The Wine Museum ( bg, Музей на виното, ''Muzey na vinoto'') is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

located in

Pleven Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest ...

, a city in north central

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Opened on 17 September 2008, the museum occupies a natural cave in Pleven's

Kaylaka Kaylaka ( ) is a large park and protected area south of Pleven, Bulgaria, situated in a Karst valley. The park is spread over 10 km2 and is surrounded by sheer cliffs that suggest favourable conditions for rock climbing. The ruins of the R ...

park, about from the city centre. The museum was the result of a collaboration between Bulgarian and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

architects, designers and oenologists, as well as curators from the

Pleven Panorama Pleven Epopee 1877, more commonly known as Pleven Panorama, is a panorama located in Pleven, Bulgaria, that depicts the events of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, Russian-Turkish War of 1877–78, specifically the five-month Siege of Plevna (Pleven ...

and the

Pleven Regional Historical Museum The Pleven Regional Historical Museum ( bg, Регионален исторически музей — Плевен), founded in 1953, is one of the largest museums in Bulgaria. The museum is situated in a two-story edifice near the centre o ...

. The cave which houses the museum is near the Totleben's Rampart Reservoir, and has five galleries and a total area of . The Wine Museum's collection includes over 6,000 bottles of

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 ...

from all viticultural regions of the country, which are available for tasting and purchase. In addition, the museum boasts the country's largest collection of over 7,000 old wines (ranging from 30 to 90 years in age). The museum's historical hall exhibits items related to vine growing and wine making in the Bulgarian lands from ancient

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

times until today. The wine cellar offers wines from all Bulgarian regions stored in 100

wine barrel Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a vess ...

s made of

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 ...

. The museum's wine collection is owned by Plamen Petkov, a major local vineyard owner, who has invested over $300,000 in

temperature control Temperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space (and objects collectively there within), or of a substance, is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space or substance is ad ...

systems, flooring and lighting for the cave which houses the museum. Pleven is located in the heart of a major vine-growing region, the Danubian Plain. The city is also a centre of wine-related education, as it is the home of Bulgaria's first and only specialized high school, the

Aleksandar Stamboliyski Aleksandar Stoimenov Stamboliyski ( bg, Александър Стоименов Стамболийски; 1 March 1879 – 14 June 1923) was the prime minister of Bulgaria from 1919 until 1923. Stamboliyski was a member of the Agrarian Union, ...

Professional High School of Vine Growing and Wine Making, established in 1890. The National Institute of Viticulture and Oenology, founded in 1902 at the recommendation of French wine specialist

Pierre Viala Pierre Viala (24 September 1859 in Lavérune – 11 February 1936) was a French scientist. In 1901–1910 he and Victor Vermorel published '' Ampélographie. Traité général de viticulture'', a seven-volume ampelography of 3,200 pages des ...

, is also located in Pleven.

References

{{reflist Museums established in 2008 Buildings and structures in Pleven Landforms of Pleven Province Museums in Pleven Province Caves of Bulgaria Wine museums

See also

References