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Balkan Wine Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria
The summer of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is filled with festivals and events. For wine-lovers, the most important of them is the annual Balkan Wine Festival, that is organised in the city center. In June 2022 we got to participate the 11th Balkans International Wine Festival and can warmly recommend the event! In this post we tell a bit about the wine culture of the Balkans, introduce the concept of the BIWCF competition and festival, and share pictures from the Balkan Wine Festival 2022.
Read also: Sofia introduction (from our last visit in 2019)
![Bononia Estate wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0040-scaled.jpg)
Wine-making has long traditions in the Balkans
![Vrachanska temenuga wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0034-scaled.jpg)
![Tikves wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0028-scaled.jpg)
The Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival
As the name implies, the Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival (BIWCF) consists of two parts, that in fact are two separate events. Before the Wine Festival in Sofia, where the best wines of Balkans are announced and rewarded, there is a separate wine competition. In summer 2022 the competition was organized in the island of Salamina in Greece, in the beginning of June. The Wine Competition is an event for wine experts and connoisseurs, Masters of Wine, wine merchants and wine journalists around the Europe and beyond to gather together to taste and judge the best wines of the Balkans. For the wineries it is a wonderful chance to market their products, and an opportunity to spread the word about Balkan wines and regional grapes in general.
![Kataryna Estate wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0011-scaled.jpg)
![Colorito wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0039-scaled.jpg)
11th Balkan Wine Festival 2022
![Festival venue by the NDK | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0027-1-scaled.jpg)
![Festival food | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0021-scaled.jpg)
![Wine village | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0009-scaled.jpg)
![Vivo Montana Brass Band | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1655638622726-183.jpg)
The Grand Trophy of the BIWC 2022 was given to Bela Voda White 2021 by Tikves winery from North Macedonia, and the Best Winery in the Balkans Trophy to Suvla winery from Turkey. From each country there was one wine selected as the Best of Show – from Bulgaria this was Zelanos Pinot Noir Rose 2021 by Zelanos Winery. You can take a look at all the results of the Balkans International Wine Competition 2022 (and the previous years too!) in the balkanswine webpage.
![Zelanos wines and awards | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0019-scaled.jpg)
![Domaine Viticole wines | Balkan Wine Festival 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria | FinnsAway Travels](https://www.finnsaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIWC2022-FinnsAway_0016-scaled.jpg)