Vini Sliven

It all began in ancient times - the Thracians, Hellenes, Byzantines and Slavs have left their mark both in the history of the region and in the winemaking traditions of the population of this area. Until today, the knowledge of the people in the blue mountains "Sinite Skali Sliven" in the Thracian lowlands has been preserved, how to look at grapes with heart.

The beginning of the Sliven Pearl began long before the Rakija itself was produced. It was commissioned by Nedelcho Nedelchev - the only Bulgarian scholar of his time, who graduated from the prestigious Vineyards College in Montpellier, France, in 1912. Despite serious offers to work abroad, he decided to return to his home country with a dream, namely to restore viticulture and wine production in Bulgaria. For the beginning of his mission he chooses his hometown Sliven as a prominent wine-growing center. There he finds the followers with whom he founded the Shevka winegrowers' cooperative. After Nedelcho Nedelchev had worked in the Shevka cooperative for a few years, he moved to Sofia, where he began academic work and fieldwork in the field of wine culture. Thanks to the good foundations, the Shevka cooperative continues its development and becomes the subsidiary of Vinprom Sliven. At that time one of the largest wine and spirits production companies in the country. Six decades after the establishment of the company, thanks to its spirit of innovation and the knowledge of technologists, the first special brandy in Bulgaria with the brand name "Sliven Pearl" was created. So far, only ordinary brandy and fruit brandy with a production technology called "sectoral normality", agreed with the Ministry of Health and DSP Vinprom, has been available. Translated into normal language, this means that these brandies were of lower quality. One of the few Bulgarian quality products is the "Sliven Pearl", apart from the so-called "scarce goods" that were offered in Korecom stores at the time.

The cooperative developed so dynamically that during the years of socialism, under the name of "Vinprom Sliven", it managed to establish itself as the largest producer of alcohol in the country. To this day, Vini Sliven Ltd. continues the tradition of its predecessors and is proud of a number of outstanding technologists who have put their hands into the recipes of high-quality rakija, which they continue to produce to this day.

Vine and harvest
The grapes are harvested when they are ripe and have a sugar content of at least 19% to a maximum of 21% with controlled total acidity. Vini Sliven uses only premium grapes. The grapes are collected only manually in plastic cassettes and containers. Transportation to the processing plants is paperless in insulated metal containers of suitable design and size. The grapes are accepted and sorted according to type, variety and sugar content on the sorting table. From each table Vini Sliven manually takes an average sample, using a hydrometer to determine the appearance, general condition, purity of the variety and sugar content. Processing takes place within 24 hours of picking, with the crushing of the grapes.

Fermentation
The grape pulp is cooled and then left to stand for 72 to 96 hours. Contact with solids results in the extraction of aromatic substances contained in the grape zipper. Technological processing is carried out with great care to maximize the enrichment of the must with valuable aromatic substances without coarsening.

The alcoholic fermentation is carried out at controlled temperature. The yeasts used by Vini Sliven are specially selected strains. The winemakers process a capacity of 30,000 kg to 60,000 kg of grapes, which are subjected to a special irrigation scheme.

The alcohol-free fermentation takes place in reinforced concrete tanks. After its completion, the wines are carefully separated from the pomace (or the so-called transfer process) to minimize oxygenation. Vini Sliven works without sulphites (sulphur dioxide), which is why the fineness of the process is exceptional. The resulting wine is distilled as soon as possible.

Aging and storage
Vini Sliven use French and American oak barrels and the Straldzha oak, typical of the Republic of Bulgaria, in which white wines have been previously matured. The result is rakija with a rich and harmonious aromatic complex. Fine oak finish, extremely soft with long aftertaste.

Vini Sliven's mission is to preserve the good traditions of one of the oldest producers of Bulgarian rakija, and they are looking forward to the future. Influenced by the long-standing practices that the company has preserved and applied since 1920.

With hard work and professionalism Vini Sliven guarantees quality, knowing that this is the only way to bring inspiration and joy to their customers.

Vini Sliven's employees give their best in production processes. The team of professionals put their heart and soul and all their experience into the development of the products. Vini Sliven uses the best grapes from the vineyards and guarantees a quality that continues the history of the 1920s.

Vineyards are the heart of everything. The vineyards of Vini Sliven are located in the northern part of the southern Thracian Lowlands wine region and in the eastern part of the sub-Balkan Rosental wine region (Tvarditsa municipality). The geographical area covers the Sliven region and belongs to the south-east of Bulgaria.

The terroir in the geographical areas is ideal for growing vineyards and especially for the aromatic varieties Muscat Otonel and Pearl of Csaba, which makes the area under cultivation 2800 decades.

The area where the vineyards are located is characterized by sandy soil. This protects vineyards from diseases in order to grow large and healthy grapes.

The Sliven wine region is located in the eastern part of Bulgaria, in the eastern Thracian region. The climate there is temporarily continental, conducive to warm summers and relatively mild winters. The average air temperature in the winter months is + 2.5 ° C, which is significantly influenced by the Balkan chain, which stops the periodic intrusion of cold continental air. There is sunshine on 235 days a year. All factors contribute to the maximum expression of the terroir when growing vines.

The legendary Bulgarian brandy "Sliven Pearl" or "Slivenska Perla" was produced in 1979. This is the first licensed aromatic brandy in Bulgaria, and the license was granted in the same year. The special feature of the premium rakija is that it is produced from the aromatic grape varieties (hence the name "aromatic") Muscat Otonel and Pearl de Xaba.

The creator of the legendary Rakia is engineer Georgi Gerginov. He created "The Pearl" together with the then director of the Vinny Winery Neno Nenov.

"To get a good rakija, you have to know the vine very well," said Gerginov. Excellence in the vineyard in Perushtitsa. Gerginov was very proud of his work "Sliven Pearl", for which he said: "Brandy Pearl of Sliven, the ladies' brandy chain of Sliven".

The first bottling Premium Rakia was 8070 liters. In the year the Pearl was created, a total of 5 tons were produced. In the same year, the brandy proved its high class by winning a gold medal and the grade "K" (world class or higher) at the International Fair in Plovdiv. In 1980, 50 tons of brandy were produced for mass marketing.

After Sliven Pearl achieved the high recognition, the reputation was preserved and developed further. To this end, for 37 years a special tasting committee has determined the ratio of varieties each year to preserve the unique taste of the same. At each harvest Vini Sliven keeps a small batch, which then serves as a benchmark for the production of the new harvest.

The first batches were great on their first day. They are first tasted by the staff of Vinprom State Economic Association. Then the regional committee of the party and then the first people in the state - the members of the State Council. The "pearl" was quickly in demand due to its exceptional quality. The Slivenska Perla became a regular drink of foreign delegations from the then USSR, Poland, Hungary, the GDR etc. during their visits to the city of Sliven. The fragrant brandy became the pride of Sliven and one of its two emblems, together with the town of Karandila.

Since 2003 Sliven Pearl has been a brand in the EU. It is one of the first Bulgarian rakija approved for trade in the EU. Like every great recipe, that of the pearl is kept secret. Its creator would like to leave a trace with the unique brandy of which Vinnie Sliven can still be proud. Girginov's motto: "To know, you have to anticipate." This maxim is said to have helped him to satisfy the taste preferences of people.

Slivenska Perla is a product of the aromatic grape varieties Muscat Otonel and Pearl de Xaba. The quality of the future rakija is guaranteed in the vineyard. The grapes are selected for their sugar content, which is between 19% and 21% with controlled total acids. Vini Sliven takes the grapes from the vine by hand. Then they separate the grains from the grape. This is followed by fermentation, which is separate for each variety due to the different ripening period.

After the fermentation of the white wine obtained, the Slivenska Perla is distilled. A special point that distinguishes it from all other rakija of the same category is the distillation mode. A distillation plant with continuous operation type DK-2 is used. The wine enters the distillation column at a certain temperature. During the distillation process, the so-called pomace - reversible alcohols, some of which are derived from distillates, is used. The alcohol content, in which the distillate itself is collected, is between 65 and 75% by volume. All these values (proportions of different grape varieties and pomace, temperature and alcohol content) were established as early as 1979 and are still strictly adhered to today. Slivenska Perla does not contain sugar, and as part of the recipe this has been observed and controlled for 37 years.

Special distillation and aging methods help to preserve the special finesse and aroma of the brandy.

The Slivenska Perla matures for 6 months to one year in oak barrels. The best distillate batches are aged in oak barrels for 3 years or longer.