Sixteen Bulgarian wine cellars have already been selected in the program of the most prestigious wine contest Concours Mondial de Bruxelles; five of them are from the Plovdiv region. Concours Mondial de Bruxelles will be carried out from 28 April to 1 May 2016 in Plovdiv. Over 320 members of a professional jury (sommeliers, wine journalists, importers and traders) from 52 nationalities will taste and evaluate over 9 000 wines from 55 countries. Tourist walks are going to be organized for all the members, for which purpose various routes are going to be made. Some of the wine cellars which have already confirmed their attendance are: Katarzyna, Edoardo Miroglio, Bessa Valley, Asenovgrad Winery, Vinprom Peshtera, Bratya Minkovi, Burgozone and others. Fife of them are from the Plovdiv region. The main program of the contest includes professional wine tasting, and the additional one – thematic workshops and visiting wine cellars and in Plovdiv and the rest of the country, as well as cultural and archaeological sites in the “City of Seven Hills”. “A number of events will get Plovdiv marked on the World Wine map even before the contest next year”, shared the members of Probegex, the official partner of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Bulgaria, and added: “Holding this event is a great advantage. During Concours Mondial de Bruxelles professionals from all around the globe will get to know the quality of the Bulgarian wines, as well as the city of Plovdiv.” Concours Mondial de Bruxelles has over 20-year history. Every year it is carried out in different country. Bulgaria has been chosen out of some really famous wine countries. Plovdiv has been picked as a center of the most important wine regions – the Thracian Valley, where wine has been produced for over 9000 years. In 2015 a record number of Bulgarian wine-producers has been included in the program of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Eighteen of them took 37 medals in total (a big golden one, 14 golden and 22 silver). “42% of the Bulgarian wines included in the contest have been awarded” – said the organizers from Probegex. They also expect the number of Bulgarian wine cellars participating in 2016 to be over 20. The 23-rd edition of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Plovdiv is organized by Probegex, as well as the Municipality of Plovdiv, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Vine and Wine Chamber. Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is the most prestigious independent contest in the world, the only travelling contest in Europe and the only international competition to make a double-check of the awarded wines, thus guaranteeing their quality. Among the host of Concours Mondial by now have been Lisabon, Maastricht, Valencia, Palermo, Luxembourg, Guimaraes, Bratislava, Jesolo and others. Plovdiv is the next one. Concours Mondial de Bruxelles has been certificated by the EU.