Mikulov

On Saturday morning, I traveled to the small city of Mikulov about 30 south of Znojmo. This area is the prime wine producing area and is only a few miles from the Austrian border.

It is a beautiful city with a major castle and many Christian religious pilgrimage sites and was also home to one of the most numerous Jewish populations in the Czech Republic before WWII.

In terms of wine. This city is THE center for Czech Wines, especially whites. The Mikulov wine sub-region is the largest in the Czech Republic. Vineyards are spread over more than 2.5 thousand hectares. There we had an appointment at the Tanzenberg ( Dancing Mountain) vineyards for a special vine tasting for just me and a friend.

The first historical mention of vineyards in this region come from the area of Pálava and are connected with the period of the Roman wars – it was this locality where Marcus Aurelius’s legions had established a military station.

The centre of the region is the town of Valtice. In 1873 the Secondary school of viniculture was founded there. On the grounds of the Valtice Chateau is the leading Czech wine producer Valtice Wine Cellars. They have some really amazing wines.