07 Dec 2022
Guide and driver Stoyan set up a visit to the Villa Yustina Winery, about which we had read excellent reviews. At Villa Yustina, Guide Maria Spasova provided us with a brief tour of the facilities and then a detailed, delightfully insightful, and personalized wine tasting. There was a 2021 Rosé called "Spring" made from the Rubin grape, hands down one of the best rosés I've had anywhere. Also a knock out was the 2016 Monogram, a blend of Mavrud and Rubin grape varieties aged in Bulgarian oak, elegant and deeply flavored. We also immensely enjoyed the Sparkling Wine Extra Brut made from the Semillon grape variety, and ended up buying a mixed case of those three to bring back to the US. We enjoyed a number of other wines, all made at or above international standards. This was a tour and tasting the equivalent of any Napa Valley tour, and at 1980s prices!
Afterwards, Maria drove us out to the vineyards, to a hilltop site where Villa Yustina hosts outdoor wedding receptions and special events. Stoyan deserves credit not only for driving us out there, but also for relating the history of the region and outlining the economic and political challenges facing Bulgaria as it integrates into the European Union.