We’ve visited the Czech Republic a handful of times over the last half dozen years. Generally, we visit friends and spend most of our time drinking Czech beer and eating Czech dumplings. After all, it’s a country known for its beer spas, so where does wine even fit? It’s what many travelers to the Czech Republic do during a holiday. I was excited to learn that there is a long history of Czech wine that I knew nothing about.
In this post, we share some of the wine-related Czech traditions. I also offer suggestions on how to go about planning a wine tour in the Czech Republic.*** Most of all, by exploring this lesser known of European wine regions, I hope to share that there is more to the Czech food scene than beer and pork.
***Recently, the Czech Republic started to use the name Czechia. I guess that means that this post can now help people find Czechia wine. The Czech Republic was also once known as Czechoslovakia when it was joined with what is now Slovakia. When we visited and originally wrote about the country it was known as the Czech Republic, so I continue to use that name.
Czech Wine Guide
Before we started researching the wine regions in the Czech Republic, I don’t think I had ever tasted Czech wine before. I’ve had Turkish and Hungarian wines, but never Czech Republic wine. This is surprising because Czech wine has a long history, dating from the Roman times. But, much of the wine production ceased during Communism. It’s only been the last two decades that the wine industry has had a bit of a renaissance. For all of these reasons, this wine research project seemed intriguing.
There are about a dozen regions in the Czech Republic. The regions that are most known for wine include the Bohemia region, which surrounds Prague, and the South Moravia region, which borders Austria. The main focus of this Czech blog post is on Moravia, including the towns of Mikulov and Valtice. To give some context, Mikulov is about two and a half hours from Prague and about 45 minutes from Brno.
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*This post contains compensated links. Find more info in my DISCLAIMER.
Czech Wine Regions
Wine is grown in both Bohemia (where Prague is located) and Moravia (where Brno is located). We were out to explore Moravia, basing ourselves in both Brno and Mikulov. Although Czech beer is common in Bohemia, and part of the daily ritual, in Moravia, it’s all about wine. It’s more common to drink wine, even though it is more expensive than Czech beer. It’s just part of the culture of Moravia.
For example, while in Mikulov, we were staying at Hotel Galant, a conference hotel that also has a vinoteka, or wine bar, on site. The people of Mikulov were surprised when Hotel Galant opened their own brewery as well. It’s just not within the culture of Moravians to drink beer. Walking around the town, it was much easier to find a vinoteka than a pub. The opposite is certainly true in Prague.
The Moravia Czech Republic Wines
Within Moravia, there are four main regions that produce Czech wine. We only visited one, Mikulovská, which includes the area surrounding the town of Mikulov. The other four are Znojemska, Velkopavlovicka, and Slovacka. If we were having this conversation in person, I would show you the map, rather than trying to pronounce the names of the Czech wine regions. It’s not an easy language to pronounce.
Similar to Portuguese wines, which are complicated, loaded with varietals, and often blended, the Czech wine varietals threw me for a loop at first. Of course, there are the varietals we are all familiar with, like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. But, the more local varieties and the Czech wines we liked most were Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner, Blauer Portugieser (Blue Portuguese), and Saint Laurent.
I was most surprised by the Czech white wine and rose wine, and even the Czech sparkling wines, many of which are made in the traditional method, similar to Champagne. In all honesty, I was not a fan of the Czech red wine. Something admitted to by some of the Czech winemakers and wine lovers we met. Many people reminded us that they don’t receive enough sun in Moravia to make good red wine. For me, many of the reds tasted too much like plums or prunes. Although, Janko at Koishi, a Japanese restaurant in Brno, offered us a couple that were very good.
Dinner in a Czech Wine Cellar
We met, easily, one of the most eccentric winemakers ever in Mikulov. And, that’s saying a lot as we have met a lot of winemakers in Europe. Dining at Pod Kozim Hradkem was unlike any “wine dinner” we’ve ever had before.
We climbed a hill in the center of Mikulov, to a little wine restaurant. The owner, escorted us into a wine cave, with only three long bench-like tables. The room itself was carved out of the side of a mountain, with stone on every side. In the fall, the tables are removed and the pressing of the grapes occurs in that very room.
Immediately Ladislav Solarik, the winemaker, presented us with two carafes, one red and one white. We tried a Welschriesling, a white wine, and Saint Laurent, a red wine. The white wine tasted of honey and hay and helps to lower cholesterol, apparently. The red wine tasted of plum jam and, apparently, is good for the heart. This was the start of our educational lesson on Moravian wine, and women.
Women only drink Czech white wine. This started the eccentric explanation of Moravian wine and Moravian woman. While at the table, I dutifully obeyed and only tried the white wine. I was okay with that because I had yet to try a red I enjoyed in Moravia. Ladislav served a stuffed goose, with portions fit for a king. It was hearty Czech food and paired well with the wine.
The dinner itself was over quickly, when Ladislav escorted us to his wine cellar on a mini Moravia wine tour, just a few steps away to learn more about Czech wine. Here is where the explanations took off, in a direction a well-educated woman, and sometimes feminist like myself, might object to. For example, Czechs only cheers in the first round, because after that, the clinking of the glass begins to get messy. Then, the wives get mad, because the husbands spill wine all over their shirts.
There were many references to keeping secrets from women, and the characterization of Moravian wine as dragons. I understand it was all in good fun, and told as a tale of what he learned from his grandfather decades ago. I tried to play along, but when he served the men first and withheld some of the wines from the women as part of his tale of Moravian women, I wanted to remind him that I was the only one in his Moravia winery who actually writes about wine. Yes, all in good fun.
Check out our video of our Czech winemaker:
National Wine Centre in Valtice Czech Republic
In the town of Valtice, just outside of Mikulov, is the enormous, if a little rough around the edges, Valtice Chateau. It is one of many Czech castles in the area. Some of them have been renovated in recent years. This one had not. But, we weren’t there to tour the castle. Instead, we visited the castle winery tasting center.
The Valtice wine tasting cellar is home to the top 100 Czech wine brands. Although there are thousands of winemakers in the South Moravia wine region the Valtice National Wine Centre selects only the top 100 each year. The competition is limited to Czech wines, only made from grapes grown in the Moravia and Bohemia wine regions. All of the wines entered into the competition must meet strict requirements. Each year, over 700 wines are entered and tested by wine experts, to narrow down the top 100. As a result, the display in the cellar changes each year.
Sampling The Wine of The Czech Republic
Within the Valtice wine cellar, it’s possible to taste various wines from the regions, giving a good overview of the wine of the Czech Republic. A complicated, but intriguing, pricing system helps people to taste the wines, one at a time, or all of them at once. That’s right, it’s possible to buy an all you can drink entry into the cellar that lasts for two hours.
In our case, we just tried a handful of wines, all poured by a representative of the National Wine Centre. It was a fun experience, and a good way to try different Czech wines. But, it is not the type of tasting where you can learn about the wine region in great detail. The presentation was a little rushed, with the young rep merely walking us from bottle to bottle without much explanation. Regardless, I would love to return and test out an all you can drink option. Who wouldn’t?
Valtice National Wine Centre Details
The wine cellar is open Tuesday through Sunday in the summer and is closed on Monday. They are open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:30 am to 5 pm, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 am -to 6 pm, and on Sunday between June and October from 10:30 to 5 pm.
An open wine-tasting for 120 minutes is currently 499 CZK. You can also do by the glass wine tastings using a card to access 16 different wines. Alternatively, they offer a few supervised wine tasting options between 160-290 CZK. Valtice is close to the Czech Austrian border.
How to Taste Czech Republic Wine
It’s easy to drink Czech wine anywhere in Moravia, including Mikulov and Brno, as Czech restaurant menus offer great selections of local wine, often at very good prices. There are also many vinoteka, or wine bars, sprinkled around the region. And, there is the National Wine Centre in Valtice. In Mikulov, we visited the Vinoteka Volarik, which has a rooftop patio with a view over the Holy Hill of Mikulov. A perfect place to walk through some of the Moravian wines. Try one of their bottles of sparkling wine made in the traditional method. I was truly surprised by the quality.
We also had the opportunity to try Moravian wines, and even Austrian wines, at Jáňův dvůr, a Czech agriturismo and goat cheese producer, just outside of Mikulov. This is a popular stopping point for people cycling their way through the region. Not only did we taste fabulously fresh goat cheese, only days old, but we got to play with the goats too!
Visiting a Moravia Vineyard
The best way to taste Czech wine, though, is to plan a trip during the time of year when there are open cellar days, in April, September, and November. It’s also possible to take bike tours that guide you through the Moravia vineyards, along the Moravian wine trails. There is also a wine market in Valtice in May.
Otherwise, it is a lot more difficult to winery hop for Czech wine than it is for Californian wine. There are over a thousand winemakers in the Moravia wine region alone. Similar to the Emporda wine region in Catalunya and the Bologna hills in Italy, many of the wineries are small, family-owned operations. They are more focused on making wine or make wine on the side of their main business. As a result, it’s hard to taste wines by just showing up at a Czech wine cellar.
Watch our YouTube video all about Czech Wine:
Czech Wine – It’s All In The Details
Bottles of Czech Republic wine at many restaurants cost around 8 to 10 Euros, a real bargain. The same pricing applies at the wine bars. So, drinking Czech wine in Moravia is a really good bargain.
Almost all of the websites I’ve shared above are entirely in Czech. It makes it appear that it is difficult to travel in the Czech Republic. Although we had some Czech speakers join us during much of our visits, it was generally possible to find information in English, English speakers, and English menus. Czech wine menus and information, even at the National Wine Centre provided the more well-known names of the grapes, but also look out for their Czech translations too:
Welschriesling = Ryzlink VlasskyGrüner Veltliner = Veltlinske ZeleneBlauer Portugieser (Blue Portuguese) = Modry PortugalSaint Laurent = Svatovavrinecke
Drinking Wine in Prague
If you don’t have time to venture to Moravia, you can drink wine in Prague as well. In recent years, the Prague food scene has taken a turn towards contemporary, with many fine-dining options. Yes, Prague is more than beer and pork knuckle. Try visiting during a Prague wine festival. One specific wine festival in Prague is Prague wine week, held annually at the end of January. During the week, there are tastings and events at some of the best wine bars in Prague, and at restaurants as well. There re also a couple of vineyards in Prague that you can visit.
Looking For Unique Food, Beer and Wine Tours in the Czech Republic?
Looking for a unique way to learn about traditional Czech food in Prague, or farther afield in the rest of the country? What about an interesting beer tour, or even a Czech wine tour? Here are our recommendations for Czech food tours to learn more about Czech cuisine and traditions.
[table id=7 /]*This post contains compensated links. Find more info in my DISCLAIMER.
We were supported by Visit Czech Republic, South Moravia, and JayWay Travel, who offers customized tours of the Czech Republic and all of Central and Eastern Europe. Of course, all opinions, and yummy sounds are my own. While in Mikulov, we stayed at the Hotel Galant, a conference hotel in the heart of Mikulov, with its own wine cellar and brewery. If you are looking for a hotel in Mikulov, you can book the Hotel Galant here. We also ate at the Boutique Hotel Tanzberg, which offers another alternative in the center of Mikulov.
PIN IT! Czech Republic Wine – How To Travel To Taste The Best Czech Wines
Amber Hoffman, food and travel writer behind With Husband In Tow, is a recovering attorney and professional eater, with a passion for finding new Food and Drink Destinations. She lives with her husband, Eric, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Together over the last 20 years, they have traveled to over 70 countries. Amber is the author of the Food Traveler’s Guide to Emilia Romagna.
Thanks! This is very helpful!
The worthy Czech wines are both unsurprising and unfamiliar, so thanks for doing the work to find them! Great wine is very findable in central Europe… see the great Austrian wines (including some lovely reds Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch, Sankt Laurent, Zweigelt), a country that of course shares a border with the Czech Republic. Further to the south, we recently reviewed some Slovenian and Croatian wine that we really enjoyed.
http://www.winethirtyflight.com/blog/2016/10/26/balkans
Again, thanks for sharing!
I’m from ireland and recently visited Praha and tasted a red wine Vino Mikulov Sommelier Club Frankovka 2015. Can I buy this wine from here in Ireland and if so how to go about it.
Thank you
Brian grant
Great question, and it’s probably hard. The Wine Buff is a good start in Ireland, as they import wines from all over Europe. But, otherwise, it might be best to contact the Czech Wine Museum, or the local winery, and see if they will ship to you in Ireland. Good luck!
Great post this. Really enjoyed and looking forward to trying some Czech wines when I’m next there.
Thanks for your fun and detailed description of your wine trip in Czech republic. Like you, we love to share our wine experiences in this cournty, should it be in Prague, Bohemia and Moravia.
Did you know that Prage was names the Wine City up to the 17th century?
We organize tours dedicated to Czech wines from Prague. Plenty of things to discover !
Na Zdravi