Before Retirement, Vance Petrunoff Was Selling Bulgarian Wines from Sonoma, CA

Lucia Comnes sings a traditional Bulgarian folk song called 'Izgreyala Yazna Zvezda.' The lyrics describe a young woman who is so beautiful that she is mistaken for a bright star shining in the sky. Lucia is an American singer and violinist from San Francisco, California, who has studied Bulgarian folk music with many great singers, including Tzvetanka Varimezova and Kremena Stancheva.  From 2002-2004 she sang with the women's Balkan vocal group - Kitka - in Oakland, California ( www.kitka.org ).  She also composes songs, performs songs in many other languages and plays a lot of traditional Irish music.  Learn more here: www.luciacomnes.com This film was produced by Vance Petrunoff and filmed by Tamarind Free Jones  in Hercules, California, in June 2012.

We are in Sliven and tasted the 2011 vintage wines and samples for VINI. Miro Tcholakov and a team of young and talented winemakers from Domaine Boyar were the stars of the show. Merlot from Korten was unbelievable. 2011 will be our best ever. I toured Domaine Boyar's winery in Sliven and was so impressed by the size and modernity of it. 13 million Euro well spent. The climate change continues to make Bulgarian wines fuller and richer every year.

Oregon is becoming an important market for our wines, had to go twice in one month and loved it. I can contribute that to the fact that they make great Pinot Noirs and have the wine culture, like the entire Left Coast.   I forgot to bring an umbrella and walked in wet from the suddenly pouring rain. Portland is similar to Seattle and has an excellent link to the airport via train. Like any European I am used to trains and after mentioning how I arrived downtown to my colleagues they were so surprised, they have been coming here many times and never took the MAX as they call it.

I was showing the wines from Domaine Boyar, Targovishte and our own brand VINI.  On the way there, near Vacaville, CA I took a photo of a rare Occupy sign in the hillside.

In each issue THE TASTING PANEL’s Publisher and Executive Editor, Meridith May, selects her favorite wines and spirits of the month. Domaine Boyar 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Bulgaria ($9) Old World acidity is accented by a fruity middle: plums, blackberry and melting cocoa are icing on the cake with a regal quality that brings the wine down to earth.  90 points and 2 kisses from Meridith May