Winemaking

Time for the grape harvest. One can ask if isn't it too early, but the vineyard calendar seems to be constantly changing and challenging for wine producers. The grape harvest I'm talking about is what we call "sofralık" in Turkish, literally meaning "for the table," for the grapes that are not meant to end in bottles, but to be eaten out of hand as fresh fruit.

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Trifon Zarezan, also known as Vintner's Day, is a cherished Bulgarian national holiday celebrated on February 14th, coinciding with Saint Valentine's Day. While Saint Valentine's Day is widely associated with romance and love, Trifon Zarezan holds a unique place in Bulgarian culture, honoring Saint Tryphon, the patron saint of vineyards, winegrowers, and gardeners.

Today Bulgarians celebrate Trifon Zarezan in the old style - the feast of the vine-growers and wine, also known as Zarezanovden, Trifun Chipia and Trifun Zarezoy.

The day of the Holy Martyr Tryphon from ancient times is associated with the first pruning of the vineyards.

The wine festival has ancient roots and is rich in rituals - says ethnographer Nedka Dimitrova:

Sofia. If the weather remains hot, we will have a good grape harvest, Krasimir Koev, Executive Director of the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine, said in an interview with Focus News Agency. 

Bulgarian wine grape producers say that the 2017 harvest is the best in the past five years. According to the industry, all varieties are excellent, raising hopes of boosted sales and prizes at prestigious international competitions, according to the Independent Balkan News Agency.

Winemakers are increasingly concerned by the fact that a year and a half after taking recourse to the Council of State asking for the cancellation of the ministerial decision to introduce a special consumption tax (SCT) on wine, no verdict has been issued yet.

Whether making one’s wine at home or at an industrial factory in a place like Mürefte in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, the concept behind the process remains much the same When I was 15 years old, I was making different kinds of wine in my bedroom. Every now and then, my father would come to my room to check on the situation.