SLOVÁCKO WINE SUB-REGION

The Slovácko wine sub-region is one of the four Moravian wine sub-regions. Slovácko lies in the south-east of Moravia and has very heterogeneous natural growing conditions. In the south of Slovácko is the land known as Podluží, the majority of whose wine communes are situated in the valley of the River Morava (March), cooled by north-east winds. The most advantageous vineyard positions are in the hillside breaches over the Kyjovka stream or in the more elevated plains with their light soil. The altitude and lightness of the soil will dictate the intensity of summer temperature, thus giving wines that burst forth with varietal character.

The varieties that fare best here are Ryzlink rýnský, Rulandské bílé, Rulandské šedé and for red wines Frankovka and Zweigeltrebe, and in the commune of Moravská Nová Ves the new red variety Cabernet Moravia. North above Podluží is a hilly terrain where vineyards are positioned higher up, where the influence of warmer southern winds during the grape-ripening season is less noticeable. This is why the wines from this area, although full and round, always maintain refreshingly crisp acidity, as well as the aromatic substances, that can be detected already during véraison (the ripening stage of the berries), which are retained in the grapes for a long time in the local microclimate. There are two leading wine centres here - Mutěnice - with its Vine Research Institute and Čejkovice, where the gothic fortress and extensive cellars constructed in 1232 by the order of the Knights Templar are to be found. The varietal structure is very rich. It is not only the normal range of white grapes that is grown here, a large area is dedicated to black grape varieties, which in good vintages achieve a crisp, vigorous character. Other celebrated communes are Hovorany, Čejč, Šardice and Terezín. The northern edges of Slovácko have, in the west, vineyards of the hilly range of Ždánice Forest with the communes of Ždánice, Archlebov and Žarošice. Vineyards are sparse in the outskirts of this area, then become more dense around the towns of Kyjov, Moštenice, Vážany and mainly Polešovice, where the Vine Research Institute developed the cultivar Muškát moravský, along with a host of table grape varieties. The northern tip of Slovácko is the Uherské Hradiště district, where vineyards are mainly situated in Boršice near Buchlovice. We can see them in a whole row of communes as far as Napajedla. They are scattered along the higher reaches on the south-facing hillsides. Principal varieties here include Ryzlink rýnský, Rulandské bílé, Muškát moravský and Müller-Thurgau. In the central part of the northern extremities of the region, but somewhat to the south stands Bzenec, a town with a long winemaking history. The town's main claim to fame is that one of the very first wine cooperatives established here started marketing their Riesling under the name of "Bzenecká lipka". The nothern part of Slovácko lies along the foothills of the White Carpathians. The vineyards stand out from those in other Moravian sub-regions, in that many are sown on hard ground formed from original clay. These soils retain water giving the vines sustenance even in dry summers. This is reflected in the wine itself by high extract and round taste. The Pinot varieties are well suited to such conditions, as is Sylvánské zelené. Here, where the soils are stoney and more warming, great wines from the Riesling can be produced. From Blatnice pod Sv. Antonínkem comes the brand-name wine "Blatnický Roháč", combining wines made from the Ryzlink rýnský, Rulandské bílé and Sylvánské zelené varieties. In neighbouring commune of Lipov are to be found the largest areas under vine. The true centre of the region, however, is Strážnice where the wine laws go back to Petr of Kravaře in 1417. Strážnice has, as in Blatnice, a range of superb vineyard sites, while in the neighbouring wine commune of Petrov, one can see the protected setting composed of interesting picturesque wine-cellar constructions known as "Plže".