April 23, 2020 

In April 2020, renowned winemaker Miro Tcholakov and his wife, Molly, purchased the BulgarianWine.com website from their friend Vance Petrunoff. Vance plans to retire to Bulgaria, where Miro and Molly intend to visit him frequently—for research and wine-buying, of course.

After completing his mandatory military service, Miro attended the Higher Institute of Agriculture in Plovdiv, where he studied viticulture and enology. Upon graduating in 1990, he was selected from hundreds of candidates to participate in an international agriculture exchange program organized by the Future Farmers of America. Initially spending a few months in Napa, he soon secured a harvest internship at Dry Creek Vineyard in Sonoma County. What began as a temporary role evolved into a nine-year tenure, during which he advanced from Cellar Master to Assistant Winemaker in 1997.

In 1998, Miro joined Trentadue Winery as Winemaker, a position he still holds today. Alongside crafting world-class, award-winning wines, he also oversees custom crush operations for renowned winemaker clients. In 2001, he became his own client, debuting his first Petite Sirah under the Miro Cellars brand. Within weeks of its release, the wine earned an impressive 90-point rating and a glowing review from Robert Parker Jr. in The Wine Advocate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Liquid cocaine found in bottles of Bolivian wine

July 16, 2009 Sophie Kevany in Lima, Peru The discovery of liquid cocaine in bottles of Bodegas Kohlberg wine has shocked the owners of the 40-year-old winery in northern Bolivia. The narcotic was found during a drugs inspection by customs officers in Bulgaria, at the port of Varna-West. Wines from Vinos Kohlberg are normally exported from Bolivia via the Chilean port of Arica. No Kohlberg wine is currently exported to Chile. 'We export about 10% of our production to the Czech Republic and China, via Chile, but those shipments have not even left yet,' said Herbert Kohlberg, marketing manager at the winery. The Kohlbergs condemned the adulteration of their wines. 'This illegal action is absolutely not what we stand for,' said Lisette Kohlberg. Of the 1020 bottles of Kohlberg wine – 765 litres - discovered by Bulgarian authorities, news agencies reported 714 litres was liquid cocaine. The rest – 68 bottles – was reported to be real wine. The Kohlberg winery is...
Read more

How did I get here? - Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Official Video)

Image
How Did I Get Here? I retired in 2021 after a long career as a wine importer and distributor in the U.S., a journey that began in 1996. But how did I get here? To answer that, I will share a few stories, along with articles from newspapers and magazines, for the record. First, I escaped communist Bulgaria in 1985 and arrived in Anchorage, Alaska. Since I had requested political asylum, the U.S. Immigration Service transferred me to Denver, Colorado, for processing. Back then, there was no Immigration Court in Alaska—I wonder if there is one there now. After months of waiting idly for my work permit and green card, I took a job in construction. Eventually, a kind Greek restaurant owner named Georgio, who had named his downtown Denver restaurant after himself, hired me as a busboy. Earning $3.75 an hour made me incredibly happy—not to mention the great food, which included a free meal, plus a few extra dollars in tips. I worked under the table until I finally obtained my work permit. Dur...
Read more