Viticulture can be precarious in these parts of central Europe. The new Czech Republic is at a fairly northerly latitude for grape growing and the climate of this land-locked nation is distinctly more continental than in the more vinously prolific Eastern European nations to the south, like Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. This is marginal wine-country, and as others in the marginal wine-production game have found, in order to succeed it is necessary to have a tradition of quality behind one, even if interrupted during fifty years of experimental state-control. No such tradition exists here, (Moravia and Bohemia are historic beer-producing regions) nor does there seem any likelihood in the near future of anything which might be termed world-class emerging from the vineyards of these parts.
Czecho-Slovakia has been making wine for several centuries, and there have been one or two moderately well-known producers, such as Valtice. However, it has been the sort of stuff that is good on the spot but, as the cliché goes, "doesn't travel". Most of the 1.5 million hectolitres have been destined for home consumption, and the country is a net importer of wine. The best wines tend to come from white varieties - Grüner Veltliner, Müller Thurgau and Vlassky Rizling (a reminder of the proximity of Austria) as well as of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon and Traminer.
The wines that have been coming out of Moravia in the past year - made by visiting winemakers on behalf of large Western European groups - have been respectable, with well-defined fruit and pleasant balance. But it is hard to imagine great wine ever being produced in this land of lager. We would be delighted to be proved wrong.
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