Wine Festival for the Day of the Winemakers at the Bononia Winery

If Valentine's Day is celebrated here on February 14, in Bulgaria three holidays fall on this date. The significance as a holiday of love has only recently become widespread. At the same time, February 14 is the anniversary of the death of St. Cyril. In the last years of his life, he died in 869, Cyril created the Bulgarian alphabet together with his brother Methodius. Today it is known as the Cyrillic alphabet. By the way, February 14 is also the commemoration day of Cyril and Methodius in the Catholic, Protestant and Anglican calendars - since 1980 even a feast day in many places in the Catholic Church. The 3rd holiday associated with February 14 in Bulgaria is the Day of the Winemakers, Trifon Zarezan or Trifon Day. In 2022, the Bononia winery again took this as an opportunity to hold a wine festival to mark this event - after pandemic-related restrictions, finally on a larger scale again.

Saint Trifon or Tryphon lived in the 3rd century. He was executed at the age of probably less than 20 years around the year 250 in Nicaea because of his Christian faith and thus became a Christian martyr. His tomb was either in Sampsados in Phrygia or in Lampsakos in Mysia, which is on the Hellespont. However, he was later taken to Constantinople and then to Rome, with the head relic said to be in the Montenegrin cathedral of Kontor.

The fast-emerging devotion to Trifon, swept the Byzantine Empire, reaching as far as southern Italy and Sicily. In the Catholic Church, Trifon is considered the patron saint of falconers and gardeners. According to Orthodox tradition, however, he is the patron saint of vintners and gardeners. His church day of honor is everywhere on 01 February. According to the new church calendar, this also applies to Orthodoxy. In the Bulgarian folk tradition, however, Trifon's Day as the day of the vintners and winegrowers is still celebrated according to the old custom on February 14.

On the Day of the Winemakers traditionally take place processions to the vineyards. Among other things, the luggage includes bread as well as full bottles of wine. However, after the Trifon Day at the Bononia Winery could be celebrated only in a very limited way in the past years, this year there was a big celebration again. Music and old songs were heard everywhere. Folk dances were performed. In addition to guests and employees of the winery, as well as local residents, especially from the villages of Gomotartsi and Koshava, a lot of celebrities were present. They all attended the ceremonial blessing as well as the first pruning of the year on some vines. After that, the cuttings and roots were watered with wine. This is connected with the wish that the coming harvest will be especially good and that under the protection of St. Trifon health as well as prosperity will flourish on the vineyard. Now the people were also allowed to enjoy it. Over wine, traditional round bread, pastries, cheese, sausage, bacon and other delicacies, representatives from the government, province and town hall highlighted the merits of the Bononia Winery.