Thrace is a historical area covering in today’s south Bulgaria, northern Greece and the European part of Turkey. The name Thrace is related to the name of one of the numerous tribes that inhibited the area – the Travcians. In around 6000 BC Thrace was settled by an agricultural population famous for three main things: waging war, making jewelry and exquisite ornamentation, and producing wine.
The Thracians were wine-making masters and avid consumers of wine and had multiple rituals connected to it. The Thracians worshipped Dionysus (or Bacchus as the Romans called him) – the God of Wine who inspired some of their most important rituals and cults.
The Thracian cultural heritage in the area of wine-making, wine traditions and rituals drift through the ages and is evidenced in the modern Bulgaria – Plovdiv is perhaps the most vivid evidence of the cultural imprint of the Thracian heritage. Once called Philippopolis, the town was developed on a strategic path for merchants. Located in an extremely fruitful area along the ancient river Hebrus (nowadays Struma), Plovdiv has perfectly preserved Thracian golden treasures, architecture wonders and numerous tales and legends.
Modern Bulgarian wineries implement generations of knowledge and experience when producing wine of the highest quality. The importance of the Thracians in wine production in Bulgaria is demonstrated in almost every name, label, story and idea behind the wineries in the country.
