Turistické centrum Veselska - Wine and Wine-making

ThuPMUTCE_December+0000RDecPMUTC_0C5

ThuPMUTCE_December+0000RDecPMUTC_0C6

The Veselsko region is located in the heart of a larger and more known region - Slovácko (Moravian Slovakia), which is characterized by folkore and wine. The region is literally planted with vineyards and interesting places connected to wine and wine-making. The best way how to discover these places is through a network of wine routes. The wine routes spread across the whole region through the most important wine villages passing by the wine cellars, where you can meet local wine gorwers and taste their wine production.

During the summer season the wine cellars are in most of the villages open to public and their "Opening" at the beginning of the summer is one of the most important events of the year.

More information about the wine routes and open wine cellars can be found at: www.wineofczechrepublic.cz

History of wine-making in the Slovácko region

The archaalogical foundings suggest, that in Slovácko region the tradition of wine growing was present already at Roman times. However the bloom of wine-making in region did come after the arrival of Christianity to the Great Moravian Empire (9th century AD). The first written mentions of wine.making in the region are dated to 1201, when the Cistercian order came to Velehrad. They've founded a monastery there and started to plant vineyards.

The true bloom of wine-making in the region came in the second half of 13th century, when the aristocracy and townspeople also got involved in wine-making business. The golden age of Moravian wine-making is the 14th-16th century period, when most of the wine centres we know today had emerged. The beginning of the Thirty Years War brought a decline in wine-making in the whole region and a large part of the vineyards was destroyed. Since the middle of the 18th century the vineyards were gradually restored, however the original expanse of the vineyards was never reached.

With the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture came significant changes in viticulture. Parallelly to mass production of wine emerged "farmer's viticulture" - local wine growing at crofts. The ownership of vineyards and wine cellars had alwyas belonged to the typical lifestyle in Slovácko region. The wine cellars were built in the vicinity of the vineyards. That is also the reason why today we can find wine alleys or the whole wine compounds almost in every wine village. A large number of these places is no longer used only to produce wine but also for histing various events and touristic purposes.

History of Wine-making in Veselí nad Moravou

First documents reporting about wine-making in Veselí nad Moravou date back to the 16th century in connection with the selling of the Veselí manor. Hoever the true bloom of viticulture and wine-making in Veselí didn't happen untill the 17th and 18th century, when the House of Želecký from Počenice assumed rule over the Veselí manor.

The wine growing wasn't restricted only to the Veselí manor territory, the grape vine was also grown on the territory of other manors - Strážnice and Velehrad. This was motivated mostly by the consumption of the aristocracy and also by the effort to provide sufficient supplies of wine for manorial inns. Aside of that there was also an effort to grow high-quality grape vines since in the territory of Veselí manor were not very favourable conditions for growing grape vine. The suitable wine land was located only in the peripheral areas of the Veselí manor - mostly Liščí hora (Fox hill) in Zarazice, Borky in Suburbes, Krefty near Bzenec, Novosady a and Stará a Prostřední hora (Old and Middle hill) in Vnorovy.

The House of Želecký also founded the wine cellar system. They built two large cellars in Vnorovy for the purposes of training of the wine growers and safekeeping of their wines. The motivation for bulding these cellars was te fact, that the yield from the liege vineyards was greater than the yield from the vineyards of the aristocracy. This was also the reason why the peasants could serve only the young wines - the right to serve old and high-quality wines was the privilege of nobility.

Conditions and wine varieties in Veselsko region

The Veselsko and Strážnicko region is located in the vicinity of the borders with Slovakia at the foothills of the White Carpathians. The soil is composed of limestone-sandstone sediments and sandy gravel, which are convenient mostly for white wine varieties - Riesling, Silvaner, Pinot blanc and Chardonnay. From the red wine varieties excel mostly the local Pinot noir.

Contemporary wine-making in Veselí nad Moravou

Contemporary wine-making in Veselí nad Moravou is very similar to the historis state in terms of the expanse. The most important wine area is Lišky (former Fox hill) in Zarazice. The area benefit from its location on the sunny side of the hill, where the production is protected from the wind. These conditionas along with the appropriate composition of the soil provide high-quality grapes and which are then turned into attributive wines. Most of the white wine varieties from this location excell with disctinctive taste - Muller Thurgau, Muškát Moravský and Riesling . An extraordinary quality achieve varieties Pinot blanc and Sauvignon. From red wine varieties excell especially St. Laurent, Blaufränkisch and Zweigeltrebe.

Another important locality is the area known as Borky (near Milokošť). In this area are grown grapes with early ripening as Roter Veltliner or Muller Thurgau. The Novosady area in the suburbs are today only a marginal locality. In the rest of the mentioned wine localities is wine grown till today, however most of them are situated outside the Veselí land register (Krefty, Stará a Prostřední hora)

Wine cellars and cellar areas in Veselsko region:

Wine cellars area in Blatnice pod Sv. Antonínkem

Blatnice pod svatým Antonínkem is one of the most importatnt and also most famous wine villages of the region. The Blatnice environs and especially the hillsides of the St. Antoine Hill (Svatý Antonínek) always offered good conditions for vine growing. According to the legend, king Svatopluk of Moravia (the ruler of Great Moravia in 9th centrury) drank the wine from Blatnice at his table with his associates. Oldest written reports come from the 13th centrury and prove that wine from Blatnice was very popular and was exported to Prague and Vienna. Blatnice is most known for its Burgundy wine varieties, which are grown here for centuries. This is also the reason, why are local vineyards sometimes called "Burgundy of Moravia".

Local wine cellars are located at the foot of the St. Antoine Hill. The are called "búdy" anf they inseparable belong to local wine culture. The cellars are still used for wine making and belong to local wine growers. During the tourist season the cellars are open to public and their "opening" is a very popular event visited by many locals and also tourists.

Contact: www.vinariblatnice.cz

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°57'11.204"N, 17°27'48.005"E

Wine cellars in Bzenec

Hitory of Bzenec is similarly as in other villages in the region closely connected to wine and wine-making. The first mentions about wine growing in the Bzenec area can be traced to the 12th century. The Bzenec area has always excelled in producing high-quality wine. The wine was processed firstly in chalets (búdy) in the middle of the vineyards, later was the process moved to the cellars called "Plže" bellow the vineyards. Today we can find in the Bzenec area almost 150 wine cellars in several localities (Baráky, Pos Starým hradem, Horní náměstí, along the street to Těmice)

Most of the cellars are private property and are open to public.

More information at: www.sklepni-ulicky.cz

In Bzenec there is also a chateau with an underground cellar labyrinth. The chateau and cellars are contemporary used by " Zámecké vinařství Bzenec" (wine-producing company), however it is possible to visit them. During the summer season the company offers visits of the cellars with a guide.

Contact: tel: +420 775 853 956, www.zameckevinarstvi.cz

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°58'33.063"N, 17°15'48.393"E

Wine site Kříb

In the outskirts of the village Kozojídky is situated a wine site called "Kříb". In the site are located 8 reconstructed wine cellars, that offer wines from local vineyards (in particular from the Kozojídky and Hroznová Lhota environs). During summer season the cellars are open to public on Fridays and Saturdays afternoon.

Contact: tel: +420 733 292 946, +420 725 560 801, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°54'58.924"N, 17°23'50.131"E

Wine cellars area Petrov - Plže

The sarea is constituted of buildings, which are one of the oldest examples of folk architecture in the Czech Republic. The area comprises of more than 80 cellars from the 15th century designated as national cultural heritage. The cellars constitute an impression of streets with two small squares between them. The upper square serves as a natural auditorium. The area is considered the best preserved example of wine folk architecture in Czech Republic. The name Plže (snails) is derived from the shape of the cellars and also from the oral tradition talking about presence of snails in large quantities in this area. The area is open for public all year.

Contact: Vinařství Petr Klásek, tel: +420 737 310 759, www.vinarstviklasek.cz

Vinařství Miroslav Svoboda, tel: +420 723 738 978, www.vinarstvisvoboda.cz

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°52'41.313"N, 17°16'18.857"E

Chateau cellars Strážnice (Zámecké sklepy Strážnice)

Historic chateau cellars can be dated back to the 14th century and they are by far the largest cellars in whole Moravia region. Recent reconstruction of the cellars allowed the cellars to serve their original purpose - they serve for storing and aging of wine. In the cellars is preserved the original gothic mansonry and the arched columns are covered by high-grade molds. The company owning the cellars offers visits of the cellars with wine tasting and commentary.

Contact: tel: +420 518 370 589, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.zameckesklepy.cz

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°54'12.004"N, 17°19'4.555"E

Zarazice wine cellars

The Zarazice wine cellars are situated under the hillock called Lišky. Altogether there are six wine cellars and despite the fact that Veselí nad Moravou acquired a title "Wine village of the year 2011", they were closed for public untill 2013. In June 2013 the wine cellars were opened to public for the first time. Since then it is possible during the summer season to visit the cellars, learn about local wine and winery and taste local wine production. The road along the cellars leads to the hillock Lišky, which is literally planted with vineyards. From the top of the hillock you can see the whole town and its surroundings. The wine cellars are open for public from June untill the end of September every Friday and Sunday. Otherwise it's accessible on call.

Contact: tel: +420 731 339 807

Location: www.mapy.cz, 48°56'7.211"N, 17°22'13.998"E