VELKÉ PAVLOVICE WINE SUB-REGION

The Velké Pavlovice wine sub-region is one of the four Moravian wine sub-regions. In the central part of the region one finds soils of limestone loam, marl, sandstone and conglomerate rock. Here red varieties rule, planted in soils containing a high content of magnesium. These vineyards mainly extend from the centre of the region - the towns of Hustopeče, through Starovičky, Velké Pavlovice, Bořetice, Vrbice and Kobylí, to the town with the greatest number of registered vineyards in the country - Velké Bílovice.

This is the heart of red-wine production in Moravia. In the northern part, around Hrušovany and Žabčice, vines are grown in arenaceous soils where, apart from Veltlínské zelené, Rulandské šedé thrives, as well as aromatic grape varieties such as Tramín červený, Pálava, MuškátMoravský and Müller-Thurgau, which are of prime quality. The main axis of the vineyards lies along the Brno-Břeclav stretch of motorway. Along the right side one finds Židlochovice, with a preponderance of loess in a variety of hilly terrains. Židlochovice has a long wine history. It was the one-time domain of the Brno burghers who founded their vineyards under the jurisdiction of our oldest wine laws. The Židlochovice laws were published in 1379 by Margrave Jošt. Conditions here are very good for achieving wines of superior quality, mainly from the Pinot family. Along the left side of the motorway one can see the wine slopes of Velké Němčice which skirt the motorway all the way toVelké Bílovice, where those of Moravský Žižkov and Prušánky take over. There is a range of vineyards with top-grade soil, which feature from the valley plains as the first elevated hilly Oligocene terrain of Chřiby. The slopes are south-west and south facing and in autumn are washed by warm dry winds that speed the ripening of the berries. The multi-faceted line of vineyard plantations continues forward along the right-hand side of the long ridge between the villages of Zaječí, Přítluky and Rakvice, all with prime sites and where exceptional wines from Veltlínské zelené, Ryzlink vlašský and Modrý Portugal have always bee born. Beyond the main range of vineyards are others, located among the undulations of the higher plateau, which always used to be the principal domain for the cultivars such as Neuburské and Müller-Thurgau. This is the so-called Kloboucko, with the wine communes of Křepice, Nikolčice, Diváky, Šitbořice, Boleradice, Morkůvky and Krumvíř.

Autor: Vilém Kraus