South Moravia was always synonym for a rich and fertile region, which even today, when the pressure of global cultural trends is huge, has a genuine and impressive folklore strongly linked with a diverse range of quality Moravian wines and unforgettable taste of traditional regional cuisine.
It is agricultural tradition, countless numbers of active winegowers and vineyard lines, which along with plenty of sunshine and the diversity of soil create favorable conditions for the growth of wine and potentional wine tourism in South Moravia.
Vineyards, wine cellars and wine cellar lanes have always made unmistakable character of the Moravian, or Slovácko´s countryside and in the Word, you actually hardly fi nd another region where it would stand so many family wine cellars and small vineyards.
Just like that it is in Podluží and Hodonínsko regions. Wine, live wine traditions and wine tourism are an integral part of every village of this southernmost part of Moravia.
Our invitation to visit our undeniably odd area is not only in the form of this text, that is about wine and those who produce it and take care of it, but also in the form of a folklore and wine events in Podluží and Hodonín.
Growing of grape-vine has a long history in the area of the Czech Republic. It is assumed that grape-vine was brought to our country already in the 3rd century A. D. by Romans. Large development of vineyards in Podluží and Hodonínsko was recorded in the fi rst half of the 13th century, when wine organizations in the municipalities rised, as a kind of urban guilds. The organizations followed a principles, that were later taken to „horensko“ orders. The main task of the organization was to protect vineyards, to ensure control of wine production as well as providing a guarantee of product quality. We can say that the same principles and rules have remained and are still observed after seven long centuries. Even today, wine- growers from all municipalities join in associations or in clubs. Mutual cooperation and exchange of experience in the cultivation of wine, wine production, but also in the subsequent marketing, it is for most small and medium-sized wine merchants completely indispensable. And thanks to this cooperation, it is possible to offer a wide and attractive range of wine products, programmes and actions, which hopefully variegate the stay of each visitor or tourist of villages in Podluží and Hodonínsko. Diversity of soils, a relief of the landscape, vineyards´orientation and the specifi c vineyard microclimate, create an unmistakable character of local wines. Hundreds of small wine-growers, dozens of smaller fi rms, but also the big wine producers, they all inherently belong to atmosphere of wine-growing villages of this area.
In Podluží and Hodonínsko, two winegrowing subregions - Slovácko and Velké Pavlovice - blend together. And they create a Moravia wine region, together with Znojmo and Mikulov.
Slovácko wine region lies in the southeast of Moravia and has very heterogeneous natural conditions. This subregion includes 115 municipalities, 8,627 wine growers and 4,534 hectares of vineyards. Ecological conditions are very diverse.
The southernmost part of the Slovácko´s subarea is Podluží, with slope vineyards on cross-country shift to the river Kyjovka or on fl at-lying lands with light soil. Low altitude and light soil intensify summer land temperatures, which contributes to the production of wines with a strong character of plant variety. White varieties are represented by Grüner Veltliner, Rhine Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Miller Thurgau or aromatic Sauvignon and Moravian Muscat. From the red variety then Frankovka, Zweigeltrebe, Modrý Portugal and Saint Laurent. Interesting is then a blue variety of Cabernet Moravia, which was newly bred by Mr. Lubomír Glos in the village of Podluží called Moravská Nová Ves and which is already grown up to 1% of all vineyards in the Czech Republic.
Velké Pavlovice wine subregion today affects the region of Podluží and Hodonínsko only through municipalities of Moravský Žižkov and Čejkovice. With two and a half thousand hectares of vineyards, it is placed on the second place behind the Mikulov region. Almost six thousand registered wine-growers foreshadow that you can realy see a traditional winery, which is an integral part of life of most local residents.
