Bulgaria's wine sector sees poor grape harvest amidst growing investment interest

published on 9/18/25 1:10 PM

Photo: BGNES

In mid-September, the traditionally great Christian feast of the Holy Cross (September 14) marks the beginning of one of the most anticipated agricultural processes – the grape harvest campaign. 2025 is no exception, but due to a number of factors, the grape harvest this year is not expected to be as good as in previous years. Despite this, investment interest – both from Bulgarians and many foreigners – in the wine sector in Bulgaria is growing at a breakneck pace.

Drought, but not only, is the reason for the lower yields, Engineer Krasimir Koev, director of the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine, told Radio Bulgaria:

"The situation is like this - what is here is also the situation in Old Europe, in the leading countries in viticulture and wine production - France, Italy, Portugal, Germany. They all suffer from the same problem with drought. The situation is not only because of the drought. We also had a lot of damage from frosts since the end of April. That is why we are counting this year as zero for some plantations, because these frosts do not allow the vine to develop and bear fruit. Another reason that significantly reduced yields compared to a normal year was the hailstorms that fell in many places in the country."

Unlike 2024, when there were quite heavy rains that led to the development of diseases in the vineyards, this one is dry, which means that the fruits, respectively the raw material extracted from them, are much smaller in quantity.

"This year, due to the lack of rain, the grapes were preserved from diseases. The bad thing is that they became smaller as a grain, with less juice", explains Eng. Koev. "If in a normal year the yield of 1 kilogram of grapes is 60%, i.e. 600 milliliters, now it is even well below 50%. The grape harvest in 2025 will be smaller than in previous years in terms of quantity. And in terms of quality, I dare to say that the grapes have very good indicators."

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It is an undeniable fact that the image of Bulgaria as a wine and viticulture destination is still alive, the director of the Executive Agency for Vine and Wine is categorical. As evidence, he cites statistics that out of 363 wineries in Bulgaria, 128 are owned by foreigners, including French counts, large Western companies, citizens of Italy, Spain, etc. The reason is mainly in the good conditions for the development of vineyard massifs, the low price of land, as well as the good subsidization of the planting of new areas - nearly 80% of the investment value.

"In general, every year we have an increase in new wineries, in the areas from which old plantations that are not competitive are removed and new ones are built. Between 10 and 12 thousand decares participate in the restructuring and conversion programs every year," said Eng. Krasimir Koev.

Currently, 11 more wineries are in the process of construction, planned until 2026. In addition, foreigners remain impressed by the purity of Bulgarian soils, which they establish through comparative analyses.

Despite everything, however, the total export of wine has been decreasing over the years, with the Covid pandemic being the "watershed". Then Bulgaria lost the Chinese market, where significant quantities were sold, and because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Bulgaria lost both markets, which traditionally value the qualities of Bulgarian wine.

At the same time, however, domestic production remains hegemonic on the domestic market - about 85% of sales of 110 million liters per year are Bulgarian production.

Bulgaria's exports to Africa are also growing - domestic wine reaches 15 countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Congo, etc.

And yet - despite the poor grape harvest, it is unlikely that the prices of wine and other alcoholic beverages will increase due to competition from countries unaffected by adverse climatic conditions such as Australia, for example, predicts Eng. Krasimir Koev.

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Photos: BTA, BGNES

English publication: R. Petkova

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