Mavrud (, from Greek, μαυρό ''(mavró)'', "

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

") is a red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines, indigenous to the Balkan region. It is grown in some regions of

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, in the

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region of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, as well as some regions of Greece and Romania. The grape has been described as a characterful, low- yielding, small-berried and late-ripening grape capable of producing tannic, spicy wine with a potential for

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History

Regarded as one of the most highly esteemed local wines, Mavrud vineyards are mainly found around Asenovgrad and Perushtitsa, as well as more rarely near Pazardzhik,

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

and Chirpan. There is speculation amongst grape growers that Mavrud may be an ancient clone of Mourvedre, imported into Bulgaria by the Romans.

Legend

A legend that the oenophiles of the Mavrud wine like to repeat in order to explain the restoration of this locality as wine-growing country was that during the reign of Khan Krum of Bulgaria, all

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s were ordered destroyed. Later, a lion escaped from its cage and terrorized the city. However, a fearless young man named Mavrud (now the name of a wine grape) confronted and slew the lion. The king summoned Mavrud's mother to learn the source of such courage. She said she had secretly saved a vine, made wine, and that this was the source of Mavrud's bravery. Khan Krum ordered the vineyards replanted. In the original Bulgarian version the legend says it was a monster called the ''lamya'' (ламя) which was vanquished, according to one book on wine.

References

{{Reflist Bulgarian wine Red wine grape varieties Asenovgrad Grape varieties of Bulgaria

History

Legend

See also

References