Shiroka Melnishka, ( bg, Широка мелнишка лоза / Šhiroka Melnišhka loza), often called Melnik (''Мелник'', distinct from other varieties named after the town) or Broadleafed Melnik, is a red

Bulgarian wine Grape growing and wine production have a long history in Bulgaria, dating back to the times of the Thracians. There is evidence of Bulgarian winemaking since 4000 B.C. Wine is, together with beer and grape rakia, among the most popular alcoholic be ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

. It is planted primarily near the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

border. In

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

the grape's name means ''"broad-leaved vine of Melnik"''. As a

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

, Shiroka Melnishka has an affinity for

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

which can produce pronounced tobacco notes. The wines are often compared to

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avi ...

with its similar profile of spice and power. J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 152 Abbeville Press 2003 The wine was a particular favourite of British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Notable producers of wine from the variety are Abdyika Vineyard, Villa Melnik, Damianitza, Logodaj and Sintica wineries.

Synonyms

Other transliterations that have been attested include Chiroka Melnichka Losa, Chiroka Melnichka, Melnik, Shiroka Melnichka Loza, Shiroka Melnishka, and Shiroka Melnishka Loza.

Related Varieties

The traditional Broadleafed Melnik grape ripens late, and is harvested as late as October. This makes fully ripened grapes difficult to achieve, as the climate in south-west Bulgaria is becoming cold and damp by this time. In the 20th century there have been number of experimental hybrids made of various varieties to try to develop them in a way more suitable for Bulgarian vineyards. In 1963 a mixture of pollen from

Valdiguié Valdiguié is a red wine grape grown primarily in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, where it is generally known by the alias Gros Auxerrois. In California it has been known as Napa Gamay or Gamay 15. Until 1980 Napa Gamay was b ...

Durif Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico' ...

Jurançon Jurançon (; oc, Juranson) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Population See also *Jurançon AOC, a wine from this commune *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The followi ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

was used to hybridise with the Broadleafed Melnik vine. The resultant variety was approved for use in 1977 but was not much taken up until the first professional fermentation of it in 1999 generated more interest. The variety is called under various synonyms: Melnik 55, or Early Melnik, or Ranna Melnishka Loza ( bg, Ранна мелнишка лоза / Ranna melniška loza). Genetic testing has now shown the pollen parent was in fact

. The resultant wine is usually quite different from that made from Broadleafed Melnik, although some bottles confusingly still bear front labels calling the wine merely "Melnik".

References

{{reflist

External links

Damianitza Winery

Logodaj Winery

Villa Melnik Winery
Red wine grape varieties Bulgarian wine Grape varieties of Bulgaria