Hydrolia: Modern wineries require water supply analysis and automation to optimally utilize their water resources

Successor to the lands of the Thracians – one of the best winemakers in Antiquity, today Bulgaria is among the top 10 wine producers in Europe and in the top 25 in the world. This gives us a leading role in the sector, as currently there are 363 wine producers in our country, and the production is exported to more than 50 countries.  The winemaking process involves the usage of large quantities of water. What are the peculiarities of water consumption in wine cellars and how can the water supply process for such facilities be optimized – we talked about these issues with Eng. Dobromir Simidchiev, manager of Hydrolia – a company specializing in the management of water assets.

Scale of wine production in Bulgaria

The area of vineyards in Bulgaria is over 55,570 ha, 61% of which have wine varieties and a protected designation of origin, as well as a protected geographical indication. In 2024, the country produced over 67.2 million liters of wine. The registered wine-producing enterprises are 363, of which 80 wineries also develop wine tourism. The data was presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food at the opening of the 9th Global Conference of the World Tourism Organization at the United Nations, which was held on October 6 and 7 this year in Plovdiv.

Bulgarian wine is exported mainly to Western and Central Europe – mainly Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, England, Belgium, Italy, and to the eastern markets – China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, as well as to the USA. All this puts our country in the top 10 European wine producers and in the top 25 in the world according to information from the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV).

Modern wineries – cellar and tourist complex

Many wineries today go far beyond their original function and offer their guests a complete experience – from wine tourism, through accommodation, to relaxing spa moments, sports activities and culinary experiences. All this, of course, affects the infrastructure of these complexes.

Water consumption in winemaking and tourist wine complexes

"First of all, we should note that winemaking itself requires serious amounts of water – especially for the grape harvesting processes and maintaining hygienic conditions. For example, periodic washing is required according to strictly defined rules of equipment such as conveyors, grape grinders, augers, presses, fermenters, filters, pipelines, seals. This includes bottling systems, as well as the premises themselves. In addition, water is needed for drinking and domestic needs for the staff, especially if they are accommodated for a certain period of time in the same location," said Eng. Dobromir Simidchiev.

He paid serious attention to the uneven consumption of water resources, which rises strongly during the grape harvest period. Additionally, taking into account the tourist nature of some wineries, not only seasonal, but also weekly unevenness is possible.

Read the entire material in Engineer.bg HERE.

Photo source: Hydrolia, ©Engineer BG via Canva