Orbelus

Orbelus is a partnership between five Bulgarian lawyers, who established the Bioagrofuds 2000 wine company in 2000. They have purchased and are cultivating 20 ha of vineyards in the area between Melnik and the village of Kulata. The vineyards are broken up into 20 separate parcels around the villages of Kromidovo, Kapatovo, Marikostinovo and Harsovo. The following grape varieties are cultivated there: Melnik 55, Syrah, Grenache Noir, Primitivo, Petit Verdot, Marselan, Mourvedre, Viognier, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. All of the Orbelus Company’s vineyards are certifi ed organic in accordance with the Bulgarian and European legal requirements. The regional grape variety Melnik 55 is used in all their wines. Nikolai Stoyanov, PhD, from UFT Plovdiv, is their enologist. Currently Orbelus’s grapes are being processed and vinifi ed at the Damianitza winery. They are intending to build a winery in the vicinity of the vineyards. Furthermore, Orbelus is also planning to produce 80 000 bottles of mainly red wine with only 20% of their annual wine production

being devoted to white wines.