Welcome return after long hiatus

THE only Bulgarian thing I’m fairly familiar with is the split-squat since it’s a key plank to my post knee surgery comeback.

I’ll not bore you with the ins and out of it, but it’s basically a one-legged squat. Why it’s known as a Bulgarian split-squat I really don’t know. They must have a thing for hard exercise in Eastern Europe as the Romanian deadlift is another favourite for those looking to build up their legs and back.

If I go back 30 odd years, however, I do recall supping the odd bottle of Bulgarian wine. I’m pretty sure it was nearly always Cab Sauv, though for obvious reasons it’s a fairly vague memory. Sadly though, Bulgarian wine seemed to disappear from my thoughts as I graduated onto Australian stuff. It became a memory of halcyon student days, now that I was becoming someone who swirled and sniffed before I tasted. Fast forward more decades than I care to remember and I came across a Bulgarian wine the other day, during a search for something lighter. The Cote Du Danube I picked up, I did so as it looked interesting. It was a Merlot, Syrah, Gamza blend which made it a bit interesting as I’d never heard of Gamza. It is one of a number of local varieties that also include Mavrud, Melnik and Rubin. There’s also specific regions like the Danubian Plain and Black Sea as well as the Thracian Lowlands, Struma Valley and Sub-balkan area.

All waiting to be explored by me I’m happy to say. And it’s exploration that, in this day and age, will cost a bit less than working your way around some wine producing parts of the world.

It’s an area that’s come a long way from its day supplying plonk to the former Soviet Union.

That’s thanks to big investment and some winemakers wanting to up their game.

As for my Cotes Du Danube I was immediately struck by a very light colour with a tinge of brown on the first pour.

To look at you’d think it was a Pinot and to taste it was like one too with a delicate feel and a gamey hint like a nice Burgundy which would be close to three times the price.

There was an unmistakable zip to it thanks to a serious streak of acidity making it a decent wine for food. It was a cracking re-introduction into the wines of Bulgaria after quite the hiatus.