(TheWineStalker) - And so after all that... here we are today. Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine is a little shorter but goes over everything you need to know about the country's wine industry NOW. The growing regions that it's divided into, the indigenous and international varieties that make up its vineyards, and how it's doing on the market

Vineyards are planted everywhere in the country (except for around the capital city of Sofia) and, as you would expect, the best wine comes from the slopes while the massive amount of bulk wine comes from fertile valley floors. But even with three-thousand years of winemaking history, they are just now really getting to test out their own terrior. Because of everything else going on in their history the wine industry has never really had the chance to grasp the concept until recently. What grows best where, what this microclimate does with this grape, what's up with this soil type, what makes the wine from this slope over here so different from that slope over there.

The Balkan mountain range goes from east to west, splitting the country horizontally in half. The majority of the land has an extreme continental climate; frozen-nipples-cold at night and sweaty-crotch-hot during the day. It's only near the Black Sea and by its border with Greece where it gets a bit moderated.

There used to be five major regions until the recent decision was made to concentrate them into two "vast principle regions" in order to please European Union bureaucracy. This is so recent that I can't find any information on exactly why or when this happened. It's just not available. The only updated map available to me, after scavenging all over the internet, is my copy of The World Atlas of Wine 7th Edition which was published in 2013. So I made my own map.

I've got a theory on why this happened. The old system is clearly based on terrain and climate, which is really what you want. However, in case you weren't aware, just because you have a vineyard doesn't mean that you make wine. You can sell your grapes or even go under contract with a winery. I found some information from before the change that says only some Bulgarian wines were specifically labelled with a region as a place of origin, and the majority were a blend of purchased grapes from all over the country. So my guess as to why the change occurred is rather than having a wine that's simply a "Product of Bulgaria" you're now more likely to get one from "Danubian Plains" or "Thracian Lowlands". Sounds better when an appellation goes with the country of origin, right?

DANUBIAN PLAINS - This is everything north of the Balkan mountain range. It contains the Danube River Plains and the top half of the Black Sea Coast.

The Danube River Plains is the northwestern portion of the country. It has a warm continental climate, sees lots of sun, and the soil around the town of Belogradchik has a red, sandy limestone soil. The kind of wines made here cover the entire spectrum, from Cabernet to Aligoté, but its specialty is Gamza and it's the birthplace of Rubin.

Gamza is a red variety and goes by the name of Kadarka in Hungary, which is used to make the famous Hungarian Bull's Blood. The grapes are small but the yields are high, so it needs a lot of attention to keep the yields down or the final wine will be thin instead of aromatic and spicy. It's often compared to Pinot Noir.

The variety that may be the superstar in Bulgaria's future is Rubin. It was created in 1944 in the northern city of Pleven by crossing Nebbiolo and Syrah. Nebbiolo provides incredible acidity and tannin, while Syrah brings the pepper and violet. The fruit characteristics are cherries and raspberries. Back in the day this variety was actually forced on the southeastern part of the country as well and now it's planted all over the country, and Romania too. Everywhere you look while researching the subject, there are people singing the praises of the future of this grape.

Within the Danube River Plains is the sub-region of Vidin Province (AKA Danube Valley) where one of the earliest wine schools opened in 1887.

The Black Sea Coast is literally the coast of the Black Sea and the area whose climate is effected by it. White, sandy beaches make it an attractive tourist destination. It's the Cape Cod of Bulgaria and I'm sure during tourist season it's flooded with Connecticut license plates. But its maritime climate brings mild autumns to make it the best place in the country for white wine, just like it was in the days of the Romans. There, Dimyat is king.

Dimyat is the second most planted white variety in the country and it's mostly in the Black Sea Coast, where it's the top planted white variety of the region. While many wanted to believe it was indigenous to Serbia, legend had it that it was brought there by the Crusaders. DNA testing tells no lies and it turns out that Dimyat is a cross between Gouais Blanc, a French variety, and another unknown grape. So the legend is probably true.

Rkatsiteli is the top dog in acreage across the whole country for the white varieties. It originated in Georgia, became well recieved by the Soviet Union, and was brought to Bulgaria during their communist years. It's highly acidic so it's left on the vine for as long as possible to concentrate the sugar and balance the finished wine. It can be bronze in color and sweet to taste, with aromas and flavors of honey, caramel, nuts and preserved fruit.

THRACIAN LOWLANDS - This is everything south of the Balkan mountain range. It contains Rose Valley, Struma Valley, Thracian Valley and the bottom half of the Black Sea Coast. Anything from the Thracian Lowlands is approved to be labeled as "Thracian Valley" in the US market.

Rose Valley (AKA Valley of the Roses) is immediately south of the Balkan mountains and is two valleys in one: Strayam in the west and Tundzha in the east. It's known for its rose growing industry which produces 85% of the worlds rose oil, and for wine it focuses mostly on white. The Rkatsiteli is supposedly incredible here, but the most famous of its wines is from the Red Misket variety grown in its Sungurlare Valley sub-region.