 years old and is currently in the process of revival in our vineyards.
Vines of each variety were imported directly from their homeland. Gewürztraminer and German Riesling came from the Rhine in Germany. Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec were supplied by prestigious French vine nurseries Guillaume and Mercier. Regardless of the fruitfulness of the variety during the ripe period, we strictly follow a high standard for regulating the harvest to around 4500 to 5000 kg/hectare.
Our winery currently has an annual capacity of 530 000 bottles. In addition to red and white wines, our award wining technologist creates lovely rose of red Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinot Noir.