Bendida Winery: Adapting to Climate Change with Lighter Rubin Wines

Veneta Litkova, BTA correspondent Presiana Valkanova

Bendida Winery, Brestovitsa, September 24, 2025 (BTA Photo/Boyan Botev)

Brestovitsa, Southern Bulgaria,

25.09.2025 15:42

(BTA)

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BG WINE

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.

Every year brings a new idea, depending on what nature provides. In 2025, Bendida Winery will produce a Rubin red wine that will be lighter, with lower density and intensity, in line with the current trend in red wine consumption.

The winery’s technologist Elizabeth Porteva said that Bendida will continue producing natural wines, where external interference and processing are kept to a minimum. "They are handmade, and everything follows the rhythm of nature, not what we, as technologists, want and when we want it," Porteva said. The essence of natural wine, she explained, is that it comes entirely and only from grapes, without added stabilisers, aromas or other manipulations.

According to her, grape yields in 2025 are low due to recent climate changes. "It takes a lot of adaptation, a lot of energy, and a deep knowledge of nature itself, in addition to the science of winemaking, to cope with the challenges," Porteva noted.

Bendida winery will work with about 40 tonnes of grapes, planning to produce approximately 25 tonnes of wine. "We adapt to the harvest quality. When it is not suitable, we aim to make less wine and not from every series," she explained.

The winery has a sheltered facility for receiving and processing grapes and fermenting red wines. After fermentation, the wines are moved to the cellar. Then wine is stored in stainless steel vessels and oak barrels. A few major investments were made under a project three years ago.

The winery rarely takes part in wine exhibitions and competitions, but regularly organizes tastings.

Bendida is located in the fertile Thracian Valley, in the village of Brestovitsa. The history of the winery began in 1936 with the construction of a stone cellar by Metodi Portev, which has been preserved to this day. Today, the third and fourth generations of the family create wines from Bulgarian varieties in limited and collectible series. Their philosophy is inspired by respect for nature, with the aim of keeping the wine as natural as possible.

The winery has a capacity of 25 tonnes (33,000 bottles). Its emblematic wine is a rose made of 100% Rubin. Of particular interest are the pure Rubin, the Rubin-Mavrud blend, and the white Vratsa Misket.

/NF/