We are looking forward to offering you a memorable and outstanding wine experience in Bulgaria! If you couldn’t choose the right one for you among our proposals, then just contact us. We would be glad to respond to your wishes and tailor a wine holiday, especailly for YOU! The personal approach is part…
Are you looking for a memorable wine weekend in the home of the indigenous grape variety Melnik (Shiroka Melnishka Loza) which has been named after the smallest town in Bulgaria? If so then join our wine tour in the picturesque Struma Valley! This romantic wine experience will bring you to scenic views at mountains, unique…
THRACIAN WINE TOUR AND PLOVDIV (Private Tour) Gourmet Enlightening journey to the cultural and historical city of Plovdiv; 3-course exquisite lunch in a gourmet restaurant/wine bar; Wine Tasting and a tour to the vineyards of Villa Yustina; Read more…
THE MONASTERY WINE TASTING TOUR (Private Tour) History & Scenery Wine tasting in a distinguished wine cellar – Medi Valley; Picturesque trip alongside the impressive Rila Mts with lunch; Visit of the Great Rila Monastery (UNESCO site), and the masterpieces of medieval Bulgarian architecture (Boboshevo); Read more…
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK WINE TOUR (Private Tour) Nature & Traditions A getaway to the mild landscapes of Sredna Gora mountain; Visit to the charming town and architectural reserve Koprivshtica; Tasting of Rumelia wines in an old authentic house in Panagyurishte and a tour to the Thracian Gold Treasure; Read…
Birthplace of the oldest European civilization and the wine culture – this is Bulgaria, the hidden treasure in South-Eastern Europe. Even experienced travelers will be impressed by the obvious influence of the terroir on well-established and remarkable wine varieties. They truly capture the character of this picturesque region, “locked” between…
Welcome to two of the most extraordinary valleys in Bulgaria, the Thracian valley and the Struma river valley. They are still keeping evidences that wine has been produced in this area for more than 5000 years. You will have the chance to enjoy incredible wines next to beautiful sceneries and…
Безупречна подготовка и организация. Много добре подбрани изби и проведени дегустационни презентации. Иво обогатява с познания и високо ниво на компетентност. Виненият тур като изживяване и пълно и запомнящо се. Препоръка: малко повече факти за сортовете вино и характеристиките им+подходящо комбиниране на вината с храни. Винено-кулинарният туризъм трябва да се…
Ще препоръчваме горещо винените турове на Via Vino във всеки удобен момент. Виненото пътешествие „По стъпките на траките и мавруда“ на нос беше като чистота, въздух, с нотки на приятелство и спомени за дълги пътешествия; цветът му беше с дълбок и наситен омагьосващ оттенък; тялото – зашеметяващо, заземяващо, балансирано и хармонично с подобаваща…
Скъпи приятели, изпращаме още една сложна година. Благодаря на всички, които се докоснаха до винената магия с мен, както и на моите партньори! И отново гледаме ведро напред – към 2022г. и нови винено-кулинарни преживявания, които да ни развеселяват, сприятеляват, забавляват, образоват… Виното е и култура, и емоция, и магия…
As a part of the organizing team and Chairman of the Board of Bulgarian Association of Bulgarian Wine Professionals here are a few highlights from the first edition of the International Mavrud Day. First of all it was a huge pleasure for me to work with my fellow colleagues and…
The wine adventure with Ivo is always exciting, versatile and unique. No matter, if you are a wine expert, with Via Vino you could learn something new or change your opinion on certain wine variety or you could just enjoy the pleasures of life. The Melnik wine weekend program was…
The latest issue (#42 / July-Sept. 2021) of the leading Bulgarian wine magazine DiVino is exclusively dedicated to wine tourism. Nearly 80 pages with analysis, travelogues, notes, reports, statistics, trends, hints and all kind of useful information for wine lovers and keen travelers! It was a huge pleasure for me to…
Толкова близо, а всъщност толкова далеч… Скъпи винени любители, замисляли ли сте се колко е лесно да открием вино от Испания, Чили или Нова Зеландия, а колко трудно (нерядко и невъзможно) e да опитаме вино от съседните ни страни? Да, понятия като маркетинг и реклама, винени нации, големи производители, силни…
In February 2021 two respected “wine” ladies from Plovdiv – Krasimira Kodukova (Wine Tour Maker) and Gergana Todorova (Winetours.bg) – conducted a research on WINE TOURISM IN BULGARIA. In my opinion its results might be useful and interesting even outside of my country. So I have translated the analysis in…
There is no doubt that the most reliable and professional annual wine ranking in Bulgaria is being organized by DiVino. Renowned experts, transparent rules, fair approach… That all means respectively a real prestige and recognition for the awarded wines. For the tenth consecutive year, at the beginning of 2021, the…
I had the pleasure to moderate on last Saturday, 20th of March a very interesting event – organized by one of my favorite wine wine places in Bulgaria (but not only): Uva Nestum Wine & SPA, part of their series “Wine Adventures”. This time it was dedicated to South Sakar –…
North Bulgaria is often being somehow underestimated when wine lovers think about local wine and tourism. With the much bigger density of wineries, better developed wine routes, its various nature, infrastructure and tourism in general our South has arguably the leading role. I don’t want to set a border line…
През 2020, годината на многото “Т” – тегава, тъпа, трудна, тъмна и т.н. – изгряха 2 светли лъча на литературно-винения небосклон у нас. Сменям обаче стила, че ще вземе да стане прекалено… Започвам с още малко патос и шедьовъра (не е пресилено) на Яна Петкова „а,б, вино“. Все още не…
We came to Bulgaria as we knew nothing about the country. We found VIA VINO Monastery Wine Tasting Tour in Bulgaria on Google and knew it was for us (we love a good wine tour)! We really enjoyed the tour. We felt it was a good mix of history (seeing…
2020г. ще остане в историята – едва ли някой се съмнява в това. За съжаление, пандемията покоси туризма по безпрецедентен начин. 100% анулация или отлагане на всички мои турове през годината с чужди гости – нещо, градено години наред рухна за дни. Доскоро проектът ми Via Vino беше насочен навън,…
My wife was searching for a wine tasting experience and found Via Vino’s site. As she realized the program usually organized for groups so asked if it is possible for 1-2 person as well. The first good experience was the flexibility, he was even ready to guide a single person.…
Скъпи ценители на виното и пътешествията, Време е да погледнем смело напред. Виното и ювелирно създадените пътувания за нас са не просто бизнес, а страст. С настоящите уикенд преживявания из България, ние, от Виа Вино и Зиг-Заг Холидейз / Одисея-ин, Ви предлагаме един оригинален прочит какво още може да представлява…
Вино и колела из Белоградчишкия край: 11-13.09.2020г. Цена от 499лв / човек в двойна стая Северозападнала или Северозапазена България? Ние определно предпочитаме второто! Между Дунав и западните склонове на Стара планина, Белоградчишкият край предлага отлични условия и вина от световна класа. Ако има място в България, където думата „тероар“…
A few months ago I wrote a post about Bulgarian cuisine and its history. Now it is time to continue my story, moreover we all need to think/write/talk about topics, others than Covid-19, don’t we? As I pointed out, Bulgarian food is a colourful and tasty mix, heavily influenced by…
With regard to COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions taking place I would like to kindly inform you that a state of emergency has been declared in Bulgaria – valid until 13 April 2020. All tours within the country have been suspended, traveling within the country is heavily restricted. Our boarders…
This wine tour will be guided in German language. Please check the German section for more details.
This year’s edition of the leading Bulgarian wine event took place between 22 and 24 November in Sofia. It went in a more different (and intensive) way for me, that’s why I have decided to split my post in 3 parts… Of course, the tastings and exploration of new good…
Wir haben 4 Urlaubstage am Anfang Oktober in Bulgarien verbracht – Via Vino Melnik Wein-Wochenende. Dank ivo, unserem sympathischen und kompetenten Reiseleiter wurden diese Tage zu einem perfekten Urlaub. Wir können Ivo und Bulgarien auf jeden Fall nur empfehlen! 4 Tage sind jedoch zu kurz, um wirklich einen Einblick in…
Dear partners and wine lovers, Odysseia-in & Via Vino will participate again at some of the leading travel events in Europe. Please find below information about these exhibitions and conferences, where you will have the opportunity to learn more about our food & wine tours in Bulgaria. Click on the…
I totally agree with the statement: Wine is the best friend of food (and vice versa of course). So, there is no way to skip the food topic. Moreover, Bulgarian cuisine has a long, interesting history or better said – background, going back to the ancient tribes and civilizations that…
Lieber Ivo, wir schwärmen noch immer von unserer Wein-Reise nach Bulgarien (Via Vino Collection – Auf den Spuren der Thraker), die mit dir zur wahren Erlebnis- und Genussreise wurde. Schöne Landschaft, ausgewählt köstliche Speisen, freundliche Menschen und der herrliche Wein von engangierten “Weinmachern”. Dazu dein umfangreiches Wissen in allen Bereichen, deine Umsichtigkeit und Humor. Mit dem…
I am really proud and delighted to announce that Via Vino wine tours in Bulgaria has been recommended in one of the leading German guide books – DUMONT (Publisher: DuMont Reise, Authors: Georgi Palahutev, Simone Böcker, 2019 – 3rd edition). The good thing is that it is not connected…
We chose to travel to an Eastern European country with mountains and beaches that did not have too many tourists, plus really good food and wine. Via Vino wine tours in Bulgaria had great reviews online and we are really happy we chose to travel with you on The Monastery…
The history of Bulgarian wine The Thracians – Part 2 Continuing from Part 1 Thracian wine has been drunk from the cradle to the grave – in ceremonies when a baby was born (a sad event, because for these people the life on earth was undesired and unhappy, just…
Es war sehr angenehm mit dir (Ivo) die Genussrundreise durch Bulgarien zu erleben. Du hast alles gut organisiert. Ja, und auch viele Abwechselung: Weinproben, Wanderungen, Besichtigungen. Für uns war diese Weinreise sehr interessant. Marleen und Fernand, Belgium (traveled May 2019)
We wanted to explore the uniqueness of Bulgarian wine with the hint of cultural experience; something local, Bulgarian style. It’s a small group wine tour, well organized and Ivo (our tour guide) is very knowledgable about the country & wine. Janet & Tom, Hong Kong (travelled April 2019)
You probably know that Sofia – the capital of Bulgaria is located outside of the vine-growing areas of the country. But did you know that London (!) was ranked among the 10 Best Wine Travel Destiantions by Wine Enthusiast Magazine a copule of years ago? The lack of vineyards is…
Скъпи ценители на виното, каним Ви между 1 и 5 май, 2019г. на едно незабравимо винено пътешествие в може би най-живописния и спиращ дъха със стръмните си лозя винен регион в света – МОЗЕЛ. Via Vino wine tours, заедно с Винен клуб The Wine Inside и нашият германски партньор – “Винен посланик на Мозел” / Mosel…
We, the team of VIA VINO & Odysseia-in are happy to announce our fourth participation in a row at the leading global wine and culinary tourism event – The Annual International Wine Tourism Conference, Exhibition & Workshop (IWINETC). The 2019 edition will be held in The Basque Country, Spain between…
First of all Happy New Year, dear wine lovers and friends! I wish you a healthy and prosperous 2019! And of course – lots of good wine and exciting wine experiences! Now let’s start in style the New Year! Between 10 and 13 January Via Vino & Odysseia-in will participate…
The history of Bulgarian wine The Thracians – Part 1 It is totally unpredictable how long will be my effort for presenting the history of wine in our region. Hopefully not as long as the dispute where wine-producing has started… One thing is clear – we are proud of our…
We really liked Via Vino wine tour in Bulgaria. We are surprised in a positive way abouth the country and the wines. And liked the differences in the land and the wineries. Joan and Angela, The Netherlands (travelled Oct. 2018)
Just returned from our 8 day wine tour to Bulgaria. With eight friends we have been sharing our wine hobby for many years. Previous journeys went to Germany, France and Portugal / Spain, so we do have some comparison material. Bulgaria has enormous potential in terms of wines. They make…
Wonderful variety of sights and experiences (Day tour in Sofia & Via Vino Monastery Wine Tasting Tour). Ivo explained everything well and was very patient and accommodating. For some of us the winery was a wonderful change of pace and altered a nice relaxing experience between all the sightseeing activities.…
Lieber Ivo, unsere Bulgarien-Reise (Melnik und Struma-Tal langes Wochenende) war auch dank Ihnen ein wirklich sehr schönes Erlebnis. Wir hatten viel Spaß und ihre Erklärungen waren sehr gut. Vielen Dank und liebe Grüße aus Wien! Silvia & Christian, Elisabeth & Andreas, Austria (travelled Sept. 2018)
The tour will be in German – please switch the language to German.
Ето че дойде време и за едно незабравимо винено преживяване, специално създадено за винените пътешественици и любители на вкусната храна и качественото, истинско вино в България! Заповядайте на 18 и 19.08. ПОД НЕБЕТО НА ЮЖЕН САКАР заедно с Odysseia-in, Via Vino и Vino Orenda – за мен ще бъде изключително…
We chose Via Vino Monastery Wine Tasting Tour-History&Scenery in Bulgaria because you combine wine tasting with culture and saw that you have good reviews on Trip Advisor. We enjoyed the tour! We are really gald we got to visit the St. Dimitar church, this was very special and something we…
Lieber Ivo, herzlichen Dank für deine nette Begleitung, Führungen, Infos, einfach für alles während unserer Via Vino Sofia Gourmet-Reise! Nochmals lieben Dank, hoffentlich bis bald… Auf Wiedersehen! Maria, Elisabeth & Urs, Switzerland (visited June 2018)
It was a great Food and Wine tour. One of the best so far. Very well organized and implemented. Thank you Ivaylo! Ljubica, Slovenia (visited April 2018)
Egészségére! This is one of the very few words I know in Hungarian language, however it is an essential one, beacuse it means… Cheers! Moreover, it was relevant for the purpose of my third visit in Hungary – the major international wine tourism conference! The country is located only 800km/500miles…
Dear Wine & Food lover, join our VIA VINO Exclusive Gourmet Tour in Sofia, Bulgaria! Taste the local flagship drink rakia in a stylish communist-era retro bar; Savor a 6-course pairing menu in a trendy gourmet restaurant for modern Bulgarian food; Explore Sofia, the Bulgarian capital on a city tour…
A few years ago, after “opening” the boarders and by following the world marketing trends, we started celebrating St. Valentine’s Day… But from ancient times 14th of February is the Day of St. Trifon Zarezan – the patron of vine growers and wine makers! According to some sources it is…
GRÜEZI! For a second year in a row Odysseia-In & Via Vino participated at FESPO – Switzerland’s biggest travel and holiday fair! 2018 edition which took place in Messe Zürich between 25 and 28 January 2018. We presented our brand new food and wine tours in Bulgaria, among them: CARPE…
Another new year and another reason to look back, to summarize, to make plans for the future… I have decided to make a visual retrospection of our wine tours in Bulgaria in 2017. A lot of exciting moments throughout the country, happy people (and guide!), good wine and food, great…
We came to Bulgaria because there were cheap flights and our close friend is from Bulgaria so we really wanted to visit. We found Via Vino & Zig Zag tours because of the reviews on Trip Advisor and chose the private gourmet day tour THRACIAN WINE TOUR AND PLOVDIV. Communication prior…
Dear Wine & Food lover, join our VIA VINO Exclusive Gourmet Tour in Sofia, Bulgaria! Taste the local flagship drink rakia in a stylish communist-era retro bar; Savor a 6-course pairing menu in a trendy gourmet restaurant for modern Bulgarian food; Explore Sofia, the Bulgarian capital on a city tour…
We were fully satisfied with the Via Vino Monastery Wine Tasting tour. Our guide Lubo was a real value added because not only he was very kind and available, but he solved also unexpected small issues (a road closed on the way to the small church, and the consequent delay…
This November, Sofia will became the wine capital of Bulgaria. The seventh edition of the largest forum for Bulgarian wine DiVino.Taste will be held from 17th to 19th November 2017. DiVino.Taste will be again in the National Palace of Culture, but this time in Halls 7, 8, 9. Whether you…
We like to visit wine regions and experience different wines. I found VIA VINO tours online and chose the Thracian Wine Tour and Plovdiv. We have had a lovely day. Ivo has been fantastic and we have loved the wines we tasted. It was so nice to see another city…
My neighbors were Bulgarians and said wonderful things. Also, why not? I like last-minute adventures and chose VIA VINO wine tour Thracian Wine Tour & Plovdiv. It was very nice easy day and lots of wine! I enjoyed the history added in. Daisy G., USA (visited September 2017)
Some wine professionals are passionately asserting that the best place for cultivating of vines in Bulgaria is the Eastern part of the Thracian Lowland and more precisely the South Sakar sub-region. Certainly, I could argue with these guys but I have much fewer arguments after visiting 4 wineries from the…
Shiroka Melnishka Loza or Broad Leaved Melnik Vine (literally translated in English) is one of the most interesting autochthonic Bulgarian varieties. Well, it is really difficult to be pronounced so you can commonly find it simply as Melnik vine. It is growing exclusively in the Struma Valley Wine Region/Melnik…
Herzlichen Dank an Ivo! Er hat die Gruppe kompetent und sympathisch während Via Vino Sofia Gourmet-Reise begleitet. Wir haben viel erfahren und erlebten gute Tage in Sofia. Die Stadtführung war auch interessant. Andreas, Gerda, Hansjörg, Beat, Graziella, Vreni und Klaus, Switzerland (visited May 2017)
We really enjoyed Via Vino Thracian Wine Tour – the day tour to Plovdiv and Villa Yustina with Ivaylo. If we had an opportunity to go again, we would like to visit one more winery. Agneska & Matt, Poland (visited April 2017)
Dear wine lovers, I could undoubtedly say that Priorat is one of the most exciting and distinctive wine areas I have ever been! And that I am extremely happy to announce a Via Vino & Odysseia-in tour to Priorat which will take place between 29 June and 04 July 2017.…
Thanks a lot again, Ivaylo for the comprehensive Via Vino Food and Wine Tour in Southern Bulgaria! Silvia, Gabriel and Daniel R., Switzerland (visited April 2017)
Via Vino & Odysseia-In participated again in the leading global event for the wine and culinary tourism industry. The 9th Annual International Wine Tourism Conference, Exhibition & Workshop (IWINETC) was held in the region of Catania, Sicily, Italy 28 & 29 March 2017. The 3 day event (2 day conference…
I wanted to travel somewhere different to everything I’ve ever seen before and to try new experiences such as my first wine tour! Via Vino provided the perfect opportunity The Monastery Wine Tasting Tour was very well organized, very relaxing and one of the best experiences I’ve had in a…
I was not sure what to expect but based on the tour, itself and the reviews, I cannot recommend it enough to others. The information was great and I learned so much more of the Bulgarian history. It was very customisable and always had the customer in mind. Lovely experience,…
Grüezi mitenand! That is the Swiss expression for “Hello everybody”. I am very happy to announce that VIA VINO & Odysseia-In have participated at FESPO 2017 – Switzerland’s biggest travel and holiday fair! It took place in Messe Zürich between 26 and 29 January 2017. We have presented there…
In the very beginning of The New Year I decided to summarize some interesting articles, blog posts and other online reading materials. Though the topics are various, I am sticking to the Via Vino main point – Wine Tourism in Bulgaria. Actually I am happy to share with you that…
Dear friend, we know that you like wine and extremely beautiful nature. Just like us! Via Vino & Odysseia-In offer you a memorable trip to north-western Bulgaria – it is just what you are looking for… In the late afternoon on Friday** we depart to the north. Within 3 hours…
We signed for an immersive The Thracian Wine Tour & Plovdiv – day trip which includes a tour of Plovdiv and the Old City before arrival in Sofia. The guide came to pick us up from the hotel at a preset time and we went to a wonderful day of…
We had a wonderful trip – The Thracian Wine Tour & Plovdiv, we enjoyed it very much, thank you! The wine tour has been realised with Ivaylo. We visited a winery where they grow grapes and produce excellent wine. The huge vineyards impressed us. The red wine was very original…
This is a title, resp. topic which is expected to be a cliché (frankly said, I agree) and you will probably skip it (please don’t!!!) because you have read thousands of similar articles…. However I decided to write a few words! It all started 5 000 years ago or…
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to moderate a wine tasting at the wedding of my good friends Evgenia and Lars who currently live in Copenhagen. But I was also challenged by their invitation because the wedding guests were an interesting mixture from all over the world –…
When Mr. Chris Drake, a wine blogger from Scotland but living currently in London let me know that he intends to visit Bulgaria in order to talk about our wine project VIA VINO and hopefully to write an article about Bulgaria as a (still hidden) wine tourism destination, I have…
I fit in a long weekend trip to Sofia, Bulgaria while I had some downtime from work. I knew that there must be some great Bulgarian wine to be found and spent some time google’ing different options for wine tours. I found Ivaylo’s website and emailed him to see if…
Balkan wines are terra incognita in Bulgaria! Good statement, especially for the beginning of a post, huh?! But it is true. Don’t ask me how difficult is to find a decent Prokupac from Serbia (less than 50 km away from Sofia) or Malagousia from Greece (180 km)… I would even…
Between 04 and 08 April I attended The 8th Annual International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) which was held in the province of Barcelona, Catalunya. This was our first participation in that major wine tourism event and surely not the last. I found it quite interesting and useful, also professionally…
Orbelia One of our highlights thanks mostly to the enthusiasm, wine passion and knowledge of Risto – the wine maker and wine guide of the cellar! I am talking about an almost brand new winery, located in the skirts of Slavyanka Mountain but already producing high quality wines…
As Peter (a business partner from Germany currently living in France) started the car’s engine the thermometer showed -11°C in the misty winter morning. And the degrees were even expected to drop to the freezing -17 (!)… Well, we were in Sofia, ready to head to the South for an…
There is something in the young wine I do adore – probably its wildness, its freshness, the way it makes me confused and smiling at the same time or the numerous transitions in my mouth within seconds… The reason why I say all this is the Festival “Days of…
What started up in 2011 more as an exclusive and stylish meeting between Bulgarian wine producers and wine lovers in the classy Military Club in Sofia, has grown up only 5 (five!) years later… 2 (two!) times with regard to the participants but also the visitors! And it is indisputable –…
Where are we? This is a question which we, Bulgarians ask often. It’s all about evaluating and comparing – to Romania with regard to the EU and our progress, to the colleague, to the neighbouring winery… Well I had a brilliant opportunity to find out where the Balkan wine tourism is by means of visiting wine…