The village of Melnik lies 20 km from the Greek border. It is surrounded by spectacular scenery, its main feature being huge sandstones, some of them in a shape of pyramids.
Peasants from Melnik started cultivating vine in the 18th century and have been passing the tradition from one generation to the next until today. Melnik is the centre of most famous Bulgarian wine region.
Melnik is squeezed into a narrow gorge of Melnishka river tributary. Upon arrival to the village we realised that Melnik is very popular among (Bulgarian) tourists and that locals are well prepared for visitors. Most of the traditional houses are beautifully renovated and many of them rent rooms to travellers.
We had big expectations in terms of wine, but after a few days of tasting we realised that in Melnik it is not easy to get the finest produce. Melnik is to certain extent commercialised, locals trying to take advantage of its fame and sell inferior quality wines as first class vintage at premium prices.
Melnik is small enough to be explored in less than an hour. Hence we decided to hike further, to nearby villages and vineyards. It's been a long, rewarding walk. When the road emerged from the narrow gorge we were greeted by incredible views of the snow-capped mountains, the surrounding villages and picturesque vineyards.
Completely overwhelmed by the scenery we forgot about the time and the distance and only when it was about to rain we realised that Melnik was far. Very far. We tried our luck with hitching a ride back to Melnik. There was only an occasional car passing by, but we got lucky soon. We returned to Melnik before the rain and in style – in a black Mercedes-Benz.
Upon returning to Melnik we caught a sound of traditional Bulgarian music coming out of a concrete block which looked like a municipality headquarters or perhaps a cultural centre. We followed the sound and soon discovered a small workshop filled with Bulgarian instruments, textiles and reproductions of folk art, in which a young couple has been practising music. They immediately invited us in.
They are Yane Kamenarov and Elena Georgieva-Kamenarova, also known as Leb i vino (Bread and wine) ensemble. They have been visiting villages around their motherland for years to collect traditional Bulgarian songs. They recorded the songs sang and played by elderly villagers, many of which have no script but are being simply passed down through generations by mouth, and many more which are no longer popular among the young generations. Driven by love, passion and determination to preserve these valuable songs they sometimes travelled deep into the mountains, perhaps just to visit one small village to collect a few songs. Leb i vino frequently performs in Melnik's restaurants so if you happen to visit the village you might just have a chance to listen to what they love most. Or else, you might also catch Leb i vino performing at various folk-music festivals in Bulgaria and abroad.
Leb i vino ensemble rehearsing in their workshop. More about Leb in vino >>