site.btaEdoardo Miroglio Winery Plans New Wines Every Year

BTA will present dozens of Bulgarian wineries in the New BG WINE Leads the Way series ahead of the 9th UN Global Conference on Wine Tourism, which will be hosted in Plovdiv. The forum is organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization.

2025 posed serious challenges for the vineyards, but the wines will turn out well, according to oenologist Ralitsa Doncheva of the Edoardo Miroglio winery. “The year is not over yet. There was a severe drought, and in April temperatures dropped low, causing frost damage. This made the harvest challenging. Despite that, I believe we will succeed in creating good wines,” she said.

According to her, the style and character of a wine are defined mainly by the terroir and climate. “Every wine is strictly individual, even in different vessels its qualities change. There is no category of the best wine. To get to know it, you have to taste it,” Doncheva added.

The most difficult task for an oenologist, she said, is to create wine in a weak vintage. “I am happiest when the wines are ready and we can see the result,” she noted.

The winery plans new wines every year, following the principle of not fully repeating the past. “Technologies in the industry are constantly evolving. We also have new plantations that will provide more opportunities,” Doncheva explained.

The winery regularly participates in national and international competitions and in 2024 won numerous awards, among them a gold medal with 95 points for Soli Invicto 2019 at the Decanter World Wine Awards, as well as DiVino Top 50’s recognition of Edoardo Miroglio Reserve Elenovo Mavrud Karadere 2019 as Bulgaria’s best wine of the year. “The best wine is the one that is sold and enjoyed. Competitions evaluate by certain criteria, experts by others, but we work for the consumer. Awards and medals matter, expert assessments matter, but the most important are consumers and their taste, and that changes every year,” Ralitsa Doncheva stressed.

She added that the current trend is towards lighter, fresher, easy-drinking wines, but there are also admirers of more complex, “thoughtful” wines. “Every person and every situation has its wine,” Doncheva said.

For her, winemaking is a passion, not just a job. “If it were only a job, I would not be able to work 14-hour days. This is a team game, together with my colleagues we achieve success,” she shared.

The Edoardo Miroglio winery is located near the village of Elenovo, Nova Zagora Municipality, in the Thracian Valley. It was established in 2002 by Italian entrepreneur Edoardo Miroglio. The winery has 220 hectares of its own vineyards, situated on hilly slopes, and the boutique hotel Soli Invicto, which offers wine and culinary tourism.

The main grape variety for the winery is Pinot Noir, but Mavrud, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and others are also cultivated with care. The philosophy of the winery is to combine Piedmont winemaking experience with the potential of the Thracian terroir.