Yes, sure. Prague equals beer. Of course. We get that a lot. But the fact that the Czechs have the biggest consumption of beer per capita in the world… by a wide margin, does not mean that you have to neglect that wine addiction you have worked so hard to build when you visit Prague. The Czech Republic actually produces some very nice and interesting wines, too. Heck, we even run our Moravian wine tours to promote that fact! The truth is you may not have heard about them: with about 18,000 hectares and a production that does not satisfy even one half of the Czech consumption of wines, it is hard to get your hands on a Czech bottle outside of the country.

But which wines should you drink in Prague? It is sometimes hard to pick that special bottle when you travel and you are not familiar with the territory, the tradition and the climate. Mind you, the sommeliers in the wine bars we like to visit in Prague are very knowledgeable and speak great English. Still, we wanted to know what some of the leading personalities on the Prague wine scene would recommend that you order in Prague. Here’s what they had to say.

Klára Kollarova

Klára is the sommelier and co-owner of the Vinograf wine bars with years of experience as the former sommelier of La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise. She is also a mom of Hugo, one of the calmest and cutest kids we have ever seen, and an often-quoted authority on wines.

Zernoseky, Pinot blanc 2013 late harvest

This wine comes from the Bohemian region, which I think offers some of the best terroirs for white wines in the Czech Republic. Zernoseky winery, with Mr Kupsa as the master winemaker, has been consistent in producing top wines at very reasonable prices. For me personally, this wine is one of the big surprises of the 2013 vintage, a vintage that was a bit difficult but offered very promising wines with some aging potential from the top producers. This wine is fruity, elegant but powerful and very long tasting with a mineral and vibrant finish.

Sevcik, Rhein Riesling 2013

A classic example of a white wine from Moravia. Mr Sevcik is a very small winemakers with only two hectars (i.e. five acres) of vineyards. He works them himself, which means the quality of the grapes is great, and so are the resulting wines. The processes in the vineyards and and in the cellar are very friendly to the environment, with no chemicals used during the fermentation that takes place in the barrels only. With that in mind, this Riesling is probably not as crispy and mineral, but offers a very wide and multi-layered taste with typical acidity in the finish.

Sukal, Pinot Noir Reserva 2012

This is an example of a great red wine for those who do not believe the Czech Republic can produce great reds. And a very exciting wine for Pinot Noir lovers. This wine is a special selection of a few barrels from Milan Sukal’s cellar. This winery has been long known for producing high-quality wines, and Mr Sukal is focusing both on the early-drinking wines and on wines with aging potential. The 2012 vintage was warmer, giving us grapes of full maturity and health so the wine is powerful but with elegance and fruit. The structure of the tannins shows good aging potential. Don’t drink it now: give it 2 to 4 years to release the maximum of its flavor.

Bogdan Trojak

Bogdan, whom we interviewed as one of our Prague locals, is a winemaker and the man behind the Veltlin wine bar in the Karlin district and the Prague Drinks Wine festival. He is also a poet and a writer (the translation barely gives justice to his style of writing in Czech) and arguably one of the nicest people on the Prague wine scene we know.

Mueller Thurgau 2013, Porta Bohemica

Because Prague lies in the very heart of the Bohemian wine region that some Moravian winemakers make the mistake of looking down on, we always try to persuade our guests that this small, overlooked wine region gives birth to distinctive, poignant wines. The wines from Zernoseky, true "river wines”, are the true kings of Bohemian wines. And the fresh Muller Thurgau with marlite golden tones by Ales Svatos from the Porta Bohemica winery is a classic river wine. Its characteristics? A pike-like energy and filigree minerality. A wine with true flow: it flows, without resistance, into the heart and leaves you longing for more.

Saint Laurent 2012, Petr Kocarik

Saint Laurent is Pinot Noir’s cousin. That does not always come through, though. Yet Petr Kocarik’s Saint Laurent makes that fact clear, and thus can be recommended to anyone with a keen eye for Burgundy reds. On top of that, nowhere else is Saint Laurent grown as much as in the Czech Republic; that’s why all foreign visitors should get a taste. This wine has fresh acidity, moderate tannins that combine well with the tannins from the oak barrel. The aftertaste has delicate spice. The method used to make this Saint Laurent follows in the footsteps of Medieval monks and the wine projects the comforting harmony of times long past.

Neuburské 2012, Milan Nestarec

Although the somewhat mysterious Neuburger variety comes from Austria, nowhere in Europe can it be found more abundantly than in Moravia, just as Saint Laurent. According to the legend, small branches of the future Neuburger were brought by the Danube around 1860. A winemaker planted the branches and in three years, he reaped rewards in the form of delicious, crispy grapes. After that, the variety moved mostly to the North, to Moravia. Today, the best Neuburgers are born in Pleistocene, loess dunes, on the same soil that was the material for the Venus of Vestonice, a Neolithic statuette. Nestarec’s Neuburger is a typical representative of that variety: it is mild, smells of hay and walnuts, and the aftertaste does not lack the typical touch of bitterness.

Marko Jelic

Marko, a.k.a. “Wine Geek”, is a distributor of high-quality boutique wines from the Czech Republic and Central Europe who just may one day follow in the footsteps of his father, a Serbian winemaker, and open his own winery. He broadens the horizons of younger generations of wine lovers.

Dobrá Vinice - Velké dobré bílé 2011 | Casa de Carli

Not many Czech wines can be easily called “the greats”, comparable to the best world wines with a clear conscience. If there are any, Velké dobré bílé 2011 is undoubtedly one of them. When I presented this wine, along with several other wines from the Czech Republic, at the Uvaggio nel Mondo festival of blends in Italy, this wine has received nothing but strong words of praise. Some famous names among the local winemakers actually came back for seconds… and thirds. The wine can be found in the menus of several top restaurants in Prague, including the stylish Casa de Carli (run by a Czech-Italian couple with work experience from the Dublin Four Seasons), which lists just two Czech wines: PBCH 2013 by Jakub Novák and… wait for it... VDB 2011 by Petr Nejedlík from Dobrá Vinice winery.

Jakub Novák - Pinot blanc 2013 | Vinograf

There are winemakers who, in pursuit of fast cash, bottle young wines before the new year: too early and before they are ready. And then there’s Jakub Novák. His 2013 whites have began to appear in the menus of enlightened venues just now, more or less a year and a half after harvest. Jakub is not in a hurry, instead pampering his wines with proper care in wooden barrels and giving them enough time to age. Chemistry and all the unnecessary additives are out of the question. Thanks to its complexity, partly due to maceration of the entire berries directly in the barrel, his 2013 Pinot Blanc is a great wine that pairs well with the dishes by Vinograf’s new executive chef Milan Horejs who used to cook in the V Zatisi restaurant.

Jakub Novák - Rhein Riesling 2012 orange | Bio Oko

You cannot drink just white and reds all the time. Jakub Novák released his fairly small volume of the orange 2012 Rhein Riesling last year, but I know of only a few places that still have them. A limited amount of bottles is still available - strangely - in an unusual bar of an unusual cinema. The team at Bio Oko is taking great care of its customers, and was not afraid to list this hardly conventional orange riesling in its menu. Just tell me: where else can you drink a bottle of such a fantastic orange wine while watching a great movie? And from a proper glass? :) The wine was macerating with the skins for about two weeks, it is still quite fresh and I think it is one of the funnest wines we had the pleasure of tasting from Jakub. I recommend getting a bottle while they last!

Jizni svah

We have been following Honza Cerovsky, a.k.a. Jizni svah (which loosely translates as the “Southern Slope”), arguably the most popular Czech wine blogger, for years. In an age of OMGs, hyperboles and exaggerations, he is a beacon of common sense and critical thinking about wine. And he's very funny, too.

Jaroslav Osicka - Chardonnay 2011

Moravian Chardonnays are seldom attention-worthy or really set themselves apart from the cookie-cutter, interchangeable wines that are made all around the world at a fraction of the price. The wines by Jaroslav Osicka are one of the few exceptions. Currently, you can get a taste of his Chardonnay 2011. The color of the wine is matte gold. Intense on the nose, mature, with notes of autumn fruits, baked apple and pear, highlighted mineral line, a touch of nut butter and citrus. The taste is intense and full, based around acidity that adds freshness. Great length and structure. A complex, serious Chardonnay fantastic for restaurants. What may be even more interesting is its pure, unfiltered version with sediments that has been bottled and perhaps can be still found (definitely in the younger 2012 vintage) on the market. Osicka's Chardonnay can be regularly found in the Vinograf and Veltlin wine bars and in the menus of selected restaurants.

Skolni statek Melnik - Rhein Riesling 2007

I love the classic dry Rhein Rieslings. And if there ever was a location that had the potential to make truly top rieslings, it was the Bohemian wine country. Some of the most interesting rieslings have been regularly made by Vojtech Kusina at the Skolni statek Melník. If you ever find their late-harvest 2007 Rhein Riesling from the Neuberská vineyard (in the menu of Le Terroir, a fantastic restaurant, together with the very interesting 2006 vintage, which can be found on the menu of the Michelin star-awarded La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise), do not hesitate and order it. It is a perfect example of a Bohemian riesling and an encyclopedic sample of the variety. Floral and herbal with a touch of petrol, medium-bodied with great acidity, longer-tasting. A great, balanced wine still at the peak of its power. But you will not make a mistake even with the current late-harvest 2012 riesling from the Libechovská vineyard, again a classic wine with a large potential for aging in the bottle. By the way, this wine can also be bought in a limited edition of one thousand wines bottled in the revived traditional Melnik kalamar bottle, a hand-blown 0.875 l bottle sealed with wax. Part of the proceeds from this special collector’s item should be used to fund the start of a serial production of the kalamár bottle and its distribution to a wider circle of Melnik winemakers