Czech Republic: wine festival in Moravia

In the south-east of the Czech Republic in the small Moravian town of Uherske Hradiste on November 11th will be held the traditional feast of wine and winemaking. Though such festivals are held in the autumn everywhere in Europe, the wine festival in Uherske Hradiste stands out among them. The fact is that on November 11 in the Czech Republic begins the celebration of St. Martin Day, the patron saint of the poor, soldiers, poultry and cattle. Therefore, in Uherske Hradiste this combined festival takes the greatest extent.

The main event of the festival will occur on the Masaryk square, where exactly at 11:11 p.m. on a white horse, accompanied by the suite dressed in the costumes of the Formation period, the Saint Martin will enter the venue. He will open a bottle of the St. Martin wine and announce the harvest quality. After that on the square will begin festivities, where will be presented more than 300 sorts of the St. Martin wine, available for tasting until the evening in various pavilions. The small town itself will turn into one big scene with the orchestra, folk music, tasting of national dishes from various regions of Moravia. At the festival will perform male chorus and will be held knights’ tournaments, while on the Vinohradská will be presented plays on religious themes. Local cafes and restaurants will be working to the deep night.

Uherske Hradiste (the Hungarian castle), despite its small size, is a center of winemaking of the whole Moravia. Vineyards around the town are the most northern grape growing area in the region. The main varieties are Ryzlink rýnský, Rulandské bílé and Rulandské šedé. Among the black sorts are very popular Frankovka and Zweigeltrebe.

In addition to winemaking Uherske Hradiste is famous for its architectural monuments. Tourists are interested in visiting the Jesuit church of the XVII century, the building of the former Salt House and warehouse built in 1578 and decorated with rococo paintings of the mid-XVII century (now the city hall is located here).