Yuliyan Yamantiev, a structural engineer, fell in love with the place and the winery in 1996 while doing construction work in Ivaylovgrad. He was stunned by the unspoiled beauty in the heart of Thracian Valley, an area kept closed during the socialism for being a stone throw from the Greek border. Initially he rented the winery in 1998 and bought it in 2000 to embark on a very ambitious program of renovation and modernisation. During the refurbishment in the winery were found ancient Roman mosaics, establishing a link with a Roman Villa unearthed nearby dating back 2000+ years.