A brief introduction to Moravian wine

This too-little-known region in Czechia, or the Czech Republic, is the site of our latest natural wine pilgrimage

I began this issue at “Books & Coffee,” a hopping student hang near the University of Bordeaux, drowning in the choppy seas of my research on Moravia, Czechia's primary wine region. I conclude it from the Botel Vodnik on the Charles River in Prague. Yes, it is a boat hotel.

Thanks for the curatorial efforts of New York wine importers such as Black Lamb and Jenny & Francois, we tasted and sold a number of Czech wines, enough to prompt this journey, but we still lack a visceral understanding of the region. As a result, this introduction to Czech wines will be provisional, but the next several issues will chart the embodiment of genuine knowledge. Will Moravia be the home of our future winery?

Moravia has been known as a wine region since at least Roman times, and the Moravians themselves have been making wine there since at least the ninth century. Its hills mark the edge of the Carpathian mountains. The great Danube river bends through Vienna to the south, but still provides some necessary warmth and moisture to the region.

What's that melody? Do you hear it too? “Good King Wenceslaus went out on the feast of Stephen...” Czechia is the mythic and actual homeland of the larger than life saint. It is said that he planted the vineyard around Prague Castle that still stands today. It is said that he was lovers with his page, Podevin, and that the late night excursions immortalized in the carol had less to do with feeding the needy than other more carnal activities. Wenceslaus was murdered, this we know, by his brother, the too-aptly named “Boleslav the Cruel” and his men on the steps of a church. Podevin, it is said, killed one of the assassins in revenge and was then executed by Boleslav for his murderous devotion. Prior to this, his mother had her mother-in-law strangled on the road with her own scarf. Nice family!

It said that when Czechia is in mortal danger, the statue of Saint Wenceslaus on his horse will come to life, cross the Charles Bridge where the horse will stumble over a loose cobblestone revealing Saint Wenceslaus's sword. It is said that an army of soldiers awaits him under Blanik mountain. When asked about his whereabouts during the Nazi annexation of 1938, Saint Wencelsaus merely hummed a bit of the famous tune.

Czechia is composed of three regions, Bohemia in the north and west, Moravia in the southeast, and Silesia on the northeastern edge. Prague is the Bohemian capital, while Brno is the capital of Moravia. Most Czechs identify as Czechs now; previously vital cultural distinctions are now mostly the source of gently ribbing stereotypes. Supposedly the more urbanized Bohemians are malnourished scheming sexless pilsner-swilling intellectuals while the Moravians are robust, beautiful salt-of-the-earth types who fight and sing and make love and eat apricots while drinking wine and plum brandy. We'll report back to you on this very important matter.

Czechia has nearly twenty thousand hectares of vines. For perspective, Burgundy has nearly fourteen thousand, while Bordeaux has one hundred and twenty thousand. Most wine is consumed domestically, but the natural wine movement is bringing more Czech winemakers, like Milan Nesterac, into the international scene.

The primary white grapes are Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Palava, Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, and Pinot blanc. The reds are Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch, Rotburger, Saint Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blauer Portugieser, Merlot, Dornfelder, and Cabernet Moravia.

Look for more information on Monday, after our weekend exploring restaurants and wine bars across Prague. I have to run at the moment. The data on our phones isn't working here and I arranged to meet Sarah on the Charles Bridge at noon.

(The view from Hotel Bodnik)