Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar

Winery

At 10 or 15 kilometres west of Karnobat, near the Burgas-Sofia road, you can see the Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar rising neatly on a hill surrounded by vineyards. Its architecture pleases the eye at first sight – an elegant retro style balanced out by some modern elements implying the comfort and discreet luxury inside.

The wine cellar is located exactly where the oldest, best vineyards used to be grown in the Karnobat area. It revives the glory of the famous winemakers, the Minkov Brothers, who, in late 19th century, won Bulgaria the then most prestigious international award from a wine fair.

A long time ago, in 1875, devoted to their greatest passion, winemaking, Ivan, Vasil and Nikifor Minkov found a wine cellar in the trade-and-craft centre of the town of Karnobat – the Church Quarter. The brothers’ exceptional wines and the Karnobat area winemaking traditions led to great success.

The gold medal from the Brussels Wine Fair of 1894 was followed by awards from the elite London Wine Competition and the Plovdiv International Fair. A century later, the restored Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar is again the winner of prestigious international and national awards.

The wine has two museum areas – one is devoted to the winemaking family and features authentic possessions of the Minkov brothers, and the other one tells the millenary history of winemaking in this region.

Guests have the opportunity to trace the whole winemaking cycle – from harvesting to ageing in oak barrels in the underground tunnels. They can enjoy their favorite wines by the fireplace, among the barrels, or up on the tower where a splendid view opens up.

The combination of high-quality wines, picturesque scenery, comfort and selected dishes matching the characteristics of the different wines make the visitors’ stay memorable and inspire a feeling of elegance and style.

Terroir

With the Black Sea so close to the east and the Aegean to the South, the climate in the region is quite favourable. The day-time and night-time sea breezes encounter two local winds – the north and south winds. The north wind blows in the afternoon and at dusk, from the high points to the low ones, to cool off the heated earth.

The south wind blows mostly in the morning, from lower points to higher ones, to lift the morning dew and refresh the vines. These influences in the valley make the winter milder, the autumn long and warm, and the spring cool. They prevent parching summer heat.

Vineyards

We live and breathe with the philosophy that “winemaking starts at the vineyard”. That is why we have carefully selected three plots of land in the villages of Terziysko, Ognen and Devetak to grow our vineyards and make our favourite wines. Despite their proximity to one another, the vineyards have their own individual characters which contribute to the complexity and attractiveness of our wines.

Wine tours

The Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar is the most charming wine tourism destination. It carries on the spirit of the Bulgarian national revival and the cosiness of an old town house. Built on a picturesque hill, it is amidst the splendid vineyards of the Karnobat area. The architecture and furnishings boast a consistent retro style.

In this romantic atmosphere, you can taste the award-winning white and red MINKOV BROTHERS and CYCLE wines. They are served with delicious traditional Bulgarian dishes and world cuisine. The wine cellar’s oenologists organise “journeys” through the various wine styles featured in our selection.

We offer you the particularly attractive opportunity to personally witness the winemaking stages. Harvesting is the most colourful ritual. The grapes are picked by hand from more than 300 hectares of young vineyards in the vicinity of the villages of Devetak, Ognen and Terziysko.

The exceptional terroir of this countryside makes an indispensable contribution to the high quality and unique character of our wines. Adventure lovers can tour the two tunnels dug under the wine cellar, each 80 metres long. There the Minkov Brothers wines age at natural temperatures in more than 6,000 barriques made of American and French oak.

The location of the Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar was not selected by chance. For centuries the juiciest and most aromatic grapes have been grown in the Karnobat area. This region’s history is closely related to the winemaking past of our land.

That is evidenced by the excavations of Thracian mounds in the vicinity of Karnobat. The special museum compound created at the wine cellar displays old-time wine storage vessels and red-figure pottery dating back to the 5th or 4th century B.C. and depicting Dionysus.

Some of the awards of the famous Minkov brothers of Karnobat are also preserved. A long time ago, in 1894, a wine of theirs won Bulgaria its first gold medal from the world wine fair in Brussels. Now, a century later, the Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar is reviving the tradition of making high-quality wines out of its own vineyards.

Museum

The wine cellar has two museum compounds complementing the atmosphere. They will take you back into the curious history of the winemaking Minkov family in the times of Bulgaria’s national revival and the millenary winemaking traditions in the Karnobat area.