4 min.
Apollowine in the News. Article from Bacchus magazine published on Dec 9 th 2023
Apollowine is a well-known name in the wine scene. For 10 years, the online store has provided a food assortment from all over Bulgaria and the world. However, the physical store of Apollowine is entirely new, although long-awaited by its loyal fans. The decision to not be located in the ideal centre of Sofia, the owners Dimitar and Donka Nikolov defend with two arguments: firstly, in this way, they are significantly expanding the urban wine perimeter and secondly, the physical store is a beautiful two-story house, in which there is enough space to hold a series of master classes and small events. Dimitar says that the house "spoke to them" from the first moment and they are now planning for the charming garden in the backyard, which will eventually turn into a space for wine tastings and other pleasant events.
On the first floor, the walls are decorated with an enviable number of bottles, primarily (80%) Bulgarian from small wineries. We also see wine from mass producers, but "only those that we like and are of good quality." Here Doni emphasizes that they do not work with wineries, but with the wine itself - they only stock what they have truly liked and evaluated. The remaining 20% is divided between Old and New World and the emblematic regions for them.
Apollowine's emphasis is on wine by the glass, primarily Bulgarian, with offerings updated every two weeks and including mandatory sparkling wine. As for imports, the aim is always to have something more unconventional and intriguing from some part of the world. It's great that every single bottle in the shop can be opened and tasted on the spot, thanks to the dispenser. The idea going forward is to have a curated menu of gourmet offerings, and currently, the shop sells different cheeses and terrines from Bulgarian producers as well as artisanal Belgian-Bulgarian chocolate.
The second floor is reserved for future educational purposes - courses at different levels will be held there, led by Dimitar Nikolov, who in addition to being an owner of Apollowine is also a lecturer at WSAB - the first officially certified branch of WSET in Bulgaria. The shop also has a curated collection of high-alcohol beverages - primarily Bulgarian and Serbian rakia, and soon – Italian grappa. The selection of whisky and cognacs is also on display.
