Lying in the hills of Sredna Gora Mountain, nearly in the very heart of the country, the village of Starossel welcomes fans of both culture and wine tourism, which has been gaining popularity in Bulgaria in recent years. The area is known to have inherited and perpetuated traditions and rituals in vine growing, coming from the ancient Thracians who lived in these lands in their time. The remnants of a unique Thracian cult centre, dated to the 5th c. BC, are to be found in the village environs. Wine jars, winemaking vessels and implements have been uncovered in the northern parts of the complex. The magic of winemaking has been handed down the generations and has survived till date. 

The ancient inhabitants of the Bulgarian lands are believed to have been among the first masters in making red wine to be used in rituals and sacrificial ceremonies. This comes some way towards explaining the dug-in rock tub, of elliptical shape and thick plaster coating. The tub is supposed to have been used in winemaking and keeping. Local legend says that the grape juice accumulates both the energy of both Earth and Sun. Their life-giving powers pour into the bloodstream to make man sound and strong. According to Georgi Kitov, the man who excavated the unique cult complex at Starossel, wine drinking was a pre-eminent Thracian ritual, carried out on the strong assumption that it would transport the drinker to the realms of the Gods. On the other hand, the grape vine was considered a sacred plant, bringing together the temporal and solar beginning, by way of its roots running deep down into the ground and its fruit bearing the energy of the sun. Made into wine, the ripened grape juice, which is a lightly intoxicating drink in itself, was considered the tipple of gods and kings.

If you happen to be a fan of the divine drink, as well as history, the environs of the village of Starossel, is the place where you should go to visit. There is a wine cellar at the foot of the Thracian ritual temple. The cellar was built to serve as a temple of wine, combining tradition and ancestral attitudes to it. The architecture generates an atmosphere of calm, coziness and warmth. The complex was built in a genuinely Revival Period Bulgarian style, executed in an array of natural materials such as timber, stone, ceramics and lavish verdure. Guests are welcomed in a special room, reminiscent of an ancient ritual temple, with reconstructions of Thracian wine-related rituals.

It is only too natural that one of the most revered local traditional festivals is Triffon Zarezan, celebrated early in February. On St. Triffon’s Day, village folk “prune the vineyards”, in actual fact the first piece of farming work with which the new farming season kicks in. The pruned vines are traditionally irrigated with an ample quantity of wine so that they would bear abundant fruit. Starossel seems to be most lively in autumn, during the grape-picking season.

Crowds from the country and abroad converge upon the village to witness the eye-dazzling ritual spectacle. Dressed in traditional folk costumes, the grape pickers come into the wine cellar, carrying ritual loaves of bread and baskets overflowing with grapes. Washing their feet thoroughly, pretty girls step into the stone wine tub to squash the grapes with their feet. Visitors can also watch a reconstruction of an ancient” drinking the wine” ritual, an expression of Thracian deference to Dionysus. The divine drink is offered in a special hall in the shape of a rotunda, situated underground.

“We are proud to have inherited a tradition running as far back as the 5th c. BC”, says wine expert Valentin Bambalov, doing consultancy work for the local wine cellar. ”Reviving history we’d like to promote the rituals the Thracians carried out to honour Dionysus. They say wine used to be that magic drink which elevated the people to the world of the gods and it was it namely that imparted inspiration and strength to them”, says Valentin Bambalov.

The wine complex at Starossel also has a distillery, restaurant, fitness and spa centre, offering a unique wine therapy.