Grape Harvest Under Way: How Good Will This Year’s Crop Be in Southwestern Bulgaria?

Grape growers in southwestern Bulgaria and other parts of the country rich in vineyards are in the midst of the grape harvest.

Wine producers describe this year’s harvest season in the northern part of the Struma valley and the Blagoevgrad region as productive, with fewer weather-related problems threatening the crop.

Stoimen Gorov, wine producer from Kocherinovo: “Despite the May frost, which in our assessment reduced the grape yield by 20-30%, the lower yield has been offset by higher quality.”

To preserve the grapes’ flavour and produce good wine, growers need not only daily care but also sufficient water. Where irrigation channels are lacking, producers have once again had to find their own solutions this year. They have also been relying on cooler weather.

Stefan Gergov, oenologist: “Fortunately, we did not have such extreme temperatures this year as in previous years, and that is why the harvest is of good quality. Of course, irrigation is important because the grapes start to scorch and their quality deteriorates significantly, and you cannot produce quality wine from poor-quality grapes. In recent years, I would even say that without irrigating the vineyards, it is impossible to get a good harvest.”

The wine-growing sector continues to face a serious labour shortage. During the grape harvest, when the workload is at its heaviest, there is a shortage of skilled workers to pick the grapes. The reason is that they have chosen to work in the same sector, but in countries such as France, Italy and Spain.