Wine region
South Moravia

91 municipalities, 1,140 producers, 3,156 hectares of vineyards. The historic town of Znojmo, which gave its name to the entire wine-producing subregion, has always been an important center of viticulture, as evidenced by the network of long wine cellars just below its surface. The beautiful silhouette of the city with vineyards, church towers - the oldest is the Rotunda of St. Catherine from the 11th century - and the Znojmo castle on the Dyje River attract enthusiasts not only of history and good wine, but thanks to the nearby Podyjí National Park also lovers of nature and relaxing walks or bike rides . Next to the shrine of St. Nicholas, there is one of the most evocative Moravian vineyards with a tasting stand - Rajska vineyard with a panoramic view of the Dyje River and the nearby Austrian countries. This sub-region offers a wide range of leisure activities and, of all the sub-regions, it focuses the most wine tourism. Wine trails for cyclists and tourist hiking trails, special minibuses to the surrounding vineyards, where wine tasting stands are prepared directly in the vineyards.

Terroir and geography

The Znojmo sub-region is characterized by westerly winds, the rain shadow of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the occasional influx of cooler air. This causes a slowdown in vegetation in favor of highlighting aromatic substances during the ripening of the grapes. In the vicinity of the town of Znojmo, there are first-class vineyard plots with a gravelly base, covered with layers of loess with clay inserts. These vineyards are located in the range from Kraví hora towards Hnanice. From Znojmo southwards along the border with Austria there are many excellent vineyards, through Šatov, Chvalovice, Vrbovec, Hnízdo, Slup, Jaroslavice to Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou, mostly with loess soils with the addition of gravel. To the east, along the Dyje River, there are slopes with vineyards in the vicinity of the municipalities of Tasovice and Hodonice. In the center of the sub-region there are several excellent clusters of vineyards along Unanovka and Jevišovka with well-known wine-growing communities of Těšetice, Lechovice and Borotice. The subregion is mainly known for its white, aromatic wines. White grapes grow here on an area of 2,175 ha. They are mainly Veltlínské zelené, Müller Thurgau, Riesling, Sauvignon, Pinot blanc and Ryzlink vlašský varieties. From strongly aromatic grapes, mainly Traminer, Muškát moravský and Pálava are grown. Red varieties grow on an area of 960 ha, mainly Svatovavřinecké, Frankovka, Pinot Noir.

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The Šobes vineyard, located in the meander of the Dyje River, belongs to one of the best European vineyards and its owner, the winery Znovin Znojmo, finances archaeological research with the aim of including the vineyard on the UNESCO list.

Wine museum in the monastery.

Gene Pool of vines of the Czech Republic near the municipality of Vrbovec, which guards 290 local varieties.

Podyjí National Park.

VOC Wine Festival and Znojmo Harvesting Festival.

A characteristic and visible landscape dominant of the Mikulov subregion is the limestone massif of Pálava Hills with the ruins of former medieval castles. For a long time, this area of the country, the silhuette of a mountain ridge rising from the Pannonian plain, resembling the back of some long-ago extinct animal, attracted the public of people. This is the place where Venus of Věstonice was found - the oldest ceramic statue in the world - the most famous artifact of the mammoth hunter culture, which took advantage of the wealth of this country already about 25,000 years ago. When we look at the limestone massif of Pálava, we must also remember the Roman legionaries guarding the limes romanes, who, seeing the slope of these mountains, far from their country, immediately planted the first vineyards above the Danube here. It means that we are at the very beginning of growing vine in Moravia.

Geography and Terroir

30 municipalities, 2,499 producers, 4,454 hectares of vineyards.

The geography of the Mikulov subregion includes the Mikulov Highlands with calcareous soils in the vicinity of Pálava, the Dunajovice Hills and the Valtice Highlands with large deposits of loess and the sandy plain of the Boří forest. The climate here is very warm and dry. White varieties occupy the vast majority of the crops (3,225 ha), and clearly the extremely original Vlašský Ryzlink with its characteristic minerality and excellent quality. It is traditionally followed by Veltlínské zelené. Wines from both varieties have always been used here as the basic raw material for the production of sparkling wines. The Burgundy varieties Pinot blanc and Chardonnay are also very good. Of the red varieties, the most numerous are Svatovavřinecké, Frankovka and Zweigeltrebe. The excellent Veltlínské zelené and other regional varieties such as Müller Thurgau grow on clay soils, and the unique Neuburg and Silvaner in the vicinity of the Valtice. To the north of Pálava, in the vicinity of the wine-growing communes of Strachotín, Pouzdřany and Popice, there are Riesling, Traminer and Pálava. The latter variety is truly at home here, because, like the other Aurelius variety, it was created in the breeding station in Perná.

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Mikulov

The natural center of this wine-growing sub-region is the town of Mikulov at the very border of the country, it is only 70 km to Vienna.

The Lednice-Valtice complex

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an area of two castles connected by a unique system of gardens, parks, lakes and rivers, which form the largest area of man-made landscape in the world. In Valtice, the capital of wine, there are several wine-growing institutions - the National Wine Center with the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic (tasting exhibitions of the national wine competition - the 100 best wines of last year), the Valtice Wine Academy, the Valtice Secondary Vocational Wine School.

Pálava - landscape park

The last promontory of the steppes of Pannonia, the limestone Alps, set on the edge of the riparian forests of the lower course of the Dyje River.

Archeopark Pavlov

An exposition admonishing the ancient mammoth hunters from whose culture the most famous and oldest statue in the world – Venus of Věstonice - was created.

Aqualand Moravia (Pasohlávky)

A modern water revelry center where you can spend the whole day in thermal water pools, on roller coasters or take advantage of wellness services.

The Velké Pavlovice sub-region is located south of Brno, the capital of Moravia, a city with a rich history and modern dynamism. This wine sub-region is the center of the production of red wine varieties. The red Frankovka and Svatovavřinecké varieties, which best suit the local terroir, ripen in the vicinity of Hustopeče, on the slopes of the undulating country, on magnesium soils. Velké Pavlovice gave the world a variety of red wine - André. The number of blue grapes has resulted in the designation of one section of this region – Modré hory – Blue Mountains (VOC Modré Hory) - which are located in the vicinity of the municipalities of Bořetice, Kobylí, Velké Pavlovice and Vrbice. Here you can find typical streets with wine cellars - i.e. shop streets. The Templar cellars in Čejkovice are very popular alongside tourists who like wine and history.

Geography and terroir

Area 4,741 ha, 75 communes, 7,209 producers, 4,772 ha of vineyards

The Velké Pavlovice wine sub-region, which is located in the Hustopeče-Kyjov hilly area, formed of limestone deposits and loess, is the heart of red wine production in Moravia. The relief of the sub-region is hilly, in places there are higher ridges. Vineyards with red varieties here cover an area of 2,006 hectares, the largest of all Moravian subregions. These are mainly Svatovavřinecké, Frankovka and, apart from Modrý Portugal, Zweigeltrebe and Pinot noir, also André. In the central part of this region we find soils formed by calcareous clays, marls, sandstones and conglomerates. The first row of slopes with vineyards runs along the axis of the Brno-Bratislava highway on the section Velké Němčice - Velké Bílovice and is warmer than the slopes located higher inside the highlands. To the right of this axis, Židlochovice is an important wine-growing community with predominantly loess soils, vineyards spread over richly undulating terrain. Here we will find the best habitats for growing Burgundy varieties. To the left, there are slopes with vine-growing plots in the vicinity of the wine-growing village of Velké Němčice, and the vineyards stretch to the vicinity of the largest wine-growing village - Velké Bílovice and further towards Moravský Žižkov. There are a whole series of first-class wine plots with the highest soil valuation, rising above the plain area as the first elevations of the Chřiby mountain range. The slopes covered with vineyards have a convenient orientation towards the south and south-west, they are blown by warm winds that support the ripening of the grapes. Of the white varieties, mainly Veltlínské zelené, Müller Thurgau, Ryzlink vlašský are cultivated, and in older vineyards the traditional variety - Neuburg. In the northern part, around Hrušovany and Žabčice, the vines are grown on sandy soils, where Veltlínské zelené, Pinot gris, and especially aromatic varieties such as Traminer, Pálava, Muškát moravský and Müller Thurgau thrive well.

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Brno

Villa Tugendhat included in the UNESCO list, Old Town - Old Town Hall, Zelný trh, Petrov Cathedral and the above – Spilberg – a medieval castle, a prison for nations, where many Poles also served their prison sentences as a punishment for fighting for the independence of the Republic of Poland from the rule of Austria.

Slavkov

Battle of the Three Emperors (Alexander I., František I., Napoleon) - 1805 with a burial mound, victims of the Napoleonic Wars in the village of Práce.

Blue Mountains - a typical atmosphere of quiet wine-growing villages with wine streets, colored cellars and wine trails on the hillsides of the rolling countryside in the vicinity of Bořice, Kobylí, Velké Pavlovice and Vrbice.

The Slovak wine subregion is a world for its own. It is so rich in the customs of the original Moravian-Slavic culture that it could easily demand its own state independent of the Czech Republic. The people here are wonderful, open-hearted and free, the local folklore presents a wealth of immeasurable value - The Ride of Kings and Verbuňk (dance of recruits) are even on the UNESCO list. The topography of the Slovak subregion is very diverse – from the lowlands of the Morava and Dyje rivers through the slopes on the border with Slovakia. Just as the terroir is numerous, the wines ripening here are rich in flavors. Varieties such as Müller Thurgau, Riesling, Pint blanc, Veltlínské zelené, Frankovka, Muškát and Cabernet Moravia are produced here. The region boasts many beautiful vineyards and wine cellars.

Geography and terroir

115 municipalities, 8,408 producers, 4,335 hectares of vineyards

In the subregion, two-thirds are cultivated for white wines, and one-third for red wines. The most common is Müller Thurgau and Riesling, then Veltlínské zelené and Pinot blanc, Chardonnay and Ryzlink Vlašský. Aromatic strains are represented by Sauvignon and Muškát moravský. Among the red varieties, Frankovka, Svatovavřinecké, Zweigeltrebe, Modrý Portugal, Pinot Noir, André and Cabernet Moravia are the leaders. The Slovak wine-growing subregion extends in the south-eastern part of Moravia and is characterized by a great variety of natural conditions. The Morava River divides it into two parts. On the right bank of the Moravia, in the north, there are the vineyard slopes of Chřiby with the Ždánice forest in the background. In front, the town of Bzenec, known for its Riesling variety (local name: Lipka). The land on the left bank belongs to the Carpathian province - it forms the foothills of the White Carpathians. Unlike the rest of the Moravian wine-growing sub-regions, vineyards grow on heavy soils, formed from the original claystones, predominate here. A characteristic feature of these soils is their water absorption, thanks to which the vine draws water and nutrients even in dry years. This gives the wines a higher level of extract, the wines are full-bodied in taste. All Burgundy and Silvaner varieties perform best under these conditions. In the Blatnice pod Svatým Antonínkem wine village, an original combination of wines from the Riesling, Pinot blanc and Silvaner varieties was created as the cuvée brand wine Blatnický roháč. Extensive vineyards also stretch in the vicinity of Blatnice in the direction of Lipov. The administrative center of this region has always been the town of Strážnice, which was granted the right to grow and produce wine in 1417 by Petr of Kravaře. Strážnice also has excellent wine plots, especially in the vicinity of the Petrov wine village, where there is a famous location of historic wine cellars called Plže. The southern slopes of the White Carpathians are open to warm south-western winds, and full-bodied wines from Strážnice and Blatnice are born here on deep, water-retaining soils. The climate here is more continental. The most southern part of the sub-region is Podluží. Here, most of the wine-growing communes lie along the Morava River, where the cooling north-easterly winds blow. Suitable habitats for vineyards are located on the slopes of the terrain bend above the Kyjovka River or on higher habitats with light soils. Low altitude above sea level and light soils tone down the intensity of summer temperatures, thanks to which wines with a distinct varietal character are obtained. The Riesling, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris varieties give good results here, of the dark varieties for the production of red wines, especially Frankovka, Zweigeltrebe, and in the vicinity of Moravské Nové Vsi, the newly obtained Cabernet Moravia variety. To the north of Podluží, the terrain is varied, undulating, with vineyards located higher on the hills. It is here that wines made here are full-bodied, but at the same time have a fresh, crisp character. There are two distinct wine-growing centers - Mutěnice with a wine research center and Polešovice, where our most widespread Moravian variety – Muškát moravský was obtained. The northern outskirts of Slovak region, in the west, are settlements on the slopes of the Ždanice forest with the wine-growing communities of Ždánice, Archlebov and Žarošice. Vineyards, rarely scattered on the slopes, become more common around the town of Kyjov and the municipalities of Moštěnice, Vážany and especially Polešovice. The northernmost wine island is the area of the town of Uherské Hradiště with very good habitats in the vicinity of the villages of Boršice near Buchlovice. Great wines of the Riesling, Pinot blanc, Muškát moravský and Müller Thurgau varieties are produced here. An important wine-growing center is the town of Bzenec. One of the first wine cooperatives was established here, which became famous for its Bzenecká lipka wine, which is a cuvée of Riesling wines.