The name vinar is Slavic in origin and is derived from the word for wine. In administrative usage it did not mean simply a wine producer, but an official with fiscal responsibilities. Wine officers are mentioned in the Virgino, Mrachka, Rila, and Vitosha charters. The term has also been proposed as a reading in the Vatopedi Charter, although this identification is disputed. The documents refer to a category of officials without naming any individual officeholders.
The wine officer’s principal duty was probably to collect the wine tithe. Here “tithe” means a levy on production, not necessarily an unchanging rate of exactly one tenth. Comparable taxation existed throughout the medieval Balkans. In Byzantium the wine tax was called the oinometrion (οἰνομέτριον), but the Bulgarian office cannot be regarded as a direct borrowing of a Byzantine institution: its name was Slavic, and the chief similarity lay in fiscal practice. No surviving Bulgarian evidence permits the revenue from this tax to be calculated, although the economic importance of viticulture suggests that it was substantial.
A particularly useful parallel is provided by the charter of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin for the monastery of St George near Skopje, concerning lands that had formerly been Bulgarian. It mentions the wine officer together with two distinct levies: the “wine tithe” and the “wine surcharge.” The former was the principal tax, while the latter appears to have been an additional payment. The language of payment used in the document and its distinction from priselitsa—a billeting and maintenance obligation—show that the surcharge was a separate fiscal exaction. It may have provided remuneration for the official collecting the principal tax, but this remains a well-founded interpretation rather than an explicitly recorded rule.
Comparisons with Wallachia and Moldavia also help clarify the nature of the office. There the wine tax was known as vinarici, and names derived from the same term were used for its collectors. Later evidence shows a transition from collection mainly in kind to combined payment in produce and money during the seventeenth century, and then predominantly in money after the beginning of the eighteenth century. This parallel does not establish the precise Bulgarian practice, but it illustrates how an official such as the wine officer might have assessed and received either quantities of wine or their monetary equivalent.
In the Bulgarian charters’ lists of officials, wine officers occupy positions between seventh and ninth overall and rank third among fiscal officials. This suggests a relatively prominent place in the provincial tax administration, although the order of names in such documents should not be treated as a fully formalized table of ranks. The rates of both the principal tax and the additional wine surcharge probably varied and cannot be reconstructed precisely. The office must not be confused with the obligation to supply wine to a passing army, which was a form of angaria, or compulsory service and provision. The sources establish that the wine officer existed during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but they do not reveal when the office was created or formally abolished.
The name vinar comes from Slavic and is based on the word for wine. In official use, however, it did not mean just someone who made wine. It referred to an official with tax duties. Wine officers are named in the Virgino, Mrachka, Rila, and Vitosha charters. The term has also been suggested as a reading in the Vatopedi Charter, though that identification is debated. These documents point to a group of officials, but they do not name any individual officeholders.
The wine officer’s main job was probably to collect the wine tithe. Here “tithe” means a tax on production, not necessarily a fixed rate of exactly one tenth. Similar taxes existed across the medieval Balkans. In Byzantium, the wine tax was called the oinometrion (οἰνομέτριον), but the Bulgarian office should not be seen as a direct copy of a Byzantine one. The name was Slavic, and the main similarity was in how the tax worked. No surviving Bulgarian source lets us calculate how much money this tax brought in, but the importance of grape growing suggests that it was probably significant.
A very useful comparison comes from the charter of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin for the monastery of St George near Skopje, dealing with lands that had once been Bulgarian. That document mentions the wine officer alongside two separate charges: the “wine tithe” and the “wine surcharge.” The first was the main tax, while the second seems to have been an extra payment. The wording used for payment, along with the fact that this surcharge is distinguished from priselitsa—a duty to house and support troops—shows that it was a separate tax demand. It may have been pay for the official who collected the main tax, but that is a sound explanation rather than a rule stated in the source.
Evidence from Wallachia and Moldavia also helps make sense of the office. There the wine tax was called vinarici, and officials who collected it had names formed from the same word. Later evidence shows a shift in the seventeenth century from payment mostly in kind to payment partly in goods and partly in money, and then mainly in money after the beginning of the eighteenth century. This does not prove exactly how the Bulgarian system worked, but it shows how a wine officer might have taken either wine itself or its money value.
In the Bulgarian charters, wine officers usually appear seventh to ninth in the list of officials and are third among fiscal officials. That suggests they held a fairly important place in local tax administration, though the order of names in such documents should not be treated as a strict ranking system. The rates of both the main tax and the extra wine surcharge were probably not fixed and cannot now be worked out exactly. This office should not be confused with the duty to provide wine to a passing army, which was a form of angaria, meaning compulsory service and supplies. The sources show that the wine officer existed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but they do not tell us when the office began or when it was officially ended.
The wine officer was a Bulgarian official in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name came from the word for wine, but this was not a wine maker. It was a tax office.
Its main job was probably to collect a wine tax. In some charters, it is linked with a second payment too. This shows that wine production was an important source of income for the state.
The office appears in several medieval charters and seems to have had a fairly high place in local tax work. We do not know the exact tax rates, or when the office began or ended, but it was clearly a real and important part of Bulgaria’s fiscal system.