RARE GRAPE VARIETAL RESOURCE

Misket Vrachanski is an old variety of white grape from Bulgaria, one of about one hundred local varieties in the country.

The grape is conical, semi-dense, 11.6/8.4 cm long, weight 118 – 156 g. The skin is hard, greenish-yellow, with wax cover and small dots. The grapes ripen in the second half of September. It is susceptible to drought and low winter temperatures. The sugar content is 21-24 % and the acidity is 4.6-5.8 g/dm3.
The variety is suitable for the preparation of white wines and in good years it is good for high-quality dessert wines.

Misket Vrachanski has been cultivated mainly in North-Western Bulgaria and Hungary but there are plantations also in Romania and Ukraine as well.
There is a growing interest of Bulgarian wine makers to using local varieties. Planting material is produced in specialized research centres.

There is a need for education activities among wine makers to explain the added value of using local grape varieties and the responsibility to preserve plant diversity.

(Courtesy of Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity – Ark of Taste) https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/misket-vrachanski-grape/