Thrace

Located in the region of Thrace, in the village of Elenovo around 15 km from the town of Nova Zagora, the Edoardo Miroglio wine cellar is surrounded by vineyards, a natural lake and green fields, creating ideal conditions for vinegrowing.

Vines and wine were the main source of trade in the area as long ago as in the days of the ancient Thracians, with recipes being handed down through the generations from father to son.

The origins of winegrowing in Thrace (modern day Bulgaria) date back so far in time that its roots are mythological: indeed, the cult of Dionysus (Bacchus for the Romans), the god of wine, ecstasy and freedom of the senses, originated in Thrace and was subsequently adopted in the Greek pantheon. Wine was therefore a central element in the life of Thracians, a sort of divine drink through which they could reach ecstasy and communicate with the Divine. They drank wine before going into war, to dance, to find inspiration, and to enjoy freedom.

Historically, Thrace extended east of Macedonia towards the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and south of the Danube towards the Aegean Sea, and the border between Macedonia and Thrace practically corresponded with the course of the River Struma, famous for the gold mines located at its mouth.

An ancient Indo-European people, the Thracians left behind a great deal of written and archaeological evidence: in Bulgaria no fewer than 19,000 tombs are attributed to the Thracian civilization from the IV millennium B.C. on. As well as Dionysus, many other mythological Thracian figures have come down to us through the Greeks, for example Orpheus, Cybele and Rhesus.

Homer was singing the praises of Thracian wine - loved by the Achaeans - as many as 3000 years ago. At that time, the wine was thick and sweet, and would be diluted with spring water. Only the Thracians themselves used to drink it neat, a habit which was criticized by certain Greek philosophers such as Plato, who wrote: ''Scythians and Thracians drink wine completely undiluted, and believe they are engaging in a fine practice by pouring it over their clothes''.

It is thought that some native varieties, such as Mavrud and Melnick, one of Winston Churchill’s favourite wines, were already grown on the hills of southern Bulgaria more than 5000 years ago.

Going by the stories of Ovid and Pliny the Old, when the Romans conquered this land they immediately become such aficionados of Thracian wine that they made it one of the winegrowing regions par excellence in their empire, planting some white wine varieties which adapted well to the soil. And it was following this route in pursuit of a unique terroir - one which had made this area famous for its wines over the centuries - that Edoardo Miroglio arrived in Elenovo from Alba in Piedmont, and began to plant his vineyards.