Zagreus Winery

THE STORY

Just like the Thracian god of wine Zagreus was reborn for a new life, Kostadinov family have recovered and revived their hereditary lands and in 2004 laid the foundations of Zagreus Winery.

The roots of the Kostadinov family are from the village of Vinitsa, near the winery. In 1999, Yordan Kostadinov, together with his father Dimitar Kostadinov, began to rebuild and expand the family vineyards located in the “Old Vineyards” area, and then the idea of Zagreus Winery was born. Up to this date their son and grandson Dimitar Kostadinov Jr is the one who runs the company.

THE WINERY

Zagreus Winery is a modern complex with a fully integrated cycle of production, beginning from the grapes and ending with the bottle of wine. It is equipped with the most contemporary production facilities with the ability to control and optimise all processes of fermentation, vinification, stabilisation, bottling and ageing of the wine. 

THE VINEYARDS

The beginning of the vineyard was set in the autumn of 1998 and currently Zagreus has 120 hectares of own vineyards. The varieties cultivated are Mavrud, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. The vine massif is located in Upper Thracian Lowlands near Plovdiv, which is one of the most favourable wine regions in Bulgaria in terms of both climate and soil. The main colour of the soil is dark maroon red. In terms of climate the region belongs to the Transitional continental area. The temperature regime is characterised by open winter and hot summer. The average annual temperature of the air is 12,3°C. The duration of frost-free time averages 210 days. The average annual rainfall is 565 mm. The region belongs to the zone with the longest period of sunshine, which annual average is 2293 hours. Under these conditions in July, when the grapes ripen, they enjoy an average sunshine of 10 hours a day. Here Zagreus Winery meets the best conditions for gathering the grapes at full technological ripeness and receiving the perfect material for wine with high quality indicators.

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

Since 2010 the vineyards of Zagreus are cultivated in accordance with all EU directives and requirements for organic production. In 2013, after a mandatory three-year period of probation, the winery receives a certificate for BIO/Organic production. No synthetic pesticides and fertilisers or genetically modified organisms are used in the cultivation of the grapes. Zagreus uses only sulphur preparations (blue vitriol, green vitriol) and extracts of plants and strains of microorganisms which have insecticidal effect. "Maintaining a vineyard with such preparations is labour-intensive because it requires much more work in terms of preventive measures." – Says Dimitar, owner and manager of Zagreus Winery.

WINE MAKING

No synthetic chemicals are used during the vinification. The yeast for fermentation is guaranteed GMO-free. Only additives with natural origin are permissible, extracted from natural products – vegetable, mineral, microorganisms without GMOs. Sulphur dioxide that is added before bottling in order to prevent oxidation, is only half of the maximum permitted level for organic wine making.

THE WINE

Their most successful wine from Mavrud is VINICA – made from dried grapes. Since its first vintage in 2011 VINICA was several times awarded The Best Bulgarian Wine and is almost every year in the Top 5 wines of Bulgaria. Another emblematic wines of Zagreus are the White Mavrud (Blanc de Noir) an the Mavrud Reserve.

MISSION

The main mission of the winery is to work with, preserve, revive, experiment and show the best of the oldest indigenous Bulgarian grape variety – Mavrud. Zagreus doesn't stop here concerning authenticity. Only high quality Bulgarian oak barrels are used for ageing the wines.

THE TEAM

FROM THE MANAGEMENT

"Our strong belief is that what happens in the vineyard and in our consciousness determines the behaviour in the bottle. It’s about growing the best grapes under the best possible conditions, as well as devoting our thoughts and intentions in order to make wine that reflects the best and most beautiful in ourselves..."

"It’s about being relentless in the pursuit of quality while preserving the nature."