(Novinite) - Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev honored the traditional Bulgarian feast of St. Trifon Zarezan, the patron of vine growing and wine producing, in the city of Pleven.

Plevneliev was a guest of the Institute of Viticulture and Enology and the local college of viticulture and wine trade.

"We have to prove that we have preserved our traditions in wine making. Our wines and our grape varieties have a rich history that can multiply the sales of quality local wine worldwide," President Plevneliev told during his visit in the college of viticulture and wine trade.

The Head of State recalled that the Institute of Viticulture and Enology in Pleven was established more than 110 years ago and is the successor of the fifth viticulture and enology research institution in the world.

President Plevneliev expressed his gratitude to the management and the faculty of college for their high professionalism.

In Pleven, President Plevneliev visited the Institute of Viticulture and Enology's experimental base which houses the Balkans largest ampelographic collection of 1865 grape varieties.