Minkov Brothers

Looking for a balance between traditions and modern technologies in winemaking, we combined 135 years of experience, fertile soils, suitable climate and wine passion, and continued the path bequeathed to us by the Minkovi brothers. Inspired by the New World style, we restored the Minkovi Brothers Wine Cellar - a tradition from 1875 with the mission to become synonymous with high quality and our own identity.

In the Karnobat region wine production has a centuries-old tradition. Proof of this are the excavations of the numerous Thracian mounds in the region of Karnobat. Ceramic figurines with images of the god Dionysus and various wine vessels were found there. Information about the wine production in these lands can be found in the historical chronicles from the V-IV century BC, testifying to a lively trade between local winemakers and the Hellenic Black Sea colonies.

The well-maintained vineyards and good wine in the region of Karnobat are mentioned in the notes of dozens of foreign travelers who visited these lands in the period XV - XIX century. According to the testimonies, with great care and skill the local people prepared new terrains for vineyards, fenced the lands and cultivated varieties known even today.

Neatly located among the vineyards of one of the last hills of Terziyski Bair, Minkovi Bratya wine cellar is located next to the Karnobat village of Venets, 65 km west of Bourgas and has a restaurant, tasting room, wine shop, museum and two underground tunnels. with a total length of 160 meters, where the wines are aged.

The Minkovi Brothers Wine Cellar has preserved the Revival spirit of the urban society of Bulgaria since the end of the 19th century. The Minkovi brothers are descendants of a wealthy family from the Renaissance. In the distant 1875 they founded their wine cellar in the bohemian quarter in Karnobat - Cherkovna. It is an interesting fact that they bring Bulgaria the first gold medal from the World Wine Exhibition. The award was given in 1894 in Brussels to Ivan, Vasil and Nikifor Minkovi.

After the gold medal from the Brussels Wine Exhibition in 1894, awards from the elite wine competition in London and the International Fair in Plovdiv followed. A century later, the revived winery "Bratya Minkovi" again won significant international and national awards. The winery has a small museum exhibition dedicated to the wine family and contains authentic objects belonging to the Minkovi family.

Terroir

The proximity of the Black Sea to the east and the Mediterranean and Aegean to the south contribute to the favorable climate in the region. The day and night sea breezes meet with two local winds - Gornyakat and Dolnyakat. The miner blows in the afternoon and evening, from high to low places to cool the heated earth. Dolnyak blows mostly in the morning and from the bottom up to raise the morning dew and cheer up the vines. As a result of these influences, the winter in the valley is milder, the autumn - long and warm, the spring - cool, and the summer - not hot.

Vineyards

We live and breathe with the philosophy that "wine begins to be made in the vineyard." That is why we have carefully selected three lands in the villages of Terziysko, Ognen and Devetak, where we can grow our vineyards and make our favorite wines. Despite its proximity, each of the massifs has its own appearance, which contributes to the complex nature and attractiveness of our wines. The winery has a total of 4,200 decares of its own vineyards. A team of agronomists and oenologists is responsible for each of the massifs, who monitors the development of the grapes and determines the exact moment to start picking, when the grapes have the best balance of sugar content, acids and phenolic maturity.

Vinification

The grape harvest season begins at the end of August and lasts until mid-November, individually monitoring the level of ripeness of the grapes in each vineyard. The high quality of the grapes guarantees the high quality of our wines. The hand-picked grapes are transported in boxes to the cellar, where the grapes are secondary sorted. The cellar is equipped according to European standards with the most modern equipment. The maceration and fermentation of grape must take place in stainless vinifiers at a controlled temperature regime. Depending on their style, some of the wines are aged in French and American oak barrels, located in specially dug underground tunnels.

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