Journey to Discover Czech Wines
The Czech Republic as a wine growing country is relatively unknown. After all, the local market consumes most of the wine they make, leaving little for those of us out of the country to discover and enjoy.
But just a couple of months ago, we imported, for the first time to the USA, wines from Thaya estate winery in South Moravia in the Czech Republic. We recently sat down for a VeroTalk with its winemaker Jakub Smrcka, voted best Winemaker of the Czech Republic last year, to explore the Czech wine scene and taste their wines. While we knew and shared some things about Czech history and its wine landscape in this previous article, we were hungry to learn more, and direct from a native, young and talented winemaker, like about why their area is adapted to wine, the microclimates, soil, the surrounding national park, and the varieties they cultivate. Here is what we learned:
Jakub Smrcka and Thaya Winery
As the winemaker for Thaya, Jakub is an unassuming personality, a real low key guy, despite his experience, and accolades. We connected with him immediately, finding common ground not just in wine, but believe it or not, American football: he plays himself in the Czech Republic, and admits his favorite team is Minnesota Vikings.
Growing up in a restaurant family, Jakub’s wine career started young, starting to make wine with his grandfather when he was 15, and remembers his first vintage was ‘a nice crispy Sauvignon Blanc’ in 2011. Having his interest in wine sparked, he further developed his passion studying wine and winemaking technology at university. After graduation, he began working for a larger wine company (producing over 4 million bottles yearly), but found himself unsatisfied with the large scale processes. When he moved to Thaya in 2019 and began working there, he was happy to be heading up the winemaking for a winery whose focus is on quality and sustainability. Since then, he has worked to continue to grow and make the best wines possible every year.
The recently expanded Thaya winery, with hotel rooms visible, on the border of a national park in South Moravia.
Thaya’s estate is fortunate to be located on the border of a National Park, and part of their vines are in fact even found within the park. Named for the nearby Thaya river that runs through the park, they pay tribute to the National Park with some of their wine labels. Their white labels feature local wildlife found throughout the park, and their dark labels are inspired by local terroir, with illustrations of stones found in the Thaya river. Recently, they have added on to their winery’s buildings, enlarging their winemaking facility, their tasting room, and adding a restaurant and hotel. In fact, Thaya’s founder, Josef Trávníček, was alongside Jakub during the VeroTalk and invited us all to visit them.
Both Josef and Jakub believe strongly in organic farming. With 50% of their vineyards in the national park, in all of their vineyards they use no pesticides or herbicides in their farming. As Jakub says, ‘To create the best wine, you need to take care of the vineyards and the life of the vineyards.’ They also allow a beekeeper friend to keep hives in and around their vineyards.
Wine in the Czech Republic
Jakub offered interesting insights about the current wine industry, and the history of wine in the Czech Republic, that have led to a unique market and special wines. A landlocked country, the Czech Republic has always been a crossroads with neighboring countries. With trade moving back and forth, various grapes were brought in and grown, as we talked about in this previous article. This means that most grapes cultivated in the Czech Republic are from other countries, especially from Austria and Germany. Because they are pretty far north (near the 49th parallel), grapes that developed better in cooler climates were favored. Typically, these grapes produced wines with exceptionally pronounced acidity.
With most Czechs being beer drinkers, thus accustomed to mild and smooth beverages, their palettes shunned the spiky acidity in local wines. This led Czech winemakers to make wines that were not 100% dry - they stopped the fermentation early to allow a small amount of residual sugar to remain, producing what are called “off-dry” wines. This little bit of residual sugar helps to counteract and balance the excessive acidity, which helped the local population to get acquainted with drinking wine.
Nowadays, this style of off-dry wine still persists with the locals largely preferring it. However, due to climate change, as Jakub explained, the warmer climate allows for more natural sugars to develop during winegrowing, allowing for Czech winemakers to make more balanced and approachable dry wines that no longer need the off-dry residual sugars to offset the acidity. Jakub still makes several off-dry wines, including Thaya’s Moravian Muscat and Blaufrankisch rosé which we decided to import in since the acidity and small amount of residual sugar off-set themselves to make them naturally balanced with great fruit flavors and a clean finish.
South Moravia and Znojmo
Thaya is located in the southern tip of the Czech Republic, an area known as South Moravia. Within this area, there are 4 main sub-regions, and Thaya finds themselves in the Znojmo region (named for the main city). Thaya is fortunate to be right next to the local national park, through which flows the Thaya river. This rivers provides Thaya with a unique micro-climate: the river gives them a cooler climate, and grapes with crisp acidity, yet allowing the grapes to mature more on the vine, resulting in fresh, fruity and naturally balanced wines from the get-go. In fact, they harvest 10 to 15 days later than their neighbors.
Znojmo is characterized by two types of soil: Loess and Granite. As Jakub said, ‘each soil type gives a different type of wine’, and it is important to differentiate between the two. A siltier, sandier type of soil, the Loess imparts more fruity characters and aromas, giving their wines more expression and a ‘classic’ feel. On the other hand, the granite based soil gives a ‘wild and unchained’ touch to the wine. Jakub loves to work with the granite vines and grapes with their mineral and spicy characteristics.
The Wines of Thaya: The Vero Lineup
Now that we’ve learned all about the Czech Republic, South Moravia, Jakub, and Thaya, it is time to have a look at the wines that come from this unique area.
Thaya | Muller Thurgau
Natural Wine - Organic - 2021 - 12.5% alcohol
Made with native yeast fermentation, this white wine is light and fresh, this a great wine to start your evening off with. Steel aged for 6 months, notes of lemon zest, citrus, and green apples come through.
Thaya | Moravian Muscat
Late Harvest - Natural Wine - Organic - 2021 - 12% alcohol
Fun fact: several Thaya wines are classified as ‘Late Harvest’; this is not in reference to a harvest ‘time’, but instead to the level of sugar present (in line with German labeling regulations). This being said, most of their late harvest classified wines are fermented to be completely dry, with the exception of the Moravian Muscat whose grape stands out when there is some residual sugar to off-set the acidity. So though this white wine has 5 grams/liter of residual sugar (really just on the border of dry and off dry), you don’t feel the sweetness at all. From the loess soil portions of the Thaya vineyards, this wine is well balanced with the acidity and barely-there sweetness. Native yeast fermented and steel aged for 6 months, it has a powerful nose thanks to it being a cross with the muscat aromatic grape.
Thaya | Unoaked Chardonnay
Organic - 2021 -13% alcohol
Very expressive of the variety as Jakub believes, this chardonnay is fruity with hints of floral tones. Only steel aged, the grapes are found in both types of Moravian soil, the loess and granite soils. Elegant, it is fresh and well balanced with a gorgeous lemon-yellow color.
The Stare Vinice vineyards of Thaya, where their delcious riesling is born.
Thaya | Dry Riesling
Natural Wine - Organic - Late Harvest - Single Vineyard - 2020 - 13% alcohol
This is Jakub’s self-confessed favorite wine! From the granite soils in the Staré Vinice vineyard, it has the classic riesling ‘petrol’ aromas. However, the palate is the kicker here. Way more intense than nose, it transports you with every sip. A true creation, this wine is aged in different barrels, then blended together for the optimal balance. Made in bigger barrels that are a mix of Austrian oak and a part French Burgundy oak (that gives jammy characters).
Thaya | Sauvignon Blanc
Natural Wine - Organic - Late Harvest - Single Vineyard - 2020 - 12.5% alcohol
These old vines (the oldest at Thaya) are from the Knížecí vrch granite soil vineyard. Similar to the riesling, this wine is crafted in separate barrels, then blended at bottling, with approximately 20% of these barrels being new. Like all Thaya wines, the acidity is well balanced and smooth with an inviting nose with a hint of coffee roasting.
Thaya | Blaufrankisch Rosé
Organic - 2021 - 12.5% alcohol
Also called frankovka in Czech, this one comes in hot… like cinammon hot! With unique aromas and flavors of like a cinammon candy, this is not your average rosé. It can be easily enjoyed into winter months. From mostly granite soil, this vineyard is the same as for the blaufrankisch red wine, simply picked a little early in a sort of ‘pre-harvest’. Like the moravian muscat, this wine has a little residual sugar (5.9 grams per liter), but with the acidity and spice you hardly feel it at all.
Thaya | Blaufrankisch Red Wine
Natural Wine - Organic - Late Harvest - Single Vineyard - 2019 - 12.5% alcohol
Made with a mix of 50% new barrels, this wine would be great paired with a stewed boar, as is traditional in the area. A dark color, this wine seems a world different than the rosé, with more clove notes rather than cinnamon. Lots of dark fruits on the nose and palate.
Thaya | Saint Laurent Red Wine
Natural Wine - Organic - Late Harvest - Single Vineyard - 2020 - 12.5% alcohol
Coming from the same family as pinot noir this is the #1 grape grown in Czech Republic. This wine is aged 22-24 months in mix of big and small french barrels, then blended together before bottling for complexity. A lighter red wine, it needs less interaction from the wood, allowing it to stay fruity. From the U Chulpa vineyards, it is grown on loess soil, allowing again, for the fruits to stand out.
Thaya | Zweigelt Red Wine
Natural Wine | Organic - Late Harvest - Single Vineyard - 2019 - 13% alcohol
The biggest, boldest red wine of our Thaya lineup, this Zweigelt is a heavier wine with more acidity and spicy flavors. From the granite soils of the Fládnická vineyard, this wine is native yeast fermented then aged in french oak. Interestingly, the Zweigelt is a cross between the blaufrankisch and saint laurent grapes.
Czech Out the Thaya wines, and Taste with the Winemaker
So there you have it… nine Czech wines from the best winemaker in the country. A wonderful aspect of the Thaya winery, as noted in the VeroTalk by moderator Jacqui Mitchell, ‘it is no matter of the occasion, personal preference, or wine pairing, in one of these nine wines I am sure you can find what you need for the perfect glass!’ She also noted ‘plus, there are so many new grapes here… new grapes I have never tried or heard of! How fun to explore all these new flavors and wines, all in one handy winery.’ We love Thaya for this: high quality, delicious wines, that we can learn from!
Explore and try these unique hard to find wines.
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All the rest of you wine explorers, head over to the VeroShop to pick up a new wine to discover. Stock up your cellars, and why not do that with a new grapes, wines and producers to surprise and delight you.
Taste the Wines of the Czech Republic
