In the heart of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, in the town of Pomorie, the "Chernomorsko Zlato" winery continues its history, combining traditions and innovations. As part of its efforts for modernization and sustainable development, the company has introduced new robots for packaging the finished products, announced Georgi Angelov, "Marketing" organizer.
"At Black Sea Gold, we are constantly implementing innovations in production," Angelov emphasized. "We recently introduced new robots and packaging machines for the finished products, which increases the efficiency and quality of our wines." In addition to this, the company has also invested in solar panels, which provide ecologically clean electricity for its bases, demonstrating a commitment to sustainable production.
Faced with the challenges of the changing climate, the grape harvest for 2025 is shaping up to be particularly difficult. "Drought, hail and fires have reduced yields by over 20 percent," Angelov explained. "The situation is particularly severe for white varieties, with the grapes almost missing in places."
Despite these difficulties, "Chernomorsko Zlato" is actively participating in the international market. The company maintains its strong presence at world wine competitions and exhibitions, establishing itself as a recognized name in the industry. "Black Sea Gold is actively involved in all major European competitions and is already an established name on the international stage," Angelov added. The company's wines participate annually in prestigious competitions such as Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Frankfurt International Trophy, Decanter World Wine Awards and others. For two editions, the winery has been among the exhibitors at ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany - the world's largest exhibition for wines and spirits. In addition, the company is also present at the Bulgarian wine and high-alcohol beverage exhibitions, where it presents its new products and maintains contact with the professional community.
The company's focus is not only on preserving the established quality of "Chernomorsko Zlato", but also on development through sustainable practices and modern solutions. "Combining tradition, built over our 90-year history, innovation and an ecologically responsible approach makes us believe that with persistence and investments we will continue to develop the sector and establish the image of Bulgarian wine on a global scale," Angelov said.
A look at the history reveals the architectural magnificence of the winery, built according to a French design with a U-shape. Deliana Simova, technologist at the winery, explained that the building is entirely constructed with reinforced concrete tanks, each with a volume of 30 cubic meters, located on four floors. Over the years, they have been lined with stainless steel to avoid contact between the wine and the concrete.
"The winery constantly invests in new equipment and technologies," Simova emphasized. The company works with modern machines, devices and pumping equipment. In addition, a micro-winery also operates within the winery, where about 90 percent of the processes are performed manually. There, limited series of wines are produced with a precise selection of grapes and high quality, using oak barrels.
In "Chernomorsko Zlato" there are two main production sites for vinification. The first is for large volumes and basic series, including white, red and rosé wines, as well as materials for distillation. The second site is intended for micro-winemaking.
In the modern world, consumers are looking for variety. Simova noted that both in winemaking and in high-proof beverages, there is a trend towards more fruity, fresh and light wines. The company strives to meet these trends both in vinification and in the visual aspect of the products.
Bulgarian wines enjoy competitiveness on the world market. "Our main advantage is the terroir - the unique climate and proximity to the sea," Simova emphasized. Pomorie wines are distinguished by a characteristic mineral and salty profile thanks to the proximity to the sea and the salt lake.
The company exports its production to countries such as China, Japan, USA, Germany and England, but the main market remains the domestic one. The wines of "Chernomorsko Zlato" win international awards and are highly valued, and in recent years their price has increased and is often higher than that of some French, Italian and Spanish wines, Simova added.
Around 250 people work at "Chernomorsko Zlato". Investments in sustainable development include the construction of solar panels, modern containers under European programs and opportunities for heating with gas. The company has its own steam power plant and significant energy capacities.
The reporter on the spot felt the intoxicating aroma of wine and aged distillate as he walked through the premises. Before his eyes stood one of the few distillation installations of its kind on the Balkan Peninsula, consisting of French boilers. The installation was purchased in 1994 from France and is of the same type used for the production of cognac.
Engineer-technologist Nikolai Bialkov explained the distillation method, which includes double distillation. First, the raw material enters the tanks, after which the boilers are filled and the distillation of the marc is performed. Then the marc is reloaded for a second distillation, from which a distillate of very high quality is obtained.
The fractionation of the distillate is carried out through a special "pipe", which allows the separation of different fractions and the achievement of the desired characteristics of the drink. These facilities are unique to the region and are part of the technology used to produce not only brandy, but also the most elite rakia - Burgas 63, Burgas 63 Barrel, Burgas 63 Perlova.
The history of "Chernomorsko Zlato" begins in 1924. Then, in Pomorie, enterprising Bulgarians established the first Grape-Wine Cooperative "Dimyat". The centuries-old experience in winemaking inspired the Pomorie winemakers to build the first modern winery in the city in 1932.
In the 50s of the last century, "Chernomorsko Zlato" acquired the appearance of a modern factory. Twenty years later, the Pomorie winery has a new reason to be proud – a special building with 12,000 oak barrels for aging wine distillate has been created. In 1994, the winery imported eight original Charentais stills from the Cognac region of France, with which Pomorie began to create the highest quality rakia and brandy in Southeast Europe.
Today, the former winery from 1932 has been transformed into the heart of a unique hotel complex for modern wine tourism with a beautiful restaurant, tasting room and museum, known to lovers of fine wines as "Via Pontica".
From 2007 to 2013, "Chernomorsko Zlato" invested over 5.5 million euros in the construction of a micro-winery. Micro-winemaking is a unique technology of wine production, in which all processes are performed manually, which makes it possible to produce high-quality wines in limited series.
At the heart of everything are the well-maintained vineyards - more than 700 hectares of own vineyards from the most famous classic wine varieties. All processes are carried out manually - from picking and delicately separating the grapes from the bunches to the precise sorting of the completely healthy and ripe grapes.
This story is part of the BTA series "Follow the path of the new BG WINE", which will present dozens of wineries in Bulgaria before the ninth edition of the Global Wine Tourism Conference, hosted by which will be Plovdiv. The organizer of the forum is the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the World Tourism Organization of the UN (UN Tourism).