With a record number of attendees from the wine industry – importers and buyers, restaurants and hotels representatives, wine shops, media and influencers, a Business Congress for Bulgarian Wine was held in London on March 10 within the framework of the Project „EUROPE SHARES in UK“.
The event took place in the form of a 6-hours wine tasting showcasing 62 wines in total and project presentations, two masterclasses led by the famous wine writer Dr Jamie Goode and the first Bulgarian Master Sommelier Svetoslav Manolev MS, including food paring.
We are happy to share a little part from the exciting feedback we received from the attendees:
“I thought the event was very good, particularly the masterclass on indigenous grapes that I attended in the morning. It was great to meet some of the producers and importers/distributors, so a nice mix. Thanks for hosting, and hope to see you again soon.” – Steve Machin, Empirical Wines, Founder & CEO
“The masterclass was very informative, and I appreciated the selection of samples. I have included a few samples in our Weekday & Weekend Wines selection pool so fingers crossed some are picked up for the upcoming magazine issues.” – Sylvia Wu, Decanter, Regional Editor
“For both myself and John the wines were a revelation. I had wrongly assumed that they would be in the style of Georgian wines, and was pleased to find that, in my opinion, they are, potentially, some of the most impressive wines from East Europe. We were very pleased with the quality of the wines, and also quite surprised at how much variety there is within one country, both in terroir and grape varieties, the astonishing number of producers and growers, and we were particularly impressed by the impact of young almost boutique style of wineries opened up by returning young wine makers with ‘gained’ experience of both the new and old world styles. You get a lot of ‘bang for your bucks’ from Bulgaria! Thanks, again for hosting such an impressive event.” – Andy Husain, Barceloneta, Partner
“It was great to attend and taste some brilliant wines, we are already working with Aya Estates with a couple of wines & it was nice to see some more producers, the self-serve table was a nice touch and especially good for a quick tasting.” – Harry Cooper, Counter 71, Head Sommelier and General Manager
“Thank you so much for organising the event. It has been very productive day. I found and tasted some very interesting wines. I already submitted few recommendations for our buying team at work. So hopefully some new additions from Balkans will make appearance on the shelves.” – Eva Holeckova, The Good Wine Shop, Wine Advisor
“I very much enjoyed the Bulgaria tasting. I thought it was a good wide range of wines, grapes and price points. I certainly learnt about one grape new to me and I now have a greater understanding of the area and its wines.” – Sue Hildrey, Chez Vous Wines, Partner
