Our history started in 1999 when Jair Agopian obtained the privatized winery Telish and later started the production of the bestselling wines Telish Merlot and Telish Cabernet Sauvignon. He is the first Bulgarian wine producer who introduced the bag-in-box package for his wines on the Bulgarian market.
T-t and T-t lux series came later and with them the winery strengthened its reputation as the producer offering the best price/quality relationship. Up to this day that’s our main principle – to offer honest wines with proven quality.
In 2006 we started the construction of Castra Rubra Winery which is a real architectural jewel equipped with the latest technologies and equipment meeting our standards for quality and minimal external influence upon grapes and wine.
We have chosen this place not only because of the excellent conditions for growing vineyards – suitable sun exposure, soils with good drainage and extremely rich and various composition, but also because the place is full of history.
Castra Rubra is a Latin name which literally means red fortress. This fortress has been recently discovered by Bulgarian archeologists. Indeed, 15 centuries ago at this place there was a mythical Byzantine fortress with strategic location. For the first time the archeological excavations have proved that the place was inhabited by several different ethnic groups. The fortress was situated on the ancient important trade route Via Diagonalis connecting Europe and the Orient. Even nowadays one can see the traces of the big diagonal road built by the Byzantine people to connect Rome and Constantinople. We dedicated to this road one of our most successful wines – Via Diagonalis.
The excavations proved that Castra Rubra was not only a fortress but there was also a settlement and probably a big facility hosting tired travelers and caravans.
We decided to plant our new vineyards around this historical site. We started in 2004 and now we have 200 hectares planted with varieties that we consider to be very suitable for this terroir. In our vineyards you will find Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante Bouschet, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Syrah, Petit Verdot and, of course, the local pride – Rubin and Mavrud.