We celebrate International Mavruda Day with a city wine festival in Plovdiv

October is the month in which we celebrate Bulgarian wine and wines from local varieties. For 5 years we have been celebrating "International Mavruda Day" on October 26, and the calendar of wine events throughout the month is filled with tastings in wine bars and shops, wine dinners in restaurants throughout the country and abroad, promotions in online stores, master classes.

For the third year, the team of the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals is organizing the most large-scale and significant event dedicated to the cause, namely 4 urban wine festivals called URBAN WINE FEST in 4 major cities of the country.

After Veliko Tarnovo, Varna and Sofia, it is Plovdiv's turn to welcome the last festival of the year, Urban Wine Fest - Plovdiv 2024. The event will take place on October 25 and 26 at the festival space on the bridge above the Gladstone St.​

In the city center, under the hills, the festival tents of Urban Wine Fest - Plovdiv 2024 will be built again this year, which will house wine bars, culinary corners and caravans, and the music program will be more festive than ever. A selection of 15 local varietals, represented in the different styles of 38 wines from 38 different wineries, will be available for wine tastings, wine by the glass, bottles for consumption on site or to take home, and BAVP wine experts will present the wines in an interesting and exciting way. By tradition, the festival will open with a unique and exciting festive musical greeting from the Plovdiv Brass Orchestra, and the Garbachev Quartet will delight us with its jazz music on both evenings. During the rest of the time, DJ Manev, who is supporting the festival for the third year now, will make us dance with a glass of wine in hand.

The focus of the event will be wines from endemic varieties such as Mavrud, Shiroka Melnishka Loza, Cherven Misket or those created by Bulgarian scientists, such as Rubin, Kaylashki Misket, Gergana, Melnik 55, Sandanski Misket and others. Balkan varieties such as Dimyat and Gamza, which are also found in other neighboring countries under different names and which have found their terroir in Bulgaria, will also be protagonists. The main goal of this initiative is to get to know the wealth of Bulgarian wines from local varieties, their merits and uniqueness.

Symbolically dedicated to one of our country's emblematic grape varieties - Mavrud, the "International Day of Mavrud" initiative has for the fifth year managed to unite wine specialists, merchants and tourist businesses in Bulgaria around the cause of making Bulgarian varieties more recognizable, Bulgarian wine preferred by locals and tourists and more popularly outside the country's borders.

The ideologue and organizer of the "International Mavruda Day" initiative is the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals, which unites experts in every sphere of the wine business - oenologists and cellar owners, wine merchants, marketing specialists, wine tourism, export.

October 26 - "International Mavruda Day" is now present in the world calendars of holidays dedicated to wine varieties. It is the local varieties that shape the characteristic face of each wine country, they build the individuality and uniqueness of its wine and they help for his betting success on the world wine map.

The festival is free of admission, and the wine tasting and consumption of wine and food will be paid for on the spot. For greater comfort and enjoyment, bring your favorite wine tasting glass or take advantage of the opportunity to use a glass for a deposit on site.

"International Mavruda Day" is an initiative of the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals and is held under the patronage of the Minister of Tourism, with the official support of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Municipality of Plovdiv.

The event is part of the events calendar of the city. Plovdiv and is financed by the Annual Program for Tourism Development of the Municipality of Plovdiv for 2024.

The event is not suitable for persons under the age of 18! The organizers appeal for moderate and responsible consumption and warn that there will be photo and video recording during the event.