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I remember my father told me that in his student years he liked one girl, but she was unavailable as a star. Her family had just returned from the Czech Republic, where dad served for some time, so the beauty showed off clothes and cosmetics that were inaccessible to most fellow students.
And at one of the parties, my father managed to get a Beatles record and two bottles of Bulgarian wine. Is it necessary to say that that evening he was the conqueror of all women’s hearts?
Where and from what were these wines made?
Bulgaria is a country with a warm mild climate, which is ideal for winemaking. Therefore, wine has been produced here since antiquity. And in Soviet times, the country began to supply inexpensive wines to Soviet Russia and other republics of the union.
Most of the grapes were grown here and are still cultivated in the Danube Plain and the Black Sea region, where winemaking is very developed.
In Bulgaria, red grape varieties with rich dark color and bright taste have always had advantages:
- Cabernet Sauvignon;
- Melnik;
- Gamzu;
- Merlot;
- Mavrud and others.
White grape varieties are less popular because their quality is not as consistent. And yet they were also grown in Bulgaria:
- Muscat Blanc;
- Misket;
- Dimyat;
- Chardonnay;
- Gewürztraminer.
Wines were rarely blended, more often 1 grape variety was used for production. Local producers processed up to 90 percent of all grown grapes into wine. This happened in factories, some of which remained from pre-revolutionary times with old equipment.
However, most of them were built already during the time of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
Products came to Soviet Russia in the form of finished wine and as wine materials, which were later used for production by domestic factories. There were a lot of privately produced wines in the country, but they did not go on free sale.
If one of the Soviet citizens managed to get a ticket to the seaside resorts of Bulgaria, then one could buy a bottle, or even two, from local residents.
Collectible wine, namely the wine of the Bulgarian People’s Republic has now become such, requires special storage conditions.
How much did Bulgarian wines cost, were they popular
Bulgarian wines belonged rather to the middle price category. They were much more expensive than various tinctures and even some ports and blocked the price of Georgian wines. However, for the majority of Soviet citizens were available.
So, “Golden Autumn” cost about 1,15 rubles, “Solntsedar” with a light refreshing taste and fruity notes – 1,25.
They were more popular among the intelligentsia and young women. The wines are not very strong, pleasant to the taste. The father says that they drank them more for pleasure, and not for the result.
These names are familiar to every Soviet citizen.
It was such a kind of replacement for French and Italian wines that were inaccessible to ordinary people. On holidays, a bottle of Bulgarian wine was a sign of prosperity.
Such specimens were especially valued after Prohibition, when Bulgarian winemaking was hardly recovering after the embargo. In the end, most of the wine production was focused on the needs of the USSR.
What Bulgarian wines were imported to the USSR
Far from the entire range of wines produced by Bulgarians was represented in the Soviet Union. Basically, these were cheaper and “advertised” copies. Mainly represented by muscat and dessert wines.
The name of the wine was usually given according to the grape variety from which it was made. Father still remembers these obscure names: Misket, Dimyat and others. Many of them received a sonorous translation:
- “Bear’s Blood” – a rich dark red wine with a tart taste and a slightly bitter aftertaste;
- “Old Town” – aged dry wine with a complex bouquet and spicy notes;
- “Golden Autumn” – with a slight fruity flavor and a golden hue;
- “Southern Night” – a dense red wine, it seemed black in the bottle, had a bright taste with fruity notes and a tart aftertaste;
- “Black Eyes” – dessert wine with a tart taste, dark saturated shade;
- Rose Valley is a sweeter Bulgarian wine with a slight addition of rose petals, which give the drink a specific aroma.
Labels were often kept at home as a memento
Bright labels also attracted buyers. Most of them depicted real paintings and national symbols. Everything was signed in Bulgarian. My sister had a whole collection of labels (thanks dad!), among which were Bulgarian ones.
What happened to them after the USSR
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many economic ties were severed. The wine industry, like many others, was on the verge of ruin. However, the Bulgarians have always appreciated the vineyards and were proud of their wine, so they were able to turn to the west and start selling local products there.
They found a lot of fans of inexpensive and high-quality, ready to buy their product. And today, nostalgic Russians can meet the same “Tamyanka” or “Melnik” in updated bottles, but already on the shelves of foreign stores.
Bulgaria still produces quality wines that go to the European market.
Bulgarian wines did not return to Russia. Yes, they are sold in some stores, but this is a rather rare product. Everything is related to cost. We are used to the fact that Bulgarian wines are cheap, but now they are in the same price category as German and Italian (400-500 rubles per bottle).
The Russians are not ready to pay so much. And the Bulgarians are not ready to carry out a full-scale advertising campaign and capture the market.
Today it is not easy to buy Bulgarian wine. I tried to find something, but I had to go around half the city. Only in a specialized store and found. But what nostalgia covered mom and dad! Still, the Bulgarians know how to make wine no worse than French, but what do you think?
Dear readers, remember that alcohol abuse harms your body. Take care of yourself!