WINE REGION BOHEMIA (ČECHY)

The Wine Region BOHEMIA belongs among the most northerly in Europe. Prague stands on the 50° north latitude, the same as Wiesbaden in the Rheingau. The most significant expansion of Czech winemaking took place during the reign of Rudolf II, at which time there were around 3,500 hectares of vineyards planted in Bohemia. Most of them were in Prague and its surrounds, in Mělník, Litoměřice, Most and Louny. The original instigator of vine-planting in Bohemia, however, was the Emperor Charles IV, who gave it impetus with his decrees issued in the year 1358.

Nowadays the main vineyard area is around Mělník, Litoměřice and Most. The average temperature is 8.7° and the average annual rainfall is 547 mm. One can count on the fact that two thirds of the vintages will be auspicious for good quality wine and one third less so. The vineyard land of this region is not continuous, but is composed from single localities of protected south-facing slopes planted at lower altitudes, most of which are spread around the outflow of the Czech rivers, Vltava (Moldau), Labe (Elbe), Berounka and Ohře. The great unpredictability of the weather in any particluar vintage has led Czech winemakers to tend to the long-term care and maturation of wine in barrels.

The Wine Region Bohemia is divided into two sub-regions:
Mělník sub-region
Litoměřice sub-region