Wine Beyond the Bottle: Sustainable Production, Experience, Identity
Ekaterina HristovaOn 28 November 2025, the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals (BAWP) opened the official programme of DiVino Taste 2025 with a seminar titled “Wine Beyond the Bottle: Sustainable Production, Experience, Identity.” As the Bulgarian’s leading wine forum, DiVino Taste provided the ideal platform for presenting the insights, practices, and international experience BAWP had accumulated through several Erasmus+ projects over the past three years. More than forty participants joined the session, contributing questions, observations, and a shared sense of curiosity.
Led by the BAWP Board members: Ekaterina Hristova, Ivana Murdzheva, Krasimira Kodukova, Emil Koralov, and Zhivko Enchev, the seminar combined analysis, professional storytelling, and a curated tasting of rare Italian and Spanish varieties. Each wine was chosen to illustrate how sustainable models, local identity, and regenerative thinking can shape the next decades of viticulture and wine tourism.
Building Capacity for the Future: The WINE Project
The seminar began with the WINE: Wine Innovative Network and Tourism Experiences’ Promotion project (2023-1-LU01-KA220-VET-000160179). BAWP presented the project as both an educational framework and a strategic platform for long-term collaboration. After an extensive needs assessment, the partners had developed a curriculum grounded in climate-resilient winemaking, introductory training for newcomers, and the integration of wine tourism with local culture.
During the session, BAWP highlighted its own participation in the LTTA in Piemonte, hosted by CIOFS. The team shared experiences from learning centres that form the heart of community development in the region, places where education, tradition, and local enterprise reinforce one another. These centres promoted regional initiatives, products, small producers, and artisan networks, revealing how education could act as a catalyst for local identity and economic sustainability.
В подкрепа на разказаното, екипът представи Vigneti Repetto Derthona Quadro Timorasso 2023To accompany this segment, the team poured Vigneti Repetto Derthona Quadro Timorasso 2023, a wine linked to the visionary work of Walter Massa and Gian Paolo Repetto - figures who had revived local varieties, repositioned their region, and demonstrated how knowledge, persistence, and authenticity create long-term value. Their story resonated strongly with the session’s core message: wine requires visionaries and patient strategists.
Regenerative Tourism in Practice: AGORA and the Living System of Place
The programme continued with the AGORA Regenerative Tourism project (2022-1-FR01-KA220-ADU-000086999). BAWP introduced AGORA’s central idea: moving beyond the traditional “destination” concept and approaching places as living systems whose cultural, ecological, and social dimensions must be nurtured.
The discussion focused on two key questions:
How can wine tourism strengthen the relationships that sustain a place?
How can communities revive their cultural identity and ecosystem through regenerative practices?
Participants tasted Cincinnato Quinto Bellone Lazio IGT 2023, which led naturally into the story of Cori, a town where wine embodies local heritage and collective purpose. Bellone symbolised community-based development: a variety revived not simply as a commercial product but as a cultural anchor.
A second AGORA wine, Marco Carpineti Moro 2023, which integrates agriculture, hospitality, history, and visitor engagement. Its presentation helped demonstrate how wine experiences extend far beyond tasting rooms -into architecture, landscape, storytelling, and shared values.
Mobility and Learning: Insights from Piemonte and Catalunya
The next part of the seminar presented BAWP’s short-term mobilities under Erasmus+ KA1, which had provided hands-on learning experiences in leading European wine regions.
1. Mobility in Piemonte: Wine as Identity
The first mobility, „Exchange of experience and good practices in natural wine production" (2023-1-BG01-KA122-ADU-000144501), took place in Piemonte. Its focus was the power of family, territory, and community collaboration in shaping wine identity. BAWP illustrated this mobility through Adriano Langhe DOC Freisa Lice 2022 , a wine symbolising intergenerational values and a shared commitment to the land.
The discussion highlighted what the team had observed in wineries such as Adriano: deeply rooted family structures, collaboration among neighbours, and a collective sense of responsibility for maintaining regional character. The main insight is that identity is not an abstract notion but a lived practice embedded in people and place.
2. Mobility in Catalunya: Culture, Architecture, and Climate Resilience
The second mobility, „From vine to visitor: Advancing climate-resilient winemaking and sustainable wine tourism" (2024-2-BG01-KA122-ADU-000283970), took participants to Catalunya. They explored the interaction between wine, architecture, and cultural expression, visiting Sort dels Capellans and other sites where modern design meets deep-rooted tradition.
Participants learned how wineries used art, spatial identity, and cultural programming to deepen visitor engagement while addressing climate challenges. This segment was paired with Petites Estones Garnacha Blanca 2023, representing the expressive style of the region. The audience were convinced that wine is a cultural medium, a source of shared atmosphere, and a form of professional learning.
Wine as Community, Culture, and Regenerative Force
The seminar then solidified its narrative around wine as a connector—between people, places, and ideas. Members of the BAWP team shared personal insights gathered during their travels: reflections on food and wine traditions, encounters with producers, and observations of how strong communities form around shared values.
The stories prepared the ground for the final segment, accompanied by Piedefermo Cesanese 2024. Returning to Lazio and the town of Cori, BAWP presented the philosophy of TRAMA, where tradition is seen as a fabric linking past, present, and future. This closing message echoed AGORA’s regenerative principles and underscored the potential of Bulgarian wine regions to evolve through collaboration, education, and long-term vision.
A Strong Beginning for DiVino Taste 2025
The seminar attracted more than forty engaged participants who transformed the session into a genuine exchange. Their interest confirmed that the Bulgarian wine sector is ready to explore new educational models, sustainable practices, and international partnerships. For BAWP, opening the national forum with this event marked both an achievement and a responsibility, to continue fostering dialogue, building bridges, and connecting Bulgaria with leading European innovations.
Wines tasted during the seminar:
– Vigneti Repetto Derthona Quadro Timorasso 2023
– Cincinnato Quinto Bellone Lazio IGT 2023
– Marco Carpineti Moro 2023
– Petites Estones Garnacha Blanca 2023
– Adriano Langhe DOC Freisa Lice 2022
– Piedefermo Cesanese 2024
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
