The top quality of Moravian white wines is known worldwide, which is reflected by numerous international awards. Moravian wines win over such winery giants as France or Germany. Wine producers in the Czech Republic are very successful in wine cultivation, too – and there is living proof of it in, for example, the newly recognised types of red wine Cabernet Moravia or André, and in white wine e.g. the Muškát moravský.
There are four main wine sub-regions in Moravia – Znojmo, Velké Pavlovice, Mikulov and Slovácko. The Moravia wine region is typical with little villages comprising of wine cellars – just wine cellars without a permanent residential population.
Znojmo is a region of white aromatic wines. The main variety Veltlínské zelené is unrivalled but excellent quality can be seen in Sauvignon, Ryzlink rýnský and Müller Thurgau too. In addition, there are the outstanding varieties Muškát moravský and Rulandské šedé. As regards red wines, the most common variety is Svatovavřinecké. Přímětice
(map) near Znojmo
(map) is known for the largest cross cellar in the world; Jaroslavice
(map) is proud of a truly unique wine archive with the oldest samples in the Czech Republic.
The sub-region is known for the greatest number of registered wine producers in the Czech Republic. The leader at it is the town of Velké Bílovice
(map) with over thousand registered wine producers. The most frequent varieties of white wine are Tramín červený, Veltlínské zelené and Ryzlink vlašský. Local heavy soil provides excellent conditions for red wine varieties too. The Velké Pavlovice sub-region is considered the heart of red wines in our country. The most common varieties are Svatovavřinecké and Frankovka.
The Mikulov wine sub-region is the largest in the Czech Republic. Vineyards spread over more than 2.5 thousand hectares. The first mentions of vineyards come from the area of Pálava and are connected with the period of the Roman wars – it was this locality where Marcus Aurelius’s legions had established a military station. The centre of the region is the town of
Valtice (map). In 1873 the
Secondary school of viniculture was founded. The premises of Valtice Chateau are the residence of the leading Czech wine producer
Valtice Wine Cellars. The castle cellar rooms built in 1430 are used as storage for 600 thousand litres of top quality wine. The total capacity is 6.5 million litres of wine.
The area of vineyards around
Uherské Hradiště (map) is the northernmost wine region in Moravia. The main varieties are Ryzlink rýnský, Rulandské bílé and Rulandské šedé. As for dark varieties, the most frequent are Frankovka and Zweigeltrebe.
The region is considered one of the northernmost wine regions within the European context. At present, most of the vineyards are located around
Mělník (map),
Litoměřice (map) and
Most (map). It is interesting that the vineyards in Bohemia are neither continuous nor extensive, contrary to Moravia. They are usually spread over protected southern slopes near rivers – the Vltava, the Elbe, the Ohře and the Berounka. There used to be large vineyards around Prague in the past, at the time when Prague was the royal residence. Today, there is just
Trója (map), where a small vineyard is still maintained, and Karlštejn with a research viniculture station.
The vineyards in the surroundings of Roudnice nad Labem and Mělník used to supply mainly Prague. In the 16th century the red wines made in Mělník were popular, and in particular Rulandské modré was famous for its delicious flavour. Gradually, Ryzlink rýnský and Sylvánské zelené were introduced. At present, most of the vineyards produce Müller Thurgau.
In Prague and its surroundings, the Litoměřice wine sub-region has always been the most serious rival to Mělník. There is a mention dated 1057 about the donation of vineyards including wine producers to St Stephen’s Church in Litoměřice. The best known wine cellars are probably the cellars in Žernoseky, built by the Cistercian order, who founded the vineyards in Žernoseky in 1251. The prevailing varieties were Rulandské bílé and Rulandské šedé, and Ryzlink rýnský as well.