I lived in Bulgaria until the age of nine, then moved to Italy with my mother. We spoke Bulgarian, though, and kept the language alive. Part of me will always be attached to Bulgaria. I've created a small vineyard in the south of the country, the hottest part, with its hills, view of the mountains and terrain that makes a home for snakes, lizards, falcons.

There are things to be done in Bulgaria now, and this excitement is a form of happiness. There is a tendency in western culture to go downhill after a peak. Bulgaria was at the bottom anyway. It's had to pick itself up and people find that sort of work satisfying. When you grow up in a country with everything, you think you can touch happiness by buying. When you don't grow up in that environment, you realise that is an illusion.

For me, the satisfaction of hard work will come with the first growth of the vineyard. This year is the first harvest, vintage 0. I need to be patient. We measure so much with the human clock. Nature has a different time.

It will be an emotional moment when my vineyard produces. I've tried wine that's so good, I wanted to cry. I hope this moment will be similar. Happiness is a small moment when you feel something good. I'm getting married in July and that will be a good moment. A continuation of such moments makes life worth living.