The Winery
THE WINERYWine Cellar Villa Melnik is a family-owned producer of brave wines from indigenous and international grapes with a distinct Melnik character. We own 30 hectares of vineyards near the town of Melnik and a modern winery, which is open for visitors every day.
OUR WINERY
Our new, modern winery opened doors in the spring of 2013. Thus, we began to write our modern legend.
Our winery’s capacity is 250 tonnes of grapes per year. It is built on three levels, and the cellars are dug into the sandy hill. The wine-making process is organized so that the flow of the wine moves by the force of gravity through the three levels of the building. In addition to being extremely energy efficient, this method allows us to treat the wine gently, without putting unnecessary stress on the grapes, and maintaining the wine’s natural structure.
The winery is equipped with state-of-the-art vessels from leading Bulgarian and international producers. Our stainless steel fermenters vary in capacity from 100 liters to 10 tonnes. We have a pneumatic wine press with a central membrane and a fully automatic bottling machine with a 600 bottles per hour capacity. Our winery has a modern laboratory where we analyse the grapes and the wine.
The aging of our top wines takes place in underground cellar-tunnels, which go deep into the sandy hill behind the winery. These tunnels maintain constant temperature and humidity throughout the year.
All winelovers can enjoy our wines and the gorgeous views from our tasting room.
THE VINEYARDS
Villa Melnik continues a family tradition of vine growing and wine making with over two centuries of documented history. There is a document in our family archives, which shows that two hundred years ago, our great-great-grandfather owned vineyards in the area.
Our vineyards are situated in two massifs around the town of Melnik – the iconic wine capital of Bulgaria, which is present in all world encyclopaedias of wine. About 20 hectares are situated in the area Mindalo near the village Vinogradi. Our other plot, 10 hectares, is situated in front of the winery, in the area known as Beli Breg, adjacent to the village of Harsovo, which is famous among all winelovers in Bulgaria.
With the help of Bulgarian viticulture experts and agronomists, we carefully selected and planted our first vines in 2004: Broad-leaved Melnik Vine, Early Melnik Vine (Melnik 55), Ruen, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, as well as one of the oldest Thracian varieties – Mavrud. So far, we are the only producer in Melnik region who has planted Mavrud.
From the local white grape varieties, we grow Tamyanka, Keratsuda, and Sandanski Misket, and from the international ones, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier.
THE TERROIR
The natural and climatic conditions in the Melnik region are some of the most favourable for wine production in Bulgaria. This is the warmest and sunniest part of the country. The climate is Mediterranean with a vegetative period of 224 days, average temperature sum of 4385 C°, and absolutely no sources of pollution.
Our vineyards are situated on a hill with south exposition. Our vineyards are exposed to a light breeze, which comes down the slopes of the surrounding mountains Pirin, Belasitsa, and Slavyanka and does not allow mists or humidity to linger above the vines.
The terroir is characterized by sandy soils, which allow water to seep through, as well as limestone and volcanic deposits from the nearby extinct volcano Kozhuh. We do not treat our vineyards with any pesticides and do not use any damaging practises that may create pollution or in any way harm our grapes or the people who enjoy our wines.