Nestled among the Belogradchik rocks and near the village of the same name, Borovitza Winery is oriented mainly towards the creation of relatively limited batches of wines with a pronounced character and bearing the specifics of the terroir, and Northwestern Bulgaria is a region that offers good opportunities for grapes and wine with distinctive characteristics.

Due to the extremely limited quantities of processed grapes, the wines produced in the Borovitza Winery are in minimal quantities, but with a strong character, reflecting the specifics of the terroir. Some of the vineyards are located under the famous Belogradchik rocks on red sandy-stony soil.

The WIN Wines project offers three selected and limited collections of the winery's wines: the Borovitza, Great terroirs collections and the limited series of single barrels with working labels.

"I believe that crafting such distinctive wines is more a philosophy and a way of life than a business."

Ognyan Tzvetanov, Ph.D.
Owner/Winemaker

Among the picturesque scenery of the Belogradchik Rocks, in the yard of Borovitsa, a small winery for exceptional craft wines, grows a marvellous oak with two trunks. It is 260 years old and has survived the devastation of three fires. This mighty, old tree is a good metaphor for the winery. Borovitsa was established by two experienced enologists, Ognyan Tzvetanov and Adriana Srebrinova, and has survived the death of one of its creators. The surviving one continues to make their distinctive wines, staying true to their shared principles and mission.

18 years agoOgnyan Tzvetanov, a doctor in winemaking, invited his colleague, Adriana Srebrinova,to show her the amazing potential of Bulgaria's Northwest.A professional with over 25 years of experience, she initially refused. But when she tasted samples of wines aged in casks of local oak, she was amazed. "Initially I thought that this was a trap," recalls Adriana Srebrinova. "I thought the wines were from North Italy, France or Spain." When she saw the vineyards and the grapes, and when she smelled the wine, she decided to stay.

In terms of wine-making conditions, the region turns out to be a real gem - “North-Preserved”,as she likes to call it. Its unique potential often shocks foreign оenologists who visit it. "They can't believe we have gold that we walk on and don't use. A friend of ours planted a long strip of vineyard near Vidin, where you can see the terroir of all of France - from Burgundy through Bordeaux to the Loire Valley". Prerequisite for excellent vineyards. Presence of many caves, diverse soil, perfect climate for people and perennial crops. "It's warm during the day - Srebrinova explains - The bunches manage to accumulate the degrees necessary for ripening. And at night it is cool and the vineyards are resting. When it gets up in the evening, invariably, whether from the river or from the Balkans, cool air begins to blow. This temperature difference leads to the balance so sought by technologists. Man cannot create anything. He can keep, continue, develop, but he cannot create. Nature creates."

A mixed team of speleologists, anthropologists and other specialists, some of them French, come to Kozarnika Cave to buy wines. The number: "un, deux, trois" - "What do you count?" - I asked them. "Do you know that there are 20 species of birds in the area of the winery. Bats grow here, extinct in Europe more than 150 years ago because they live in an almost sterile environment…". This recognition tells me a lot!

Despite the exceptional terroir, however, there are disappointments with their own wines, which they make in someone else's cellar because they cannot control the process. With mixed feelings, they are about to leave the region when they accidentally find out about a wine cellar abandoned 30 years ago.

"The place was overgrown with trees. The nettle, which became like bushes with huge stems, hid the buildings. Only the red house was visible". It was 2005 and they decided to take a risk. That same year, they bought Gamza, made an elixir and offered it one night to two wine connoisseurs to see how they were doing. The next morning they are both in the cellar, wanting to buy the whole amount. Which tells them that the path is the right one. People recognize the real product, the wine they make for years, close to their taste.

But this turns out to be a real nightmare,because no one wants to sell to strangers. The locals look them in the eye. They don't know them. They do not believe that they will make a vineyard. The first 300 acres they buy are in a place where nothing has ever grown. Very difficult, but they managed to get rid of this land and make a vineyard on another 80 decares. But they do not consider the soil to be unique. Planting lasts 3-4 days. Very proud of the vines built as soldiers, they decided to brag. Invite friends on a picnic. It's raining. They wait for a glass of wine until the rain passes. As they go to the vineyard, what to see, the vines hang in the air. They explain that if they are not replanted within a week, they will dry out. They are oenologists, winemakers, but not vine growers. It turns out that the plow did not cope with the sandy-clay soil like concrete and its "paws" jumped and did not pinch the vines. With tractors, feet in water, fifty people - all of whom responded - replanted 30,000 vines in one week.

Their varieties are recommended by their consultant, a Frenchman working for two elite companies, one of which is in the top 3 in the world. Marsan and Rusan are adamant. They are expecting some Syrah. "White me, white me! Mathieu kept repeating. It grew on such reddish soil, high in iron. The fact is, he knelt when he saw the ground and kissed it. You have a treasure, believe me. He was very ambitious to succeed and he succeeded. And we succeeded. And the area succeeded. Because no one associated Belogradchik with grapes, no one believed that wine could be made here. And our guilt came on the world stage 7-8 years ago. "

The exhibition at which Tzvetanov and Srebrinova received international recognition for their exclusive wines was the prestigious Decander competition in London in 2006, where their friend showed their first wine made in the area - Maxima, vintage 2003. He received a bronze medal. For the first time, wine from Eastern Europe is so highly valued. After that, the organization of the competition for two years in a row wants samples from the winery "Borovitsa". And for three years the wine was deservedly awarded, and finally received a sticker that it is exceptional. Connoisseurs return to the talented tandem a message of a good investment, a good hit. It turns out that even from limited plots miracles can be created - magnificent, different wines that leave a lasting memory.

A decade ago, the undercover team of Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson visited Borovitza. The 2008 edition of the World Atlas of Winefeatured nine Bulgarian labels; two of them were by Borovitsa: Maxxima and Sensum. The winery was also included in the 2014 edition of the Bible of the enologists, this time with the exclusive DUX.

rosette and a limited batch of the original natural sparkling wine Ognyan Tzvetanov Premiere Cuvée. "When we planted a branch with Chardonnay, it turned out that when the grapes are crushed, a very intense orange color is obtained, which subsequently makes the shades of wine orange during fermentation. In most cases, to get a similar color, colleagues have to insist on wine for hours or all day. And with us from the very beginning we got the color "fanta orange". It is one of the pearls of our cellar. Orange wines are a hit - in England and the United States, especially in wine bars. In addition, they are rare. People who understand say about ours that they have not drank such a gentle orange wine. We created the first one in 2008. Second time in 2014, which was a bit of a difficult year. We did it in 2017. The opportunities of the region are huge. "

A duet studied together, grew up together.He "dresses" wine with science, precise and precise. She looks at things more macro, organizationally and technologically. They are both corrective. They have one look. There is often no need for words. They regularly make their assistants laugh when one of ten samples has to be chosen, and he knows which one to choose, they all know, and yet they make these blind samples, and the boys have fun. Unfortunately, life decides otherwise. Is it strange that thirty days before she leaves, he asks her for a very serious promise that he will continue their work even if he is left alone. She laughs at first, but then promises and in less than a month realizes what she said. And it has been going on for almost three years now. The team is behind her. Friends betray her. He does not believe that it is possible to forget a person, his philosophy and dream so quickly. He consoles himself that life may be like that. Yesterday she bottled wine, which he enjoyed very much with the label Oggy’s dream. "As long as there is the vineyard, the wine, there will be it here. From time to time we release a bubble with a drop of wine inside. In fact, it may be more for the living. "

Orders: 0887 410 619
Tastings: 0887 806 222; 0887 806 200
GPS coordinatеs N 43 35 202 E 022 45 508
Address: Borovitza v., municipality Belogradchik
(direction Ruzhintsi - Belogradchik, before the village of Borovitza on the right)