The wines of Lovico Suhindol

Lovico from Suhindol is one of the oldest and largest wine producers in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1909 as a cooperative of local farmers. The company was nationalized in 1952 and privatized again in 1991. Today the cellar is full of modern equipment and four million bottles are filled. The wines are modern and accessible. A large part is exported.

It was Mardo Vachkov who in 1909 convinced grape growers in the area to start a cooperative. Only that way could they work commercially, meaning: making bottled wine that wasn't only drunk in the surrounding villages. Lovico was thus the first modern cooperative in the Balkans. As early as 1914, Lovico exported for the first time. In the 1920s and 1930s the cooperative grew into one of the most important in the country.

In 1952 the communists nationalized the company - quantity became more important than quality. But shortly after the fall of the Wall, Lovico Suhindol was back in private hands. Since then, considerable investment has gone into the wine cellar: new steel tanks for fermentation and aging the wines, French and American oak barriques and new bottling lines. Even so, the enormous wooden vats of between 5,000 and 21,000 liters that were already in use before the Second World War are still used too.

Lovico Suhindol has about 300 hectares of vineyards around the village of Suhindol, in the north of Bulgaria, not too far from the Danube. Geologically the region belongs to the 'Danube plain', which extends far into Hungary. The soil beneath the vineyards contains loam and carbonates under a layer of black earth and clay. The vineyards are planted with the local Gamza (Kadarka) grape and international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

If you want to know more about this winery, here you will find the link to the website of Lovico Suhindol.