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Harvest festival party with costumes and dances
Pálava is a land of sun, wine and laid-back people. This region is popular with hikers and cyclists, people of all ages from across the generations. The centre of this romantic wine region is Mikulov, which, from 6 to 8 September 2024, hosts the renowned Pálava Wine Harvest. In addition to the chance to taste Czech and Moravian wines, there will also be a cultural programme with cimbalom music.Czechia’s biggest wine festival is held in Znojmo in sunny South Bohemia, with the 40th annual Znojmo Historic Vintage Festival. This celebrates sparkling beverages, still and sparkling wines and delicious burčák, or young wine, a partially fermented grape must that also contains alcohol. This unique festival, with 14 multi-genre stages, featuring swordsmen and pop singers, will take place from 13 to 15 September 2024 (Cancelled due to the weather forecast!).
Another option in Czechia for tasting wine in a historical setting is the ancient centre of the town of Mělník, located above the confluence of the Vltava and Elbe rivers. The traditional Czech Mělník Vintage Festival will take place from 20 to 22 September 2024. It will also feature a fireworks show. Another way to combine a good drink with some amazing culture and history is the Valtice Vintage Festival in the heart of the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO Heritage Site. The programme, which runs from 4 to 5 October 2024, will include traditional costume dances, crafts, regional food and concerts.
Enjoy some great wine in Prague
And let’s not forget Prague, which, besides some amazing historical monuments and views of the city, also boasts some great vineyards. The amazing vintage wine festival at Prague Castle will take place from 7 to 8 September 2024 in the Royal Garden, while on the other side of Prague, from 20 and 21 September 2024, you can visit the Wine Harvest Festival at Grébovka, which is not usually so crowded. Another celebration of Czech wine and the late summer takes place in the vineyards in the Botanical Gardens not far from Prague Zoo (14 to 15 September 2024). Cheers!
The impressive architecture of the Lahofer Winery
The Lahofer winery near Znojmo boasts a spectacular representative centre. The building was designed by a famous Czech architectural studio and it is distilled into the traditional south Moravian countryside, covered with vineyards, above the village of Dobšice u Znojma. The premises include the production halls, a visitor centre and the administrative facilities of the winery. The main idea of the design is a motif of the rows of vine, recurring throughout the whole building. But the main unique feature is the walking roof, which is also used as a summer amphitheatre for various events, concerts or films. Visitors can also use the new space for up to a hundred people, used for public and private wine tasting events, and there is a wine shop and a presentation cellar with wooden barrels.
Sonberk Winery
The wine-growing region around Mikulov is one of the best ones in the Czech Republic. Wines from local vineyards used to be delivered to the royal table in Prague or the imperial table in Vienna as early as in the 16th century. We recommend visiting the Sonberk Winery. The local wine-making house in Popice is a wooden structure that offers an amazing view of the countryside. The building is sensitively set into the countryside, with corresponding materials and shapes. The dominant feature of the entire building is the unusual wavy roof made of twisted sheet metal, where grapes for the famous straw wine are dried in the autumn and winter, and a wide staircase that connects the building with the main access road and invites visitors to a glass of good wine. You can taste the local wine on the large terrace with a view of the smallest Czech mountain range, Pálava.
Starý vrch Winery
A bit further to the north, you will find Hustopeče. And there, a young winery called Starý vrch. It has not celebrated a decade of its existence yet and it has already become an etalon of modern winemaking. They pride themselves on modern technology and quality ingredients, which they consider fundamental in winemaking and a path to quality and honest Moravian wine. The winery building is made of a combination of concrete, wood and natural stone. All of that together provides a pleasant setting for tasting wine, sitting down with friends and relaxing. You can enjoy some high-quality wines with special attributes from traditional Moravian varieties.
Krásná hora Winery
Another unique viticultural building, this time near Hodonín, is the Krásná hora winery. It is a small, family-owned organic winery with bio-dynamic wines, which some visitors might find interesting. In addition to excellent wine, there is the winery building, a joint work of the owners and an architect. It is based on the typical village development, into which it is tastefully set. The building has won several architectural awards. The winery strives to make wine with the most resource-friendly approach with minimum intervention, and they especially excel in the dry, natural style of wines.
Obelisk Winery
The Obelisk Winery can be found near Valtice in the Lednice-Valtice Landscape Area and the construction of the winery house follows the legacy of the House of Liechtenstein. Despite being a modern building, it is inspired by ancient temples, of which the Lednice Valtice Landscape Area is full. Natural materials, such as stone, concrete and oak wood, are complemented with glass, steel and COR-TEN. And those materials will age beautifully. You can taste the Obelisk wine in several spaces that only highlight the quality of the local terroir.
