A Modern European Cuisine month with wines from a single vineyard

The month of April opens its doors in spring. He is colorful, he is sunny, he is intoxicating, he brings new life and new ideas. And for us, the month of April will be entitled “Modern European Cuisine month with wines from a single vineyard.”

In April, Culinary Arts Institute and Tsarev Brod Winery are going to organize a series of themed evenings where you can enjoy multi-course menus combined with fine wines and experience unforgettable culinary emotions and many surprises!

We would like to share more about our partners in this project, namely Tsarev Brod Winery.

Tsarev Brod Winery marks its beginning in 2001. as a vineyard. The creators of the project are a family of agronomists – Svetla and Ivan. The first vineyard they planted was of the Sauvignon Blanc variety, and today it is one of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyards in Bulgaria. The other varieties they grow are mainly French and German – Traminer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.
One of the biggest challenges for the Ivanovi family over the years is finding planting material of the Bulgarian variety Gergana. Unfortunately, the variety was forgotten and later lost, but driven by the ambition to have a vineyard of the variety, Ivan and Svetla set themselves an indescribable task. Ivan has owned several vines of the variety since the time he was an agronomist in government agencies. From these few vines, rod by rod manages to make new vines and in the iconic year 2011 the vineyard from Gergana is already a fact. The vineyard of Tsarev Brod is the only vineyard of this local variety in Bulgaria, which turns Gergana from a lost to a revived variety.
In 2014 Ivan decides to start building a winery in the middle of the vineyards. The idea is to make wine in limited quantities and because it is among the vineyards, the grapes are always processed fresh and in optimal condition. In 2015, Tsarev Brod Wine Cellar became a fact and marked its first harvest.
The name of the winery was not chosen by chance – it is located in the village of Tsarev Brod (where the kings roam), only 10 km from the first Bulgarian capital – Pliska and the only rocky bas-relief in Europe – Madara Horseman, and 30 km from the second Bulgarian capital – Veliki Preslav.
In 2017, the Bulgarian variety Evmolpia was planted, thus creating the Bulgarian series of wines, which are marked with embroidery – white wine from Gergana, rose and red from Evmolpia.
The pioneering spirit of Ivan is passed on to Niki Krastev (winemaker of the winery). For the small period in which Tsarev Brod existed, the winery managed to establish itself with experimental spirit and pioneering.
In 2017 the rose from Pinot Noir at the winery becomes the best rose in Bulgaria, at the same time it enters the top 20 Bulgarian wines, this is the first rose to enter the top 20 of DiVino.
The winery also makes the first sparkling wine using Pet-Nat technology, the first snow wine from Riesling and the first Orange Rose, things that are happening for the first time in Bulgaria. These and other prizes have been won over the years.
The team of Tsarev Brod is convinced that the main factor for their success is the hard work in the vineyard. It is their priority, so the winery was built next to it to process grapes fresh. That is why the winery was built 14 years after planting the first vines. Because a building rises quickly, but the plant needs time to reach an age suitable for quality grapes.

Do not miss the unique joint dinners of the Culinary Arts Institute and Tsarev Brod Winery in April. Expect more information soon!