Vinprom Svishtov has developed for connoisseurs a new red wine series, The Tower of the Wine. It includes 7 000 bottles. The news stirred particular interest on the eve of February 14, St Trifon Zarezan's Day (marked in Bulgaria as the holiday of Bulgarian wine).

The wine has an identification code of origin and has been made of specially selected grapes of the Cabernet Sauvignon brand.

Another trademark of Vinprom Svishtov that has secured a foothold on the British market is Roset - 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Vinprom Svishtov Executive Director Marian Marinov said last Friday, quoted by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Last year the company produced 2.4 million bottles of wine, of which one million bottles were sold on the British market. The British prefer young wines with lower contents of tannin and more fragrances; this is why they appreciate so much the Svishtov-made wine, Marinov said.

Sixty per cent of the wine is made from 400 hectares of vineyards owned by the company. The rest comes from leased state-owned vineyards. The company has used a loan of 1.9 million leva from the Agriculture Fund to grow new brands of Chardonnet, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

The winery's investment programme for 2003 and 2004 envisages increasing its vineyards by 100 ha using a 4.2 million leva loan under the SAPARD programme. The company will also propose a project for the manufacture of white wines under the same programme.