18 Feb Snowy tale over the vineyards at St. Trifon’s Day
On 14.02.2021 we celebrated St. Trifon’s Day, guardian of winegrowers and winemakers. This year the celebration was simpler and in a smaller circle due to the pandemic situation, but we still honoured the tradition by sanctifying the vineyards for а healthy and fruitful year.
The big surprise was the snowy atmosphere! Snowfall is a huge rarity in the Melnik region, where the average temperature during the winter months is above or around 0°C. Don’t worry – the snow and low temperatures lasted only a few days and did not endanger the vines in any way. A good harvest awaits us!
We performed the pruning ritual among our cup-shaped Shiroka Melnik. In this small 1 decare plot we have recreated the traditional way of growing Shiroka Melnik. Traditionally, winegrowers formed the vines as shrubs or bushes that grew close to the ground. The grape bunches would hang at 20 cm above the soil. For comparison, we also grow Shiroka Melnik in the modern way – with cordon pruning (on rows of stakes and wires) and the grape bunches there hang at a height of 80 cm. In the cup-shaped formation the grapes ripen because of the heat that rises from the sandy soil.
The traditional method of cultivation is very laborious as it is done entirely by hand. The use of agricultural machinery is impossible, as it would destroy the densely planted, bush-like vines. Cup-shaped vines bear half the fruit, but the flavors and aromas of the grapes are very concentrated. And at Villa Melnik that is exactly what we look for – excellent quality.
Rare Varieties Shrioka Melnik Bush Vine is a wine made from this exact vineyard.
We are sharing with you photos from the event and footage from Jonathan Sayeb’s drone. Such snowy photos from the village of Harsovo are very rare!
Here you can see photos from last year’s lavish St. Trifon’s Day celebration (before the pandemic).
And here’s another fun video from Jonathan’s channel: