Local company Bessa Valley said it will further raise the wine tourism profile of its winery and vineyard complex in the village of Ognianovo, in the Pazardjik area, with the addition of restaurant and accommodation facilities.

The company will kick off the project with the construction of a 100-seat restaurant with a panoramic view of the Bessa Valley property. Investment is seen at 350,000 euro.

The construction of accommodation facilities for wine tourists will begin in 2008.

The Bessa Valley concept has so far absorbed 8 mln euro in investment. It started in 2001 with the purchase of 240 ha of land in the village of Ognianovo. Some 140 ha of the property were planted with vines.

In May 2005, Bessa Valley opened a chateau winery.

In 2006, Bessa Valley harvested 420 tons of grapes and produced some 400,000 bottles of wine under the brand Enira and Enira Reserve. Output this year is seen at 600 tons of grapes and 600,000 bottles of wine.

Over 80% of the output is marketed abroad with the remaining volumes sold in Bulgarian restaurants and other establishments.

The winery has an annual capacity of 1 mln bottles of wine so there is ample room to increase the vineyard area, said Bessa Valley technical director Alexander Kanev.