Our history (само текста за историята се променя. Другото си остава)
When the first vines were planted in 1999, none of the Kostadinovs had any idea where this adventure would lead. For generations, my family has been living in the region of Vinitsa. Certain circumstances led my great grandfather to sell all of our family farm land in the early 20th century. Our family’s relationship with the land was restored when my father, Jordan Kostadinov, bought 120 hectares of land in the area of his native village Vinitsa after land was re-privatized in the 1990s. Him and my grandfather Dimitar Kostadinov, wanted to create their own business in the field of agriculture. We decided that it would be vineyards, but without initially planning to set up a winery. The idea for it came a few years later, and in 2004 the winery was built. My share in this venture was linked to my commitment to return to Bulgaria after I finished my studies in Austria and to take over the already established business. And so it happened. In 2006, my wife Elisabeth and I returned home to embark on this new adventure. My grandfather Dimitar, without whose support the construction of the vineyard would have been impossible, continued to support me on the ground despite his advanced age, for which I am eternally grateful. My father had the difficult task of ensuring the financial viability of the winery until it could stand on its own feet.
The name "Zagreus" comes from the Thracian god Zagreus, who was a deity of comic character, lord of the sun and the elements. It later became a part of Greek mythology and gave rise to Dionysus, the god of merriment, wine and ecstasy in Ancient Greece, and Bacchus in Roman mythology.
Over the years, our views of what we do have matured with each successive vintage. We learned more about the vines and the wine, as well as ourselves. When one is close to the land, one gradually becomes aware of one's deep connection to nature. When this feeling penetrates you deeply it is only natural to feel prompted to take action in this spirit. This is why over the years we have adopted the organic way of growing vines and making wine. After a while, we turned our attention to even more radical approaches to winemaking and viticulture. This process continues to develop to this day.
The main line we follow is to rediscover the beauty and simplicity of the primal, which we have sacrificed to many degrees with the advancement of technology. This process brings us great joy and satisfaction that one can only experience when one discovers new horizons for oneself. And though every old is a new well forgotten, the pleasure of acquiring new, i.e. well forgotten knowledge, cannot be dimmed. Wine is a wonderful tool in this journey, and we are happy to encapsulate a piece of that spirit in every bottle.
