Wine is one of the most  famous drinks all over the world. Throughout the Bulgarian lands wine has been produced for more than 5 thousand years.

According to some educational guesses the Thracians were  the first hwo started growing grape and making wine from it. We find information in the  poems of Homer - the "Iliad" and "Odyssey", where the ancient autor talks about the tribes, inhabiting Bulgaria by that time, about their wonderful wine and their worship to the god Dyonissios as he was considered to be the patron of viticulture and wine-producing.  The paintings and images, found in the Kazanlak tomb and the Panagyurishte golden treasure proves that the wine played an  important  place in the life of the Thracians.

Wine-producing has found a wide reflection in the everyday life of the Bulgarian. A holiday without wine is unthinkable, and the holidays to celebrate in Bulgaria are numerous. The day of the viticulturist and wine-producer “Saint Triphon Zarezan”  is celebrated with special solemny. This original Bulgarian holiday takes place annually on the 14th of February. On this date the people go to the vineyards playing music. There they dance and sing Bulgarian folk songs.

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Wine can be produced by all kinds of fruits, but of course the best one is made of grape.  There are numerous sorts of grape: Chardonnay, Mavrud, Cabernet sauvignon, Unit blank, Merlo, Gamza, Dimyat.  To make really good, strong and crystal clear wine the grape should be ripe, sweet and juicy.

The technology of produsing wine used by the modern, ordinary Bulgarians is a little different  from  this used by the wine-producing factories.  First the grape grains are smashed and the juice is poured into big barrels where the grape mass is left for some 25 days. But after that time the wine is not ready yet.  Now it has to be decated and poured into the wooden barrels  again.The best  wood for a barrel is the oak.

Usually the whole family participates in  making the wine.  All the members of the family pick together the grape . Even the children can help.  And it is very interesting and exciting  event for them. Every family has its own receipe for wine. Some people prefer adding flavour .  They put dried blossom from wild vine, goose-grass, lime-blossom,  wormwood, milfoil. That is how the unique  taste and aroma is achieved. There are different kinds of wine: red , white and rose; dry,  semi-dry  and  dessert wines. The champagne is also a kind of wine.  But the ordinary Bulgarian prefers producing  red wine, using  not only one but several sorts of grape.

Here are some principles for serving wines on the table: