Czech Wine & Food

Vineyards in the Czech Republic are situated in two main regions. Moravia, located in the southeast and watered by the Danube, is the larger of the two, containing approximately 11,000 hectares of vineyards. Bohemia, situated to the north of Prague along the Elbe river, is a smaller region comprised of only 400 hectares of vineyards but one which has always been an important wine producing region. In the 9th century, Saint Ludmila, Queen of Bohemia, ordered the first vines to be planted around Melník for the production of mass wine. In the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV, who had been educated in the French court, began importing Burgundy grapes from France. By doing so, he turned Prague into a prosperous center of viticulture.

The history of winegrowing in Bohemia and Moravia reaches far deeper. Apparently it was thanks to the Roman legion under Marcus Aurelius that winegrowing came to our lands. This has been proven by archeological findings in the area of Mikulov and Oloumoc. The real expansion of vineyards in this region took place during the era of the Great Moravian Empire in the ninth and tenth centuries. The oldest record of Czech vineyards dates back to the year 1057, referring to vineyards in the area of Litomerice.

In Moravia the first references to winegrowing came from the year 1101 in the charter of a Benedictine Monastery in Trebíc. During the reign of Charles IV there was a boom in viticulture and winegrowing, which took on legal status in the form of a royal mandate (governing the founding of vineyards), the founding of the post of Perkmistr, and so forth. Emperor Charles IV even issued a vineyard law that protected vintners against the importation of foreign wine.

White wine represents 75 percent of all Czech wine production. The principal grape varieties are Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Wälsch or Laski Rizlink (locally known as Vlašský Ryzlink), Pinot Blanc (Rulandské bílé), Tramín (known elsewhere as Gewürztraminer) and the ubiquitous Austrian varieties such as Grüner Veltliner and Neuburger. Apart from these principal varieties, one can also find international favorites such as Pinot Gris (Rulandské šedé), Sauvignon Blanc, Sylvaner and even Chardonnay. These wines are fresh, light, aromatic and usually dry. A notable quantity of sparkling wine is also produced, made either by a second fermentation in bottles (the traditional method), tanks (the Charmat method) or a combination of both (the transfer method).

Red wines are produced from grapes such as Frankovka (known in the German-speaking countries as Blaufränkisch or Lemberger), Vavrinecké (Saint-Laurent), Modrý Portugal (Blauer Portugieser), Rulandské cervené (Pinot Noir) and the increasingly popular Cabernet Sauvignon, all of which are fruity, full-bodied and of good quality.

Czech Food:

What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘typical Czech food'? The most popular dish, according to food experts, is sirloin in cream sauce, a delicious combination of tender beef, creamy sauce and, of course, the obligatory dumplings. As is usually the case with traditional recipes, there are probably as many different versions as there are cooks.  Other more regional Moravian dishes include: roast goose, roasted pork with dumplings, pies filled with sweet cottage cheese and plum jam, and Halusky (soft-cooked noodles or dumplings)

Austrian Food:

Austria has long been famous for its weinerschnitzel, a thin cut of veal, breaded and deep-fried.  Like much of Austrian cuisine, this dish may have been imported from Italy.  Due to centuries of Austrian rule in Northern Italy, the invaders took home the precious secrets of Italian cuisine, which still influences and enlivens local cooking.  Vienna, once one of Europe's most cosmopolitan cities has a long tradition of great pastries and coffees that make its coffeeshops the best in the world.