(Focus) - Krasimir Koev, Director of the Bulgarian Executive Agency on Vine and Wine (EAVW), talks in a interview for Radio FOCUS - Plovdiv about the grape harvesting campaign and the upcoming Digital Wine Communication Conference 2015, which will be held in Plovdiv.



FOCUS: Mr Koev, how has the grape harvesting campaign been going in the Plovdiv region so far this year?
Krasimir Koev: Some 19,000 tons of grapes have been harvested and processed the in the Plovdiv region so far. 80% of this production is white grapes. Only 20% is red grapes. We are currently harvesting the rest of the red grapes varieties. The Sliven region has also harvested 19,000 tons of grapes so far. The largest volume of grapes this year has been in the Burgas region – 54,000 tons. Pleven has 8,000; Varna and Montana – 3,000; Blagoevgrad – 9,000; Haskovo – 11,000; Ruse – 5,000. Bulgaria has harvested 130,000 tons of grapes so far this year.

FOCUS: Is this number greater than previous years?
Krasimir Koev: We are yet to collect the red grapes varieties before we compare the quantity to previous years. Our expectations before the start of this year’s season were that our grape industry would harvest and process around 250,000–280,000 tons of grapes this year. This is twice as much as last year, as for the whole of 2014 some 109,000 tons of grapes were harvested. 2014 was a very bad year not only for our wine industry but for the entire Bulgarian agriculture as well. We are currently 21,000 tons of production ahead as compared to last year. Furthermore, we expect to produce around 175–180 million litres of wine this year, which will be 100 million litres more than last year’s 76,000 litres.

FOCUS: Let us talk about the Digital Wine Communications Conference (DWCC) 2015 that will be held in Plovdiv this October. What will be the significance of this conference for Plovdiv and Bulgaria?
Krasimir Koev: This is a very significant event that is held annually in a country that has established itself as a serious producer on the wine market. The event itself was not that well acknowledged in Bulgarian media, but it is still one of the most prestigious events happening in the wine industry - it gives an overview on all major wine production trends, on vines growing techniques, on what the consumers demand in the end product. It is a digital conference of worldwide significance. We are living in an age of technology. That means that everything reaches consumers instantly through the global network. The conference will include people who dominate and set the trends in wine production – and wine consumption, too. These are world-class wine experts, journalists specialising in the wine sector, and wine traders of international scale. All in all, this would be a wonderful event to attend this 23-25 October in Plovdiv – an event that will showcase that Bulgaria is present on the global wine map. The organisers decided to hold the 8th edition of the conference in Bulgaria, which means they are placing us in their top 10 list of countries producing exceptionally good wines. One of the deciding factors in making this choice was that in 2014 alone Bulgaria received 150 gold distinctions awarded for the country’s different wines.

FOCUS: You mentioned that the grapes harvest in the Burgas region was the highest in the country this year. Why is then the DWCC held in Plovdiv?
Krasimir Koev: The city was chosen as the host of this event because it is part of a big wine producing region – one of the most ancient wine regions in Europe and in the world. Plovdiv is in the centre of Bulgaria, it is a city of vineries, and wine makers. This is a chance to prove that Bulgaria can offer not only a product of quality, but a quality of production as well. All the more that the conference will be held during the grapes harvesting campaign and people will have the opportunity to visit wineries and see for themselves that Bulgaria does indeed produce high quality wine at very competitive prices.

FOCUS: So Plovdiv was chosen to host this event because of its wine production traditions.
Krasimir Koev: Absolutely! People in Plovdiv, and not only them, but all Bulgarians should be proud of the fact that Plovdiv hosts one of the biggest wine events in the year. Another top-level event that Plovdiv will host is the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in 2016. This competition is colloquially known as the World Championships of Wine. Some day Bulgaria might be lucky enough to host the Football World Cup, but until then we must enjoy the fact that in 2016 we will host the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Wine producers from all over the world present their high-quality and elite wines. There will be more than 7,000 samples, which will be offered for tasting. More than 300 wine tasters from all over the world will attend the event in Plovdiv next year in order to taste the drinks presented at the wine competition. Furthermore there will be presentations of Bulgarian wine products, which will also enter the competitions in the different categories. This year Bulgaria won 17 gold medals at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2015, held in Italy. So the world of wine and TV channels from all over the world will talk about Bulgaria and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2016 over 5 days.