Zornitza Family Estate Relais & Châteaux near Melnik is the best winery for wine tourism in Bulgaria for 2025. The award was awarded by Travel&Lifestyle magazine, which in its new autumn issue ranks the top 50 of the best wine tourism wineries in Bulgaria in a special ranking.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Pavlin Petrov, presented the statuette to the executive director of Zornitza Family Estate Relais & Châteaux Mrs. Zornitsa Stoycheva during a sophisticated event on the yellow cobblestones in Sofia, in front of The RITZ Specialty Coffee.
„This is a great recognition for us, because we are developing luxury tourism in Bulgaria and proof of this is that for 8 years we have been part of the global association Relais & Châteaux, welcoming high-class tourists from all over the world“, noted Zornitsa Stoycheva. Deputy Minister of Tourism Pavlin Petrov pointed out that the ministry supports wine tourism and is increasingly starting to advertise it. In this regard, Bulgaria will host the Global Wine Tourism Conference of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, which will be held on October 6 and 7, 2025 in Plovdiv.
The publisher and editor-in-chief of Travel&Lifestyle magazine, Miroslav Ivanov, announced that for the first time they are ranking the best wineries for wine tourism in Bulgaria. The ranking is based on the reviews of the customers themselves on Booking, Google, Tripadvisor, etc. platforms, as well as personal visits by the publication's journalists. In second place is Aya estate vineyards near Melnik, and in third place is – – – Bononia estate“ in the village of Koshava, Vidin region. The entire top 50 ranking of the best wine tourism wineries in Bulgaria can be seen in the new issue of the magazine.
The Travel&Lifestyle party was organized jointly with the hosting of the most elite cafe in Sofia - The RITZ Specialty Coffee, which celebrated its first year and the 17th birthday of the company behind it. –Our special selection of homemade sweets, specialty coffees and premium tea are already favorites of many Bulgarians and foreign tourists visiting Sofia. "I thank the entire team for the love with which they welcome customers," said Emil Ritz, owner of The RITZ.
The event was attended by over 150 guests from the business world, influencers, lifestyle, actors, actresses, journalists and other guests. From the diplomatic corps, Her Excellency Listiana Operananta, Ambassador of Indonesia to Bulgaria, as well as representatives of the embassies of the USA, France, Italy, India and China. The host was the young and talented actor Alexander Kara, who graduated from the legendary Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles.
BNK Wines presented the French rosé Whispering Angel from the Château d'Esclans winery, Andreola's Dirupo prosecco from the Valdobbiadene region, the Italian wine La Scolca from the Gavi region and the Spanish water Sant Aniol, springing from the protected volcanic natural park La Garrotxa.
Lexus presented its latest models - the self-charging hybrid Lexus LBX and the plug-in hybrid Lexus RX 450h. The decoration of the event was the work of V V Dеsign company of the charming Venislava Vladimirova, Nadezhda Radulova and Nadya Vladimirova.