Moravia
Most of the grape growing and winemaking in the Czech Republic is in the region of Moravia (Morava in Czech), so my significant other and I headed by train from Prague to Brno (capital of Moravia). Moravia has four wine sub-regions – Znojemská, Velkopavlovická, Mikulovská, and Slovácká. We were fortunate to take a two-day tour to visit the latter two sub-regions. Day one was Mikulovská.
Sonberk Winery
The first Moravian vineyards were founded on the slopes of the Pálava Hills limestone formation, a dominant feature of the Mikulovská wine region. The landscape of this area is exceptional, as can be seen by the view from our first stop on tour at Sonberk Winery. We pulled into the parking lot, and I got out of the car and turned around… and was amazed by the breathtaking beauty.
Sonberk was founded in 2003, and the sleek, modern tasting building was built in 2008, but the vines date back to the 13th century. Their production is about 150,000 bottles per year. We learned that Sonberk was the first Czech winery awarded the highest prize at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London.
Pálava Wine
Sonberk’s winning wine was a dry Pálava, so it fitted that we were first introduced to this grape here. Pálava, created in the Czech Republic and named after that limestone formation, is a cross between Müller Thurgau and Gewürztraminer and comes in both dry and sweet varieties. Sonberk had sold out of their dry version, so we tasted a sweet Pálava, which was refreshing on this hot, sunny day.
The staff member at the winery did not speak much English, so we were glad to have our tour guide interpreting for us. Our guide explained that she was speaking Slovak and the winery staff member was speaking Czech, but the languages are close enough to be understood. But once the tasting was initiated, not much explanation was required – as we tried great wines outside in this stunning setting, few words needed to be spoken.
