I have to say that I rarely think of wine when I think of Bulgaria. I'm not sure what I think about when I think of this country actually, and I had no idea that it was at one time a major wine region. Now I'm seeing reports about how this country may be coming back to life as far at its wine heritage, Bulgaria's on the rise:

Because of Mikhail Gorbachev's anti-alcohol efforts, this trade dropped off considerably by the 1980s and many vineyards were simply ripped out. Fortunately, most of them were poor-quality vineyards. But around that time, improved varietal wines like cabernet sauvignon and merlot were starting to find their way onto the European market, notably Britain.

In the early 1990s, free-market reforms threw the wine industry into confusion as land restitution took place and inflation became rampant. Both of these factors discouraged outside investors and slowed progress.

Today, things are picking up. The industry is undergoing restructuring, and outside investment has again started to flow in, leading to privatization and takeovers. Smaller boutique wineries are proving successful and showing that quality wines can be made in Bulgaria.