Page update: 01 January 2000

Mavrud

Mavrud is an old local variety, cultivated only in Bulgaria from old times. It is spread namely in the Plovdiv District and less in the Pazardjik and Stara Zagora Districts.

The bunch is large and winged and that is why it is quite widened to its basis, semi-compact to loose but some of its forms are compact because the variety has different variations. Its average weight is around 397g. The grape is small (15.2/15 mm) and spherical. The flesh is juicy with a pleasant sweet taste and freshness. The skin is thick, tough, bluish-black and with a thick waxen bloom.

Mavrud is a late ripening variety - in the Plovdiv region the grapes ripen at the beginning of October. Its fertility is medium. The variety is comparatively resilient on grey mildew and is not very susceptible to Oidium. Its resilience to low winter temperatures is low and that is the reason why, when stem-cultivation of the vines is carried out, the plantation area diminishes considerably. It has good affinity to rootstocks Berlandieri x Riparia, Cober 5BB and SO4. Deep, fresh alluvial soils in the warm micro regions of the country, where there is no danger of low winter temperatures, are the most appropriate ones for it.

Mavrud is one of the most valuable local varieties for the production of red wines. The sugar content is from 17 to 23% and the titratable acids are from 6.1 to 10.7g/dm3. The wines produced from this variety have a deep ruby colour, enough tannin and acids in reserve and a typical pleasant flavour in which one can detect the taste of tendrils and blackberry. The wines develop perfectly when they are in contact with oak wood and acquire a strong, complex flavour with a mild, dense and harmonious taste.