Dive in Episode 4

Before wine ever touches the lips, it meets the eyes.

What is the character of a Chardonnay? How "heavy" can a red feel? What is the texture of a rosé?

In the fourth chapter of Materia Mensa, terroir and taste, clay and grapes, craft and science all sit down at the same table — and invite you to join them. Together we'll explore how our senses speak to one another, and how that quiet conversation shapes the way wine tastes.

We're pouring three wines from AYA's first harvest: the Chardonnay from Kaliakra, the Rosé from the Melnik Triangle, and the Grenache–Syrah–Senso from Harsovo. Each will be served in a vessel designed just for it — made to echo its character and flavor.

Between September 13 and 23, we invite you to experience "Soil to Soul": a film screening, an exhibition where the vessels are on display, and a tasting created by Amor y Sal. It's an experience for all the senses — where crossmodal science meets the old rituals of wine drinking, and the aromas and honest products of the Melnik region come alive.

Soil to Soul, part of the Materia Mensa series, traces how the language of ceramics draws on discoveries in crossmodal perception to shape a porcelain vessel around a specific wine profile. At the dinner that follows, every guest will feel it firsthand — how the vessel changes what you expect, and what you taste.

The pairings are in the hands of culinary duo Amor y Sal (Raya Silova and Nikolay Madjarov–Faycheto), who bring their own interpretations of local recipes, built on authentic ingredients from the Struma Valley and the Melnik region.

September 13–23
AYA Estate