Villa Melnik

Melnik Winery is a family winery producing bold wines from local and international grape varieties with a distinctive Melnik character. It owns 300 decares of vineyards near the town of Melnik and a modern winery, which is open to visitors every day.

Melnik and "wine" are two words that almost always go hand in hand. The smallest town in Bulgaria, with a population of less than 200 people, is famous for its winemaking traditions. There is almost no family from the region that is not involved in this field in some way. Every family has its own vineyards and produces, albeit small quantities, of the drink of the Gods. This is how Villa Melnik winery also started. Today, the winery is one of the most recognizable brands in our country.

More about Villa Melnik

Although founded in 2013, Villa Melnik is built on centuries-old family traditions. Documents from the personal archives of the owner Nikola Zikatanov show that his family has been involved in winemaking for over 200 years. He decided to return to his roots and revive the family craft. The company quickly managed to establish itself in the competitive market and attract the attention of connoisseurs. Dozens of its wines have won awards from international wine exhibitions.

The vineyards

The winery owns over 300 decares (74 acres) of vineyards and processes approximately 250 tons of grapes annually. It is built on three levels, which optimizes the movement of the wine flow through the power of gravity. This tiered structure is also maximally gentle on both the grapes and the wine.

At Villa Melnik, they primarily focus on local varieties, but they also boldly experiment with blends of other Bulgarian and international varieties. In every combination, the most important thing for the Zikatanov family is to preserve the distinctly Melnik character of the beverages.

The cellar

The winery is located at the lowest point – dug into the sandy hill. It is equipped with the highest class of winemaking technologies, including wine tanks with a capacity of up to 10 tons, a membrane press for pomace, and an automatic bottling line with a capacity of up to 600 bottles per hour. The qualities of the grapes and the resulting beverage are analyzed in the Villa's own laboratory.

The wine ages in barrels located in tunnels dug into the sandy hill, where a naturally uniform temperature and low humidity are maintained.

The Climate

The Melnik region is a mandatory inclusion in every wine encyclopedia for a reason. It seems to have been created specifically for winemaking. The climate here is transitional Mediterranean. No other place in Bulgaria can boast so much warmth and sunlight throughout the year. The average annual rainfall is 670 liters per square meter.

The air and soil here are exceptionally clean. There are practically no pollutants – there are no industrial enterprises nearby, and the area is extremely sparsely populated.