The Moravian Wine Country

Almost all Czech wine comes from South Moravia, a gently rolling country of vineyards running to the Austrian border, and it is one of the most enjoyable and least known wine regions in Central Europe. The whites lead, with aromatic Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Pálava, a local crossing named after the limestone hills that rise white above the vines. The drinking culture is distinctive: rather than grand estates, villages have lanes of sklepy, small barrel-vaulted cellars dug into the slope, where growers pour straight from the barrel, and the whole region is threaded with signposted cycle routes linking them. In September and October the harvest brings burčák, a cloudy, half-fermented young wine sold at roadside stalls and drunk fast because it keeps fermenting. Mikulov, below its castle and limestone ridge, makes the prettiest base.

What to look for

• The cellar lanes - rows of barrel-vaulted sklepy where growers pour from the barrel.
• Mikulov - the wine town below its castle and the white limestone Pálava hills.
• Burčák in autumn - the cloudy young wine sold at harvest time.
• The vineyard cycle routes - the signposted paths linking villages and cellars.

When to go

May to October for cycling and open cellars; September and October bring the harvest, burčák and village wine festivals, which is the liveliest time. Summer is warm and the Pálava hills are lovely in early morning. Many small cellars open only at weekends or by arrangement outside the season.

What to expect

Cellars are small family operations, so opening hours are erratic outside weekends and the harvest, and it is worth ringing ahead or joining a local tour. English is limited in the villages. Cycling between tastings sounds idyllic but Czech law treats drink-driving, including on a bicycle in practice, with zero tolerance, so plan a driver or stay put in one village. Burčák is deceptively strong for how sweet it tastes.

Nearby

The Lednice-Valtice landscape is next door; Brno is an hour north and Vienna an hour and a half south.