The Moravian wine country is still pretty much a hidden gem whenever you are a foreign visitor or actually a Prague resident. And with domestic travel being hot at the moment (guess why?), we thought we'd give you a few pointers and tips when it comes to tasting great Moravian wines. How do we do it? Simple: we'll give you a report of our latest Moravian wine tour weekend. The wheres, the whats, the hows.
Also, this is obviously a shameless plug of our Moravian wine tour, which is - you guessed it - the best way to see Moravia. With us, you don't need a designated driver, so you can all drink. Also, our connections give us entry into fantastic wineries that are otherwise closed to the public. And even in those that are open, we get special treatment, have private tours and so on. And we've been to Moravia many times with our tours, so we will not make the novice mistakes you might be otherwise prone to.
So this is what we did last weekend, and the lessons you can draw from them.
(Disclaimer: the weekend trips will be similar to the one described below, but may differ slightly given the different availability of family-owned wineries through time.)
(BTW, this piece is proudly sponsored by… us! So here’s a little commercial break for ya.)
Our Moravian Wine Tour, Day One
The joys of driving to Moravia (aka “Please shoot me now.”)
Let's get real: in terms of comfort, the D1 highway that connects Prague and Moravia is somewhere up there with a no-anesthesia colonoscopy: with those road works, I would seriously consider taking the train to Brno and perhaps renting a car from there. But then again, how will you carry the wines back home? So I guess what I'm saying is: prepare for a longer-than-usual drive to Brno.
Sonberk and Gotberg
Our first winery is always Sonberk in Popice. You just can't beat the location and the view of the Pálava hill. And while traditionally Moravian wineries are in the village, and thus far from the actual vineyards, Sonberk is surrounded by nothing but beautiful vines. It gets magical around harvest as you sit, drink, bask in the sun, and just listen to the gas guns popping in the vineyards around you to scare the birds away.
And then there's the wines. They are great if you ask me or, for instance, the Galas (more on them later). Big focus on dry Rieslings and the occasional dry Pálava, a local aromatic grape, with a few noble rot rieslings and the unique chance to taste straw wines. And we get a great tour of the winery that is not available to the general public, which shows you the work and passion that go into these wines, regardless of size.
If you go alone, one word of caution: Sonberk can get pretty packed, but then again, people usually have a glass or two and go, so you will get that table with the view, just be ready for a bit of a wait. On the other hand, they have weekend pop-ups by some great Brno-based food businesses, and with the generous opening hours, Sonberk is a no-brainer.
If you detest crowds, give Gotberg, located on the same hill and in the same village of Popice, a try. They have a few tables with a stunning view, too, and the atmosphere here is much calmer, but the winery building is equally nice. Their wines tend to be on the aromatic side with a bit of residual sugar, though. Great apricot orchard next door, and I think some goats nearby? Anyway, open without appointment and 2km from Sonberk, I think you'd miss out if you just did not have a look.
Vinařství Gala
Our next stop was Vinařství Gala in Bavory, a village right next to Mikulov. The Galas don't accept many visitors (we can get in because we'd been visiting them for years now), and you'd understand why: they have a new house/winery at the foot of the Pálava hill, the "Grand Cru of Southern Moravia", and it's so beautiful you almost feel guilty breathing the air in their stunning household. And the Galas are beautiful, their kids are beautiful, the house is beautiful, horses prance around the vineyards, they have a super cute dog and the vineyards are some of the nicest we've seen. It almost feels too perfect: are there bodies hidden in the basement?
The wines by the Galas look expensive and taste expensive, with equal attention paid to the wines and the presentation. Just ask them how long it took to pick the right shade of old rose for the label of the rosé sparkling to go with the golden rim. We had a tour of the winery with detailed explanation of the winemaking process, and then sat at their beautiful dining table to taste three different styles of sparkling, two or three whites and the only red they have, the beautiful Pinot Noir - Merlot blend. Then we went for a walk through the vineyards, and after more than two hours, it was difficult to part ways. People wanted to stay or, better yet, get adopted by the Galas. I don't blame them.
Now, if you do not take our tour, you can still visit the shop the Galas have in the Bavory village. If you search for "vinařství Gala", Google maps will actually lead you directly to that shop.
Mr Kočařík
Our last winery was Mr Kočařík in the Čejkovice village. Following up on the Galas is always a tough job - "how can anything top this?". And that's why I love Mr Kočařík: he always pulls it off. Although the setting is much more modest - the tasting room clearly was a garage at one point in time - the wines do the heavy lifting, and Mr Kočařík's demeanor is down-to-earth, no-nonsense, father-like. Also, it's the fourth winery of the day and people are tipsy and he has a dry sense of humor that goes well with wine.
Mr Kočařík is a natural winemaker, meaning no chemistry in the vineyard or in the cellar, with minimum sulphur added, if any. It's the good kind of natural wine. Nothing crazy, but even conservative, dare we say? We recently recorded a podcast about wine where we challenged some of the BS in the world of natural wines, but there is no BS about Mr Kočařík's wines - they are well and carefully made and reflect the winemaker: solid, no-nonsense and honest. And delicious: the standouts are the Novosady Pinot Noir, the Hibernal and the Chardonnay. Even if you don't take our tour, do yourselves a favor and try to arrange an appointment. Mr Kočařík's son speaks English.
Brno
I am always surprised when people from Prague say they have never been to Brno. Brno is fantastic, with the nightlife being the standout. Given that the traffic is limited in the centre, the life in the bars and restaurants just spill over into the streets, which creates an amazing atmosphere that is frankly shocking to even the most cynical of people from Prague.
We stay in the Barceló Brno Palace hotel. It's the only 5-star hotel in town, and the beds are super comfortable and large, which is what you want after a day of drinking. We also got a great deal on the rooms, better than what is available online. There are also some nice and affordable apartments in the centre of Brno, but on the tours, we want reliability: if something goes wrong at 10pm, we want it to be resolved on the spot, not the next day after we leave.
Our program in Brno was simple: check in the hotel, quick shower, dinner at Atelier, and some cocktails. Atelier is a great place that was packed when we entered at 8pm. We had a communal table for nine and I think everybody was super happy with the food and the cocktails. (That Negroni Speciale, oooh!) They let us finish some of the bottles the Galas had opened for us and gave us for the road. After that, we spent most of our time in Bar, který neexistuje, where the crowd just merges with the crowd from the Lokál pub across the street. It's a very happy place, and the cheer is contagious.
Our Moravian Wine Tour, Day Two
After a day full of drinking wine, the second day must be more chill. We started the day with coffee at Industra Coffee. When I parked the van, the general feeling was "I would have never stopped here", but once you get into the warehousing complex and actually enter the beautiful coffee shop, the doubts disappear. And the coffee is great, as are the brunches. When we were leaving before 11am, the place was hopelessly packed.
Yes, it is impossible to get tickets for a tour of Vila Tugendhat, the 1930 marvel of modern architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, but did you know you can enter the garden in the back for a mere CZK 50 without any appointment? That's what we did on Sunday. I'll say it: we finished the two sparklings we had opened the previous day at the Gala winery in that garden, and got scolded for it because technically that's not allowed, although I personally think the garden is the best picnic place just about anywhere. Still, you can walk around the garden, peek into the building etc. The next best thing to full entry (which our next wine tour will get, but that's rare, although I will keep trying).
One the way back, we could not tear the band-aid of driving back home along the D1 in one go, so we stopped in 8smička in the town of Humpolec for some Cedric Grolet-inspired pastries, coffee, exhibition of modern Czech glass and a visit to their amazing bookstore. We were back in Prague at 4pm.
Our Moravian Wine Tour - Conclusion
Moravian wine country is great. These are just a few tips for a great weekend, but there are honestly too many great wineries to list. Try to see Mikulov, which is fantastic during the day. (Check out the second biggest wine barrel in Europe!) Give Brno a proper chance to sweep you off your feet. And try to visit modern wineries, but don't forget the traditional, family-owned wineries that have shrunk their portfolios of wines only to those that matter.
And if you have any doubts, try to book our tour for a great introduction. Or send us an email. We can help. Cheers!