The 21st international exhibition VINARIA kicked off on Wednesday in southern Bulgarian city Plovdiv, bringing together leading companies related to vine growing and wine producing.

Nearly 140 direct and represented exhibitors from 13 countries are presenting new collections of wines and liquors, technology, machinery, equipment and materials for viticulture and wine production at the most representative wine industry event in Bulgaria ending on Saturday.

Despite the crisis, the Bulgarian wine exports grew by 1.5 percent year on year, and Bulgarian wines won over 100 awards at international competitions in 2012, Krasimir Koev, Executive Director of the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine said at a news conference just before the opening ceremony.

"Todoroff," the first boutique cellar in Bulgaria and one of the most prestigious wine producers in the Balkan country, was among the exhibitors.

Kiril Izmirov, the cellar manager, told Xinhua that it began selling its wines in China from last year.

Late last year, the company exported two containers to China and sent a third container on Jan. 21 this year. "We expect to export a certain quantity of wine to China every month, and I would say we might have already found a niche for our wines in the Chinese market," Izmirov said.

Two shiny cars, designed by the Chinese private automaker Great Wall Motors and assembled by its Bulgarian partner Litex Motors, stood out among the typical wine products.

"Winemakers are our main target," Maia Panchova, area sales manager at Litex Motors, told Xinhua.

"In 2012, we sold about 1,500 cars in the country, and the undisputed leader was our pickup Steed 5, the best-selling pickup in Bulgaria for 2012," she added.