Did you know Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister was a huge fan of Bulgarian Wine? Bulgarian wine may not get the same love that Italian & French wines would, but Churchill was famous for ordering over 500 liters of Melnik wine each year. Now that raises some questions in the minds of wine enthusiasts, WHY??
Melnik known for its Mediterranean climate, situated 20 Kms north of Greece/Bulgaria border is home for some of finest wineries in Bulgaria. Famous for producing premium wines crafted from its very own grape, the broad leaf Melnik.
To find the answer what’s so characteristic about Melnik wines, earlier this year my wife and I flew to Bulgaria from Los Angeles, about 7000 miles across. We hopped in a rental and drove 180 Kms south from Sofia, capital of Bulgaria and arrived in beautiful Melnik. We had the opportunity to visit Villa Melnik, one of the top producers of premium wines in the region scoring 91 points and higher for their brave blends of local Melnik and international grapes.
The history of Villa Melnik is intriguing and enriching. Nikola Zikatanov, the founding father, owner and a native born in the village of Kapatovo (a stone throw distance from the winery), opened doors of his new modern Villa Melnik in 2013.
My wife and I arrived at Villa Melnik and we were greeted with warmth and love by Lyubka, the wife of Nikola Zikatanov. Lyubka and her wine master Atanas gave us the tour of their vineyard and unique winemaking process. I must say we were blown away to see the end-to-end process, the ingestion of state of the art technology, enthusiasm, courage and dedication of Villa Melnik team. Of course most favorite part was tasting of their delicious full body harmonious wines. My wife instantly fell in love with Bergule Rose, fresh and elegant rose wine with pale pink in color and dust nuances. My favorite was Rare Variety 2015 Ruen, the soul of Villa Melnik, an expressive wine with flavors of black cherry, liquorice, cigar & nuts.
We tasted many of their vintage wines. It is hard to characterize the flavors and a fabulous experience we had at Villa Melnik, all in this one post. So peeps hang in there and watch out for my upcoming postings on magical Villa Melnik. You’d love to read the story of beautiful and talented Zikatanov Family who have worked hard to encode a symbol of tradition, courage and identity in their brand in glorious Melnik.
The cover photo used in this post is taken by Victor Dimchev, a famous Bulgarian photographer, historian, traveller & explorer. Nazdrave!!(Cheers In Bulgarian)Team Villa Melnik & it was a pleasure meeting y’all🍷🥂🍇🍁🇧🇬🇺🇸
Photos: Villa Melnik Family Winery, Harsovo Bulgaria
