Wine lovers gathered in Valtice to support Moravian and Czech winemakers

To all those who 5. and 6. May went to the capital of wine Valtice for the popular wine festival, which with more than a hundred and sixty years of tradition is also the oldest wine show, again a very busy program awaited. There were over 700 samples to taste from about 100 winemakers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, as well as from overseas wineries.These were evaluated by professional tasters in a competition before the show. The Valtice Wine Market was also the first ever major wine event where those interested could support the rescue of Moravian and Czech winemaking from the liquidation excise duty by signing a winemakers' petition.

"Over the weekend in Valtice alone, more than a thousand people signed the petition, who are not indifferent to the fact that someone wants to destroy our cultural heritage without any reason. To support the winegrowers and sign the petition also came the former Minister of Agriculture Ing. Jakub Šebesta. Not only on behalf of the organizers, but also on behalf of the winemakers, I would like to thank everyone and I dare say that this year's this year'sedition was again extremely successful, even in such uncertain times," said one of the organisers, David Št'astný, adding: "The winemakers are absolutely desperate about the situation and know that they really have nothing to lose. They have already gone on strike and are trying to save themselves by all legal means. We will not let what we have built for decades for ourselves and our children be destroyed."

On Friday, the event was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, the Governor of the South Moravian Region and the mayors of the surrounding municipalities, led by the mayors of Breclav and Valtice, who also supported our winemakers in the fight against the excise duty and, most importantly, presented awards to the best winemakers from the Czech Republic at the competition. The main attraction was the auction of two wines, previously awarded with the title of champion, which was a real fight, and in the end were auctioned for 20 thousand CZK each. CZK. The proceeds totalled 40 thousand CZK. CZK will again be donated to the Children's Cardiac Centre in Motele as part of the National Day of Wine and Healthy Lifestyle and the "winemakers are heartthrobs" project. Saturday evening, in addition to wine tasting, was decorated with a musical programme of dulcimer music, which illustrates the atmosphere in the castle riding hall. In addition, the traditional band The Teachers performed in the castle courtyard.

Visitors had the opportunity to dance and sing well-known local and international hits with one of the best bands in the region, composed of teachers from the Gymnasium in Breclav, for more than 3 hours.

The champion of white wines this year was Veltlínské zelné 2021 selection of grapes from Volařík Winery, redCabernet Sauvignon 2019 late harvest barrique from Nechory Winery and foreign wines Zweigeltrebe/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 barrique from Neustifter Winery in Austria. The award for the best collection went to Volařík Winery.

The Valtice Wine Market is held annually as one of the most prestigious exhibitions in the Czech Republic and Europe under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture and the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture Ing. Zdeněk Nekula, the South Moravian Region, the Senate of the Czech Republic, the towns of Valtice and Břeclav and with the support of the Wine Fund, SZIF and other important partners. The next edition of the Wine Wimbledon in Valtice will take place on 10-11 May 2024.

More info at www.vinnetrhy.cz.