The Thracian God's Revival & the Natural Hand
Zagreus / Minimum is the natural wine project of the Kostadinov family — a third-generation Bulgarian winemaking dynasty rooted in the Upper Thracian Valley near the town of Parvomay. Founded in 1998 when Yordan Kostadinov and his father Dimitar Kostadinov Sr. began rebuilding family vineyards in the "Old Vineyards" area, the winery produced its first vintage in 2004 and today spans 120 to 130 hectares of estate vines. In 2010, Dimitar Kostadinov Jr. — who had returned from studying Mechatronics in Linz, Austria — transitioned the entire estate to organic farming, achieving EU organic certification in 2013. But Dimitar's vision ran deeper. Fascinated by Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic philosophy and the idea of complete natural winemaking, he began personal experiments in 2016 — making tiny quantities of wine by hand, with no additives, no filtration, and spontaneous fermentation. The response was overwhelming. Thus Minimum was born: a line of minimal-intervention, terroir-driven wines that capture the soul of the Thracian Valley. In 2021, the project expanded into the Natural Wine Fellows of Zagreus — a collective including Stanimir, Ivan, and Momchil — all members of the Zagreus team united by the desire to create wines of purity, genuineness, and authenticity. The name Zagreus honours the Thracian god of joy, wine, and ecstasy — later known as Dionysus — who was dismembered by Titans and reborn, just as the Kostadinov family revived their ancestral lands and, with them, the ancient Mavrud grape. This is not merely a winery; it is a resurrection of Thracian wine culture through the lens of modern natural winemaking.
A Thracian God & the Austrian Hand
The story of Zagreus begins not with a vineyard but with a myth. Zagreus was the youngest and most perfect of the Thracian gods — the deity of joy, wine, and ecstasy, later adopted by the Greeks as Dionysus. Born from the love of Zeus and Persephone, he was hunted by the jealous Hera, dismembered by Titans, and then revived by the goddess Demetra who gathered his seven pieces and restored him to life. The Kostadinov family saw themselves in this myth. In 1998, Yordan Kostadinov and his father Dimitar Kostadinov Sr. — whose roots trace back to the village of Vinitsa near the winery — began rebuilding and expanding the family vineyards in the "Old Vineyards" area of the Upper Thracian Plain. The first vines were planted in autumn 1998; the first harvest came in 2004; and the modern Zagreus Winery was built that same year, equipped with state-of-the-art fermentation and production facilities.
The true turning point, however, arrived with the third generation. Dimitar Kostadinov Jr. had left Bulgaria to study Mechatronics at the University of Linz, Austria — a world of engineering, research, and analytics far removed from the vineyards of Thrace. It was in Austria that he met his wife Elisabeth, and together they faced a decision that would alter the course of Bulgarian natural wine. After much deliberation, Dimitar and Lisa returned to Bulgaria in 2006 to take over the family winery. His father opposed what came next: in 2010, Dimitar transitioned the entire estate — then 120 hectares — to organic farming and dry cultivation, abandoning synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilisers, and irrigation. It was a radical move in a country where conventional agriculture dominated. After a mandatory three-year probation period, Zagreus received EU organic certification in 2013. But Dimitar was not satisfied with organic alone. He had become fascinated by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and the possibility of making wine with minimal human intervention — not as a commercial strategy, but as a personal and philosophical pursuit.
In 2016, Dimitar began experimenting in secret. He made tiny batches of wine by hand — hand-harvesting, hand-sorting, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no filtration, no stabilisation, and minimal or zero sulfur. He did everything personally. When he shared these wines with friends and colleagues, the response was electric. After several years of experimentation, he decided to share his natural wines with the world, starting with the label Minimum — a name that encapsulates the entire philosophy: minimum intervention, maximum terroir. What began as one man's experiment has since expanded into a collective movement. In 2021, Dimitar's personal project grew to include more members of the Zagreus winery and vineyard team — Stanimir, Ivan, and Momchil — forming the Natural Wine Fellows of Zagreus. Together, they pursue a vision where philosophical and practical aspects converge into a perfect entity: organic grapes, spontaneous fermentation, no oenological additives, no filtration, no stabilisation, and for some wines, only the barest whisper of sulfites before bottling (maximum 30mg/l for reds, 40mg/l for whites). The myth of Zagreus — dismembered and reborn — lives in every bottle: a resurrection of ancient Thracian wine culture through the patient, radical hand of natural winemaking.
"What happens in the vineyard and in our consciousness determines the behaviour in the bottle. It is about growing the best grapes under the best possible conditions, as well as to devote our thoughts and intentions in order to make a wine that reflects the best and beautiful in ourselves."
— Zagreus Winery Philosophy
The Upper Thracian Valley & the Forest Hand
The Upper Thracian Valley — also known as the Thracian Lowlands — is one of the most favourable soil-climatic areas in Bulgaria. Situated below the Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora, and above the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea, this region enjoys a moderate continental climate with open winters, hot summers, and excellent distribution of precipitation during the vegetation period. The average annual temperature is 12.3°C, the frost-free period lasts 210 days, and the region receives an average of 2,293 hours of sunshine per year — among the longest in Bulgaria. In July, when the grapes ripen, the vines bask in an average of 10 hours of sun per day. These are near-perfect conditions for viticulture, and the Kostadinov family has harnessed them with precision and reverence.
But it is the soil that gives Zagreus wines their distinctive voice. Historically, the Thracian Valley was covered in dense forest and known for its rich forest soils. Though war and industrialisation stripped much of the woodland away, the Zagreus vineyards are planted on these unique forest soil profiles — layers of humus, cinnamon forest soil, clay, and soft limestone. The main colour of the soil is dark brown, and its composition provides both fertility and mineral complexity. The vines are dry-farmed without irrigation — a deliberate choice that yields smaller crops but far higher quality grapes with deeper root systems and greater concentration. Dimitar insists that nothing exists in monoculture: the vineyards are alive with herbs, insects, rabbits, snakes, and the full biodiversity of a restored ecosystem. The family also grows sunflower, beans, grains, and spelt on the estate — the spelt is used to make their own organic bread, served at tastings alongside homemade charcuterie from their free-roaming pigs and cattle.
The estate's 130 hectares are planted primarily with Mavrud — the ancient, late-ripening grape of the Thracian people, derived from the Greek word mavro (black) for its bluish-black skin. Zagreus devotes 70 hectares to Mavrud — the largest organic planting of the variety in Bulgaria — alongside 25 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 hectares of Syrah, 5 hectares of Merlot, and smaller plots of Dimyat, Pamid, and Rkatsiteli. The Mavrud is the soul of the estate: a grape that has survived since antiquity, that thrives in the southern Bulgarian heat, and that carries the identity of a nation. Zagreus has made it their mission to elevate Mavrud both locally and internationally — producing it as red, white, rosé, reserve, and appassimento-style wines. The Pamid grape — an almost extinct ancient Bulgarian variety that was nearly eradicated during the communist era in favour of international grapes — has also been rescued by Dimitar's personal Hand Made project. Today, Zagreus is one of the only wineries in Bulgaria bottling single-varietal Pamid. This is not merely farming; it is archaeological viticulture — the excavation and preservation of a nation's oenological memory.
The Upper Thracian Valley is a winegrowing paradise of continental transition. Open winters, hot summers, 2,293 hours of annual sunshine, and 210 frost-free days create an environment where grapes ripen fully while retaining natural acidity. The Plovdiv Plain, where Zagreus is located, is considered one of the most favourable climatic zones in Bulgaria. The vineyards are dry-farmed, forcing the vines to dig deep into the forest soil profiles for water and nutrients. This stress yields smaller berries with thicker skins, greater phenolic concentration, and a mineral depth that irrigation could never achieve. The region's position — between mountain ranges and the Aegean — creates air circulation that keeps the vines healthy and reduces fungal pressure. It is a terroir of abundance and discipline, where nature provides the conditions and the winemaker's role is to step back and let the land speak.
The Zagreus vineyards rest on ancient forest soils that have been preserved despite decades of industrial agriculture elsewhere in the valley. These soils are composed of layered humus, cinnamon forest soil, clay, and soft limestone — a profile that provides both drainage and water retention, fertility and mineral austerity. The dark brown earth is alive with microorganisms, earthworms, and fungal networks that support the vines naturally. Dimitar describes the vineyard as an ecosystem, not a monoculture: herbs grow between the rows, insects pollinate and prey on pests, and small animals maintain the balance. The soils impart a distinctive earthy, mineral character to the wines — a sense of place that no amount of oak or technology can replicate. For the Minimum and Natural Wine Fellows projects, these living soils are the foundation: healthy grapes from healthy earth, fermented with nothing but time and indigenous yeast.
Mavrud is the oldest indigenous Bulgarian grape variety, dating back to the Thracian civilisation that gave the winery its name. A late-ripening variety with bluish-black skin, Mavrud thrives in the hot, dry summers of southern Bulgaria. Zagreus has dedicated 70 hectares to this grape — the largest organic Mavrud planting in the country — and produces it in more expressions than any other winery: red, white, rosé, reserve, and Vinica (an Amarone-style dried-grape wine). The Zagreus team has even conducted scientific yeast isolation projects in their Mavrud vineyards, identifying 150 different wild yeast strains and selecting the optimal one (ZM-86) for spontaneous fermentation. For the Minimum line, Mavrud is handled with zero additives and no filtration — allowing the ancient grape to express its true Thracian character. This is not just a varietal; it is a national identity, and Zagreus is its most passionate guardian.
Since 2010, all Zagreus vineyards have been cultivated according to EU organic standards, achieving certification in 2013. But Dimitar Kostadinov's vision extends far beyond the certificate. The estate uses no synthetic pesticides, no artificial fertilisers, no genetically modified organisms, and no irrigation. The vines are dry-farmed, relying entirely on rainfall and the water stored in the deep forest soils. The family maintains biodiversity by growing multiple crops — sunflower, beans, grains, spelt — and raising free-roaming animals whose manure enriches the soil. Even the organic bread served to visitors is made from estate-grown spelt. The Natural Wine Fellows project takes this further: no oenological additives before, during, or after fermentation; no filtration; no stabilisation; and sulfites only when absolutely necessary, at levels far below organic limits. This is agriculture as restoration — of the land, of ancient varieties, and of a Thracian wine culture nearly lost to history.
Spontaneous Fermentation, Indigenous Yeasts & the Minimum Hand
The Minimum project and the broader Natural Wine Fellows of Zagreus operate on a philosophy of radical transparency and minimal intrusion. The principles are simple and non-negotiable: organic grapes, spontaneous (wild) fermentation, no oenological additives before, during, or after fermentation, no filtration of the wine, no stabilisation, and for some wines, only the barest addition of sulfites before bottling — maximum 30mg/l for reds and 40mg/l for whites, far below conventional and even organic limits. This is not a middle path between conventional and natural; it is a commitment to letting the Thracian Valley speak without a filter, literally and figuratively. Dimitar Kostadinov approaches winemaking with the analytical mind of a mechatronics engineer and the spiritual curiosity of a Steiner disciple. Every decision is measured, every intervention questioned, and every wine allowed to find its own identity.
The Hand Made project — which predates and informs Minimum — began in 2015 as a blank slate for experimentation. Dimitar and his team explored different varieties, different techniques, and different vessels, producing limited editions of fewer than 300 bottles each. Everything about these wines, down to the labels, is truly handmade. The Hand Made Pamid is perhaps the most emblematic: Dimitar picks the grapes by hand, cluster by cluster, sorts them himself, and presses them with a tiny crusher. The juice undergoes a week-long pre-soak maceration to extract colour and tannin from the light-skinned red grape, then ferments spontaneously in small stainless steel tanks. The wine is racked immediately, worked on fine lees with traditional batonnage, and clarified only with the estate's own organic egg whites. The result is a pale, rosé-hued wine that looks delicate but carries surprising structure — a resurrection of a grape that was nearly erased from Bulgarian viticulture.
For the Minimum line and the Natural Wine Fellows wines, the approach is even more austere. Grapes are hand-harvested from selected organic vineyard blocks, sorted with meticulous care, and fermented spontaneously with the indigenous yeasts that inhabit the Zagreus vineyards. The team has conducted extensive wild yeast research, isolating 150 different strains from twelve different spots in the vineyard, fermenting test batches, and narrowing the selection to the three best strains — ultimately choosing ZM-86 (Zagreus Mavrud, the 86th isolate) for its aromatic complexity and fermentation reliability. "We cannot speak of terroir unless we use our terroir yeast," Dimitar insists. The wines are aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks, neutral vessels, and Bulgarian oak barrels — though for the natural lines, oak is used sparingly and only old barrels, to avoid masking the fruit. The wines are bottled without filtration, without stabilisation, and with only minimal sulfur when deemed necessary. Each vintage is different. Each bottle is alive. And each label tells the story of a Thracian god reborn through the patience of the natural hand.
Indigenous Yeasts, Zero Additives & the Minimum Ethos
The guiding principle of Zagreus Minimum is that the Thracian Valley already knows how to make wine — the winemaker's job is to listen, not to dictate. The organic farming provides healthy, complex grapes from living forest soils. The hand harvest ensures that only pristine fruit enters the cellar. The spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts — including the scientifically selected ZM-86 strain — captures the microbial soul of the vineyard. The absence of filtration and stabilisation preserves the raw, living character of the wine. And the minimal sulfur philosophy means that every bottle continues to evolve from the moment it is sealed to the moment it is opened. The cellar is not a factory of standardisation but a laboratory of terroir — where a mechatronics engineer turned winemaker proves that the most profound Bulgarian wines are made not by adding, but by removing everything that is unnecessary, until only the voice of Mavrud, Pamid, and the Thracian earth remains.
Mavrud, Pamid & the Thracian Hand
The Zagreus portfolio spans a remarkable range — from large-volume organic wines sold by the tap and bag-in-the-box to ultra-limited natural wines that represent the cutting edge of Bulgarian minimal intervention. The Minimum line and the Natural Wine Fellows wines are the focus here: small-batch, hand-made expressions of Mavrud, Pamid, and other indigenous and international varieties that capture the raw, unvarnished soul of the Upper Thracian Valley. These wines are made with spontaneous fermentation, no additives, no filtration, and minimal or zero sulfites. They are unpredictable, alive, and impossible to replicate — each vintage a new conversation between the vineyard, the yeast, and the season. Alongside these natural experiments, Zagreus also produces benchmark organic wines including the legendary Vinica Mavrud (an Amarone-style dried-grape wine rated Bulgaria's best), the pioneering Tiara White Mavrud (the only white Mavrud in Bulgaria), and the Reserve series aged in Bulgarian oak.
The Natural Wine Fellows & the Thracian Hand
Zagreus / Minimum is not merely a winery; it is a proof that a Thracian god dismembered by Titans can be reborn in a bottle of Mavrud, and that a mechatronics engineer from Linz can become the standard-bearer of Bulgarian natural wine. In an era when natural wine has become a global marketing category, Dimitar Kostadinov demonstrates that the truest natural wine is made not by following trends but by removing everything that is unnecessary — additives, filtration, stabilisation, excessive sulfur, and commercial recipes — until only the vineyard and the vintage remain. The same forest soils that were stripped by industrialisation are now the source of the wine's mineral soul. The same Pamid grape that was uprooted by Soviet planners has been rescued by hand. And the same Mavrud that was dismissed as a rustic local variety has been elevated to international acclaim by Jancis Robinson and DiVino Magazine.
The legacy of Zagreus / Minimum is the legacy of the patient hand in Bulgarian viticulture. The 1998 founding is not a distant memory but a living declaration — a reminder that the best wines are made by families who stay rooted to their land across three generations. The organic certification of 2013 is not a destination but a stepping stone toward something deeper: a viticulture that needs no chemicals because the ecosystem is healthy enough to regulate itself. The Minimum project of 2016 is not a side experiment but a philosophical core — a recognition that grapes from living soils, fermented with indigenous yeasts, produce wines that no laboratory can replicate. And the Natural Wine Fellows collective of 2021 is not a marketing collective but a statement of shared purpose — that wine is made by hands, not machines, and that the future of Bulgarian wine lies not in imitation of France or Italy but in the authentic expression of Thracian terroir.
The future of the project is tied to the future of the global natural wine movement — to the growing recognition that the most authentic wines come not from the most famous regions but from the most committed hands. As the Minimum Mavrud continues to find its way into the cellars of collectors who understand the value of zero-additive, hand-sorted wine, as the Hand Made Pamid introduces a new generation to the almost-lost varieties of the Balkans, as the Natural Wine Fellows push the boundaries of what Bulgarian spontaneous fermentation can achieve, and as the Zagreus estate continues to farm 130 hectares without chemicals or irrigation, Zagreus / Minimum remains what Dimitar has always intended it to be: a living farm grounded in organic agriculture, total manual labour, and absolute respect for the forest soil, the ancient vine, and the Thracian sun — structured not by technology but by love, patience, and the eternal reminder that wine, like the god Zagreus, can be dismembered by history and yet reborn, piece by piece, by those who refuse to abandon the land. The story of this project is the story of a family who looked at a vineyard and saw not a factory but a living ecosystem — and who proved that the best Bulgarian bottle is sometimes the one that contains nothing but grapes, indigenous yeast, time, and an open heart.
"We cannot speak of terroir unless we use our terroir yeast. We want romance, and we want the story. The more detail and curiosity evoked by stories of winemakers, climate, geography, and viticulture, the more we talk ourselves into believing and then sharing that story."
— Dimitar Kostadinov, Zagreus Winery