Coastal06791412139, Aug 2026
Wine, Art and History Make a Memorable Excursion
This was a phenomenal experience! Because of our schedule, we were only able to do two days but our guide, Andrea, put together a memorable itinerary. She picked us up at our hotel right on time and we headed off to the Moravian wine country. Our first stop, however, was an option she offered to view Alphonse Mucha's Slav Epic. I'd heard about this Mucha series last year so wanted to take the opportunity to see it in person. Oh my goodness, was it impressive. Some twenty massive canvases tell the story of the Slavic people and reflect Mucha's love of country and people. If you're at all interested in art history, do try to include this.On to the wine. Our first stop was a small family winery that was awarded Best Winery in 2025 in the Prague Wine Trophy competition. The wines did not disappoint. They produce mostly dry wines that express a crisp minerality characteristic of the granite terroir. We tried a sparkling wine, a Gruner Veltliner and a Muller Thurgau from 45 year old vines and finished with a bold, earthy Blaufrankisch.We went a bit far afield to visit another winery that isn't on the regular itinerary but it belongs to the family of a friend and we had wanted to see it if possible. Andrea graciously accommodated our wish even though it threw our schedule off rather severely.We stayed overnight at the Hotel Volarik in Mikulov - a lovely hotel with spa that sits below a stately chateau. After a very fine included breakfast, we headed to Lednice Chateau which was owned by one family for almost six hundred years. It's a beautiful estate with elegant gardens and worth a visit.From there we continued to Chateau Valtice, home to the Czech National Wine Salon. This was a fascinating discovery. Each year, the National Wine Center and Czech Grape and Wine Producers Association hold a national wine competition. The 100 best wines are ultimately selected for inclusion in the Wine Salon where visitors can taste and purchase the wines. Obviously, no one can taste every one of the wines so we relied on Andrea, a certified wine expert, to take us through a tour of some of the vintages. We focused mostly on Gruner Veltliner and Welschreisling for white wines and Merlot, Pinot Noir and Blaufrankisch for reds. Nicely dry wines, they all had a very good balance of residual sugar and acidity.Our last stop was another family owned winery in the Pavlova region of Moravia. These were organic wines that were described as mineral, salty with higher acidity and low residual sugar. They cultivate Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay along with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We tasted Reislings from three different vineyard sites to get a sense of the impact of soil, sun exposure on the grapes and tried a smooth, complex Cabernet Sauvignon/Melot blend. In addition to the wines, we enjoyed listening to our hostess talk about the efforts she and her husband undertook to preserve the vineyards under Communism. We heard similar stories from some of the other vintners about the challenges they faced during the Soviet occupation. They were allowed to grow grapes but not make wine so their grapes had to go to state run "wine collectives" where cheap, mass produced wines were made, seldom with regard to quality. It has really only been in the last 30 years, post-Velvet Revolution, that the Czech wine industry has reemerged.If you love wine and history -- you'll love this tour!
