site.btaWine Forum at Sofia Inter Expo Center Showcases Over 600 Wines

The biggest Bulgarian wine forum, DiVino.Taste 2024, started on Friday at the Inter Expo Center. The thirteenth edition of the forum, which has become a professional platform for direct communication and direct contact between Bulgarian wine producers and restaurateurs, distributors, end customers, will last until Sunday, December 1.

This year's edition brings together 85 producers from all Bulgarian regions, presenting nearly 600 wines. There has been no growth in exhibitors unlike any previous year, except 2021, which was the first since the COVID pandemic. Although Bulgarian wine is better in terms of quality now, there are a lot of problems, DiVino.Taste organizer Emil Koralov told BTA. This includes the fact that Bulgarian winemakers fail to market their production well enough and some of them simply give up.

According to him, there is an increasing share of Bulgarian varieties, and this year they are at least 40-45%. If we go back to 2011, there must have been five, Koralov said. He added that there are many debutants, but there are also dropouts. Participation in the forum requires serious preparation, with a lot of thought and strategy, he stressed.

As for the visitors, he believes that they may be more than last year, when there were 6,000. According to him, the weather forecast is perfect for such an exhibition, which matters a lot.

In terms of consumption, he said that white wine is now dominant globally. Until recently, rose was in vogue, but that is now gone. Classic wines are more sustainable in our country, Koralov pointed out. According to him, red wine still dominates in Bulgaria.

The organizers have also prepared masterclasses with wine experts and foreign speakers designed for intermediate to advanced wine lovers and professionals.

Admission to the exhibition, as well as the masterclasses, is ticketed. The masterclass ticket also entitles access to the exhibition for two of the days – on Saturday and Sunday.