Edoardo Miroglio

"Viticulture and wine making have been traditional in the region since Thracian times. Many ancient authors have praised the Thracian wine, and the recipe has been handed down from father to son for generations... That inspired me!" Edoardo Miroglio

The Edoardo Miroglio winery is located in the Thracian valley in the village of Elenovo, 22 km away from Nova Zagora. It is surrounded by vineyards spread on gentle hills, a lake and green meadows, which provide excellent conditions for the development of Bulgarian wine tourism. The Edoardo Miroglio winery is surrounded by 220 hectares of vineyards and is an impressive combination of ancient architecture, which, together with the modern technologies used to produce wine, blends naturally with the environment.

The winery is surrounded by vineyards stretching out on the hills, a pond and lots of greenery, which provide excellent conditions for growing wine. Above the cellar rises the boutique hotel Soli Invicto ("The Invincible Sun" from the Italian), which has 10 individually decorated rooms, a wine tasting room, an upscale restaurant, a lobby bar and an outdoor pool. The hotel's design and furnishings meet the high standards of its customers.

The Edoardo Miroglio winery specializes in the production of quality white, rosé, red and sparkling wines (Traditional Method), but also white and rosé wine, raki and liqueur. The main brands of the winery are: Elenovo (reserves), Edoardo Miroglio (premium brand), Sant'Ilia, Soli and Saint Ilia Estate (trademarks). Elenovo and EM (Edoardo Miroglio) are mainly distributed in selected hotels and restaurants and in specialized wine shops. Soli, Sant'Ilia and Saint Ilia Estate are trademarks for the domestic and export markets.

In 2013 the Edoardo Miroglio winery obtained the certification for organic vineyards (Bouquet, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Mavrud and Rubin) and started the production of 3 new organic wines.

In 2002 Edoardo Miroglio, a well-known Italian textile and wine producer, discovered in the Thracian region of Bulgaria the perfect soil and climate conditions for the production of quality wines in the village of Elenovo, 22 km southeast of Nova Zagora.

Viticulture and winemaking have been traditional in the region since Thracian times. Many ancient authors have praised the Thracian wine and the recipe has been handed down from father to son for generations.

After detailed analyses and soil tests in the micro-region of the village of Elenovo, Edoardo Miroglio concluded that the terroir of Elenovo is unique for Bulgaria and is equally suitable for the cultivation of red and white grape varieties. As a result, he decided to establish one of the most modern wineries in Bulgaria there.

With the idea of combining the Italian know-how in the development of the vineyards and oenology with the excellent Piedmontese tradition, the winery carried out its first production in October 2005. The entire process of wine production is controlled by a group of Italians and Bulgarians, led by the world famous oenologist Marco Monchiero.

To date, over 220 hectares of vineyards have been planted with elite French and Bulgarian grape varieties on the highly suitable soil of Elenovo. Among the varieties cultivated by the Edoardo Miroglio wine cellar are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Mavrud, Melnik 55 and Bouquet.

The annual production capacity of the Edoardo Miroglio Winery is about one million liters of wine. The production cycle covers all technological processes, from the processing of the grape must to the bottling of the wine. The main equipment of the Edoardo Miroglio Winery has been supplied by leading Italian and French manufacturers of winemaking equipment and technologies. The management and quality control of production is carried out by a state-of-the-art laboratory. The aging process takes place in high quality French oak barrels, which are essential for the quality of the wines produced. Almost 22 million euros have been invested in the Edoardo Miroglio winery to date.

The Edoardo Miroglio wine cellar is located in the Thrace region, in the village of Elenovo, about 15 km from the town of Nova Zagora. It is surrounded by vineyards, a natural lake and green fields and offers ideal conditions for wine growing.

Wine was already the most important source of trade in the region in the times of the ancient Thracians. Recipes were passed down from generation to generation from father to son.

The origins of viticulture in Thrace (today's Bulgaria) reach so far back that its roots are mythological: In fact, the cult of Dionysus (Bacchus for the Romans), the god of wine, ecstasy and freedom of the senses was born. Thrace was later incorporated into the Greek pantheon. Wine was therefore a central element in the life of the Thracians, a kind of divine drink through which they could reach ecstasy and communicate with the divine. They drank wine before they went to war to dance, to find inspiration and to enjoy freedom.

In the past, Thrace stretched east of Macedonia towards the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and south of the Danube towards the Aegean Sea. The border between Macedonia and Thrace practically corresponded to the course of the river Struma, which is famous for its gold mines.

As an ancient Indo-European people, the Thracians left a lot of written and archaeological evidence: In Bulgaria, no less than 19,000 graves from the IV millennium BC are attributed to the Thracian civilization. Besides Dionysus, many other mythological Thracian figures were brought to us by the Greeks, for example Orpheus, Cybele and Rhesus.

Homer sang the Thracian wine, beloved by the Achaeans, 3000 years ago. At that time the wine was thick and sweet and would be diluted with spring water. Only the Thracians themselves usually drank it. This habit was criticized by some Greek philosophers like Plato, who wrote: "Scythians and Thracians drink wine completely undiluted and believe that they are practicing good practice by pouring clothes over it".

It is believed that some native varieties such as Mavrud and Melnik, one of the most popular wines of Winston Churchill, were already cultivated on the hills of southern Bulgaria more than 5000 years ago.

According to the stories of Ovid and Pliny the Old, when the Romans conquered this land, they immediately became such lovers of Thracian wine that they made it one of the best wine regions of their empire by planting some white wine varieties. Following this route, in search of a unique terroir that had made this area famous for its wines over the centuries, Edoardo Miroglio from Alba in Piedmont arrived in Elenovo and began planting his vineyards.

The Edoardo Miroglio winery was founded in 2002 and first produced in 2005. The winery is located in the central part of a row of about 220 hectares of vineyards covering the Saint Ilia hill that descends towards the village of Elenovo. The annual production capacity of Edoardo Miroglio Wine Cellar is about 1 million liters of wine. The production cycle covers all the technological processes, from the processing of the grape must to the bottling of the wine.

Elenovo - a fertile terroir

The vineyards are situated on the hillside down to the village of Elenovo. The physical and chemical composition of the soil, the layers of soil, the microclimate created between the hilly area, which is more than 400 meters above sea level on the hill Saint Ilia, gives the area all the conditions for the production of high quality wines.

The cultivation of the vineyards began in 2002 and the first variety chosen was Pinot Nero. In the next two years the other international varieties followed, such as Chardonnay, Traminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. In spring 2005 the Edoardo Miroglio winery was expanded with the Bulgarian varieties Mavrud and Melnik. With bouquet wines and ruby, the range of local varieties will be further expanded in 2008.

The average spring and autumn temperatures are low and are characterized by large temperature differences. The average rainfall favors the cultivation of the vineyards. Summers are warm but not sultry and with low humidity.

The planting density is about 5000 vines per hectare. The winery cultivates the vineyards according to the traditional method of Piedmontese viticulture, which is evaluated and applied worldwide, adapting the technology to the particularities of the region. The cultivation of quality wine cannot be improvised. It requires hard work and experience, knowledge and passion. So the years of experience and passion invested in the Italian Tenuta Carretta winery have been gradually multiplied and adapted at the Edoardo Miroglio winery.

The main characteristic of sparkling wines (previously called Champagnoise) produced by the classical method is the formation of bubbles in the bottle.

The harvesting of Pinot Nero and Chardonnay grapes, used in varying proportions depending on the different types of sparkling wine, takes place at the end of August when the sugar content is 11 degrees alcohol. The grapes from these vineyards are natural and rich, which gives the sparkling wines produced by the classic method a unique elegance and freshness that distinguishes them.

The grapes harvested by hand are placed (without crushing) in a mechanical press specially purchased by Champagne in France. The press is a modern installation, which originates from the old squares to press grapes with a clamping system. It is able to squeeze the core out of the grapes without tearing the skin (which allows the delivery of white grape juice from red grapes as Pinot Nero). The resulting juice, selected for its individual qualities, must be clarified between 24 and 36 hours. After this time, decantation is carried out and the clear part is fermented. The fermentation lasts about a week and ends when the sugar is finally transformed into alcohol. Thus, the resulting wine is aged until the next spring, when it is bottled and sealed with a steel stopper.

The bottles are placed on the "bottle belly" in large grids in a horizontal position at constant temperatures of 12 degrees Celsius. This leads to a slow fermentation flow, which would cause the formation of bubbles. Once the fermentation of the wine is complete, contact with the added yeast begins. The wine is left in the bottle for at least 30 months. At the end of this phase the product is ready to meet the expectations of the most demanding customers. However, before it is filled with corks, the yeast that has already made it glassy must be removed.

The whole process is divided into two separate phases. The first, called Remuage, consists of removing the sediment from the yeast to the stopper. If you place the bottles on specially designed stands every day, they are turned slightly and the result is a vertical position with the neck down. The second phase is called degorgement and helps to remove the sediment accumulated on the stopper. The small foam pushes the sediment out. Immediately after the bottle has passed through the machine, Rasatrice is reached to reach the required level and possibly a liqueur expedition to add the necessary sugar to the wine. After two months the wine is ready for sale.

In the production of red wine, the aim is to obtain the consistency contained in the skin of the grapes. To achieve this purpose, it is necessary to let the skin mature in the grape juice during the entire fermentation of the grapes. The quality of the process depends on the sophistication of the processing of the skin of the grapes. The production of the red wines takes place in a part of the company's own cellar, built on floors and specially designed to avoid crushing (extraction) during the important processes.

The grapes come from the vineyards on the top floor and, after being cleared, fall directly into the fermentation tank, which is located on the middle floor. For the wines produced in Elenovo, the skins are stirred during the fermentation process without any additives, but exclusively using the technology known as Delestage, which best preserves the delicate skins. The so-called svinatura is also produced without the use of pumps. The juice and the wine brand fall freely into the vat and then into the press, which is located in the lowest part of the cellar. The wine brand is pressed to squeeze the part of the wine juice that remains in the skin. Thus, after 2-3 days of decanting, the obtained wine is poured into barrique barrels, where the aging process begins, preparing the wine for bottling.

The production of white wine aims to subdivide the skin of the juice before fermentation to avoid the removal of substances that can change the color and the conservation of white wines.

The grapes are harvested by hand and transported to BINS, where they are bundled and crushed. The obtained mash juice is cooled to 12 to 14 degrees Celsius if necessary. Then it is sent to the pneumatic press, which presses the mash extremely fine and refined to extract the juice. After this process the juice is decanted for 36-48 hours. Once the clear juice has been removed from the sediments at the bottom, the fermentation process begins, which must be slow and continuous and can last two to three weeks. Once the fermentation process is completed, 2 overflows are carried out over the next 10 days, which are normally filled into steel tanks to age at the end of winter when they are ready for bottling.

Only the best selection of Chardonnay matures for a year in barriques. In this case, the end of fermentation takes place in a wooden barrel, where the wine remains for a year without overflowing into another barrel.