Sveti Vrac

Sveti Vrac is the ancient name for today's Sandanski, the town that claims to have been the birthplace of Spartacus, within the area of Melnik, which, with its 385 inhabitants, is the smallest village in Bulgaria. An area that can boast the longest and most important tradition of high quality wine production in the Balkans, as well as one of the most historic and long-lived in the entire world, a heritage of the proud Thracian population. The products of these lands became the object of export and trade by the Venetians and merchants of Dubrovnik as early as 1345, as attested by historical documents, and until the late Middle Ages they delighted the palates of the aristocracy throughout Europe.

The Sveti Vrac wine cellar is located in the extreme south-western part of Bulgaria, corresponding to the Blagoevgrad region, surrounded by the landscape of the Struma Valley, in what can be considered the most vocated and interesting territory in Bulgaria. The river flows almost parallel to the neighbouring North Macedonian border to the west, flowing into Lake Kerkini a few kilometres further south, just across the Greek border: a narrow canyon that follows a north-south course, slightly sloping towards the east, enclosed between the heights of the Sokolata nature reserve to the west and the Pirin Mountains to the east. The typically continental climate nevertheless manages to be influenced by a strong Mediterranean influence and enjoys considerable temperature fluctuations and sunshine. The vineyards are located at altitudes of up to 200 metres above sea level, characterised by soils of alluvial origin and a sandy matrix.

Sveti Vrac is an artisanal reality born in 2014 and that to define it as microscopic smacks of understatement: yet, within this country garage a project of great scope is realised, strongly supported by the winemaker and oenologist Nicoletta Dicova, of Bulgarian origin and based in Tuscany. The methods are absolutely traditional, with the use of horses to work the soil, spontaneous whole cluster fermentation, the use of only indigenous yeasts and very long macerations on the skins for an annual production of around 5,000 bottles. Only two varieties are bred and vinified, ancient and recovered from extinction, from very old vines: the black berry Shirola Melnishka, also known as Melnik, whose results are often compared to the strength, spiciness and evolutionary potential of the great Chateauneuf-du-Pape; the white berry Keratsuda, of which 33 resilient hectares remain in the world, is the emblem of this mission to recover a historic terroir.