This winter, we once again partner with Yasemin from BulgariaByGlass for a new seasonal selection of Bulgarian wines. After our autumn wine edition, we return with a playful winter concept and we ask you: Have you been naughty or nice?
The selection curated by Yas features three carefully composed pairs of Bulgarian wines, each duo contrasting a refined, elegant “nice” bottle with a bolder, more expressive “naughty” counterpart, inviting you to taste, compare and choose your mood for this season.
Have you been naughty or nice?
A Winter Wine Selection by BulgariaByGlass
I didn’t grow up with Christmas.
In Turkey, December is just another month – colder, darker, sure, but not a season marked by glowing windows, mulled wine, or waiting for the first snow. I didn’t grow up with decorated trees or carols or long tables where families gather with the unspoken promise: tonight, we slow down together. Funnily enough, we do have gift-giving and decorated trees in Turkey but for New Year’s Eve, not Christmas. And my family never cared much for traditions anyway, which meant we kept things simple: a meal, a laugh, maybe a small gift, and that was that.
And then… I moved to Bulgaria. From +10°C winters to –15°C. But still…winter here didn’t feel cold at all. Because suddenly December wasn’t about the weather; it was about warmth. Warm homes, warm food, warm people. The way friends here invite you in without hesitation, the Christmas markets glowing in the night, the streets full of lights, the feeling of togetherness that settles over the entire country like a soft blanket.
And then comes New Year’s, a moment to wrap up everything that happened and quietly hope for better things ahead. We make resolutions we’ll forget in two weeks, but we make them anyway, because welcoming a new year feels like welcoming possibility. And honestly, the world could use some hope right now.
There is always a bottle of wine in the center of the table. Not just to drink, but to celebrate. To honor time, to honor presence, to honor each other. Over time, winter became something soft and sacred to me: a season of reflection, gratitude, survival, healing, dreaming.
And choosing the right wine became part of that ritual. So this winter, the selection reflects both sides of us: the nice, gentle, and comforting, and the naughty, bold, and daring. The best part? You don’t have to choose one or the other – you can have both (or all) in the same box!
Pair 1: Sparkling
We can’t think holiday season without a sparkling wine
The Nice sparkling is all about lightness, charm, and joyful celebration. Vrachanski Misket is one of Bulgaria’s prettiest aromatic grapes, and when it’s turned into bubbles, the result is uplifting, floral, friendly, and beautifully approachable.
The Naughty sparkling, on the other hand, is anything but soft. This is sparkling that comes from the wild side of the cellar – unfiltered, natural, fermented with the ancient method, cloudy, aromatic, explosive. It’s the sparkling you choose when you want to do something a bit reckless, a bit fun, a bit chaotic.
Vrachanska Temenuga Bubble Brut
Bubbles that carry both character and feather-light happiness. Vratsa Misket is already one of Bulgaria’s most charming and expressive aromatic grapes, and when you add bubbles to it? You get instant celebration.
The wine is delicate, uplifting, just strong enough to make any moment feel worthy of a toast. And here’s something even sweeter: it comes from one of the oldest Misket varieties in Bulgaria, crafted by a winery proudly named after the variety itself. It’s a bottle with roots, heritage, and a deep local story.
Since you’ve been nice this year, you deserve something special – something surprisingly local, beautifully authentic, and uniquely Bulgarian.
Why it made the Nice list:
✔ the perfect celebration wine
✔ aromatic, bright, floral, cheerful
✔ soft bubbles = instant festivity
✔ brings people together effortlessly
Songs to sip with:
- Fate of Ophelia – Taylor Swift
- Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land – MARINA
- In Your Head – Nilüfer Yanya
Orbelia Pet-Nat Sandanski Misket
Not your everyday sparkling. Not even close.
Since you’ve been naughty, you don’t get the soft, angelic bubbles. You get the sparkling with attitude.
Made with the ancient méthode ancestrale, this Pét-Nat is fully natural, unfiltered, a little cloudy, and absolutely bursting with personality. Sandanski Misket already has a big aromatic voice; as a Pét-Nat, it becomes louder, juicier, wilder. The bubbles don’t politely rise, they dance.
Why it made the Naughty list:
✔ aromatic punch
✔ untamed bubbles
✔ zero pretense
✔ refuses to behave
Songs to sip with:
- Electric Feel – MGMT
- Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
- We Are Golden – Mika
Pair 2: Natural Reds
Natural reds that express their philosophy in two very different ways
The Nice natural red is Rubin in its most gentle, honest form. No sulfites, no makeup, no disguise just the grape, as it is, lively and full of ruby-bright charm. It’s natural winemaking from its softest side.
The Naughty natural red is Syrah unleashed. Dark fruit, black pepper, wild character this is natural wine that bites back a little. Perfect for the nights when you’re feeling bold, emotional, dramatic, or just curious to try something that refuses to behave.
Yalovo Rubin Without Makeup
Rubin is a grape I absolutely love – it is lively, expressive, ruby-bright. A proud Bulgarian cross between Italian Nebbiolo and French Syrah, with a spirit that is unmistakably Balkan: vibrant, structured, emotional.
And here, in this natural expression, Rubin shows its most honest face.
No makeup.
No disguises.
No sulfites.
Just the grape as it truly is: open, beautiful, and a little vulnerable. Proving that natural winemaking can be both pure and full of character. It’s naïve in the sweetest way: transparent, energetic, kind-hearted.
Why it made the Nice list:
✔ pure expression of Rubin
✔ lively, juicy, full of energy
✔ honest winemaking — no disguise
✔ a wine that tells the truth gently
Songs to sip with:
- Fils de Joie – Stromae
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Defying Gravity – Wicked Cast
Via Antica Wild Syrah
This is Syrah… but unleashed.
This is a Syrah that hasn’t been tamed or polished or taught to behave. It’s juicy, intense, peppery, slightly savage in the best possible way. The kind of wine that refuses to sit quietly in the glass, it wants to stretch, roar, take up space.
There’s something thrilling about a wine like this.
It tastes like black fruit and black pepper and midnight.
If you’ve been naughty this year, you don’t get a gentle, well-mannered red – you get a Wild Syrah with attitude; one that carries heat and spice and a whole lot of confidence.
Why it made the Naughty list:
✔ dark, spicy, bold — no apologies
✔ wild character = perfect for wild hearts
✔ expressive, intense, alive
✔ absolutely not a wine that blends in
Songs to sip with:
- The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles
- Ces Gens-La – Jacques Brel
- Hunting High and Low – A-ha
Pair 3: Bulgarian Classic Reds
Two of Bulgaria’s most iconic red grapes: one light, one dark; one gentle, one dramatic.
The Nice red is Gamza: pale, soft, fruity, delicate. Gorun Gamza Reserve is one of the most comforting reds you can drink. A wine for peaceful evenings, for long conversations, for moments when you want a red that wraps you in softness rather than shakes you awake.
The Naughty red can only be a Mavrud. Deep, structured, spicy, powerful, oak-aged. This is the grape of legends, the grape of Thracian fire, a grape that lives in stories about strength and courage. This is the red for nights when you want something deep and dark and unforgettable.
Gorun Gamza Reserve
Gamza is the gentlest of the Bulgarian reds: pale garnet, soft, fruity, earthy, endlessly drinkable. And Gorun Gamza Reserve is one of its most beautiful expressions. I have already showcased this bottle in many of the wine tastings that I organise.
Unfiltered, garnet-colored, offering liqueur-like aromas, bright red fruit, and soft rounded tannins lightly shaped by oak… this wine feels like someone putting a warm hand on your back and saying: you’re doing great.
Gamza is already a kind grape, but this bottle turns kindness into comfort. It’s a light red that pairs with absolutely everything or nothing at all, the definition of “nice.”
Why it made the Nice list:
✔ uplifting and light, even though it’s red
✔ comforting, tender, peaceful
✔ a wine that behaves beautifully — just like a nice person
✔ something you deserve after being good all year
Songs to sip with:
- Nothing Matters – The Last Dinner Party
- Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney
- My Way – Frank Sinatra
Manastira Ilaya Mavrud
Mavrud is drama.
Mavrud is legend.
Mavrud is deep, dark Bulgarian intensity — structured, bold, oak-aged for 12 months, and carrying a centuries-old story about strength and courage.
It arrives with its full heritage, full tannins, full darkness and expects you to keep up. If you’ve been naughty, this is your reward: a wine that refuses to be tamed.
Why it made the Naughty list:
✔ oak-aged strength
✔ deep Bulgarian heritage
✔ rich tannins and darkness
✔ unapologetically intense
Songs to sip with:
- I Want It All – Queen
- Joanna – Sevdaliza
- Mavrud – Bulgarian Cartrader
Whether you’re ending the year feeling soft or wild, peaceful or chaotic, healed or hungry for change: there is a wine here for you.
Let these bottles accompany you through both your Nice moments and your Naughty ones.
Cheers to a beautiful winter,
Yasemin
Sip, Savour, Celebrate… ho-ho-ho!
