Moravia Cellar Hopping

95% of Czech wine comes from South Moravia. Velké Bílovice — the country's largest winemaking municipality — has 650 private cellars across 40 named streets. During 'Ze sklepa do sklepa,' 55 cellars open simultaneously with cimbálom music and unlimited tasting. In 2000, the wine growers of Bořetice wrote a constitution, elected a president, issued passports, and composed a national anthem — all because of wine. The Independent Republic of Kraví Hora has 260 cellars in two lanes against a hillside, oldest records from 1355. At Valtice, €15 buys 90 minutes with all 100 National Wine Competition champions.

What to do there

6 things to do

1. 1 Descend Into the Hobbit Cellars — 7 Floors of 18th-Century Wine Adventure · Free

   Where: Vrbice village, Cellar Colony Pod Strážním vrchem ("Under the Guard Hill") — follow signs from the village center to the hillside where dozens of tiny stone doorways with Gothic arches appear to grow straight out of the earth. GPS: 48.9151, 16.8978.

   What: In the 18th and 19th centuries, the people of Vrbice made a decision that sounds like folklore: instead of building above ground, they dug INTO the sandstone hillside. The result is a colony of wine cellars that descend up to 7 floors underground — long, mold-covered corridors stacked on top of each other, accessed through stone doorways so small they look like Hobbit holes. The biggest one, U Jezírka, goes seven stories deep. Each floor has its own name. The mold on the walls isn't rot — it's the microclimate that keeps the wine alive. This place was declared a National Monument not because it's old, but because nothing else in the country looks like it.

   How: Walk the cellar alley for free — no ticket needed to explore the exterior and architecture. During summer months several cellars open daily; duck inside any open one and ask for a glass of Neuburger or Müller-Thurgau (the local whites). Prices vary by cellar but expect 30–60 CZK (~€1.20–2.50) per glass.

   Backup: If no cellars are open (more likely weekdays outside summer), the exterior walk is still extraordinary. The architecture alone is worth the trip — photograph the Gothic arches at golden hour when the stone glows amber.

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2. 2 Walk Into Velké Bílovice — 650 Cellars in 40 Streets, All Open at Once Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Velké Bílovice village center — the Belegrady cellar complex is a 10-minute walk from the main square, across the Bílovický Stream. GPS: 48.8493, 16.8923.

   What: Velké Bílovice is the largest wine-growing municipality in Czech Republic — 760 hectares of vineyards, 650 private cellars organized into 40 named cellar streets. That alone is remarkable. But what happens here every spring is the stuff of legend: Ze sklepa do sklepa ("from cellar to cellar") — 55 cellars simultaneously open their doors, hand you a glass and a catalog with a map, and let you wander freely between them all day. Cimbalom music drifts out of doorways. Winemakers pour from barrels they made themselves. The 19th edition runs April 11, 2026, 11:00–19:00.

   How: Buy tickets at eshop.velkobilovictivinari.cz — 1,950 CZK (~€78). This includes unlimited tasting all day, a 1,000 CZK (~€40) wine purchase voucher (use it), a branded glass, glass holder, catalog with map, and shuttle buses between cellars. Even outside festival days, the cellar streets are walkable year-round — knock on any open cellar door and ask to taste the house wine.

   Backup: If visiting outside the spring festival, look for the Habánské sklepy winery (founded 1614 by Anabaptist communities who settled here). Open for visits and tastings; their history alone — a pacifist religious minority who became some of Moravia's finest winemakers — is worth the detour.

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3. 3 Find the Blue-and-White Cellars of Petrov — A National Monument Hidden in Plain Sight History · Price: low

   Where: Petrov village, Plže cellar colony — located 4 km southeast of Strážnice. GPS: 48.882, 17.277. From the village, follow signs for Plže (the name means "caps" — describing the cap-vault architecture).

   What: Every cellar in the world hides underground. The 80 wine cellars at Petrov-Plže do something different: they present themselves as miniature Baroque palaces. Built from the 15th century onward, each one is white-painted with Ultramarine Blue bases — the same combination repeated across all 80 structures, like a wine village designed by one obsessive architect with a single, glorious idea. The curving Baroque arches above each door are so distinctive, the Czech government declared the entire complex a National Monument in folk architecture. These aren't tourist attractions — local winemakers still use them. Several are open for tastings.

   How: Walk the cellar lane freely (no admission fee). During summer months, multiple cellars open daily with glasses at approximately 30–80 CZK (~€1.20–3.20). Ask for Svatomartinské víno (St. Martin's wine) if visiting in November — Müller-Thurgau released on November 11, Moravia's answer to Beaujolais Nouveau — or Pálava in any other season, which only truly exists here. Pair with local sausages and aged sheep's cheese sold inside some cellars.

   Backup: Petrov's main village also has traditional Slovácko folk architecture and a local wine festival (Vinobraní) held in September — check south-moravia.com for dates.

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4. 4 Taste the Wine That Only Exists Because the Romans Needed to Drink Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Any winery in the Mikulov sub-region — the limestone heart of Moravia. Try Winery Under the Holy Hill (Vinařství Pod Svatým Kopečkem) in Mikulov, GPS: 48.8053, 16.6377. Walk up Holy Hill (Svatý kopeček) afterward for the view.

   What: In 276 AD, Roman Emperor Probus needed to supply his northernmost garrison — the fortress at what is now the Pálava Hills. He needed wine. So he planted vines in the last limestone outcrops of the Carpathian Mountains, right where Austria ends and Czech Republic begins. That limestone is why Pálava wine — a cross of Müller-Thurgau and Gewürztraminer developed here in 1953 — tastes the way it does: explosive nose of lychee, rose petal, and honey balanced by razor-sharp acidity from 300 million years of compressed seabed. Pálava grows almost exclusively in Moravia. You cannot meaningfully recreate it anywhere else.

   How: Ask specifically for Pálava by name — not Gewürztraminer, not Müller-Thurgau, but Pálava. A glass runs 80–150 CZK (~€3.20–6). Then climb Holy Hill (363 meters, 20-minute walk from Mikulov center) and look south: Austria below you, the limestone Pálava massif rising behind you, 440 hectares of vineyard spreading to the horizon. You're standing on the exact ridge where the Romans planted the first vines.

   Backup: If Pálava is unavailable, ask for Veltlínské Zelené (Grüner Veltliner) from Mikulov — Moravia's loess soils give it a peppery intensity that Austrian versions rarely match at the same price point.

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5. 5 Taste All 100 Czech Wine Champions in a 15th-Century Cellar for €15 Wine · Price: low

   Where: Valtice Chateau, Zámek 1, 691 42 Valtice — the UNESCO World Heritage chateau built by the Liechtenstein family as their Baroque palace. National Wine Salon is in the 15th-century cellars beneath the chateau. GPS: 48.739504, 16.755581. Hours: Tue–Thu 10:30–17:00, Fri–Sat 10:30–19:00, Sun 10:30–17:00 (summer).

   What: Every year, 2,724 Czech wines compete in elimination rounds for 100 spots in the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic — the highest wine honor the country gives. The 2026 collection includes 25 grape varieties and 3 cuvées, selected by professional panels; Riesling dominated the whites (14 wines), Frankovka led the reds. These 100 bottles sit in vaulted Liechtenstein cellars beneath a UNESCO chateau, and for 90 minutes you can taste all of them. Radomír Nepraš — the former restoration architect who single-handedly created this institution — designed it so visitors could vote for their favorites using codes on their tickets. The most democratic wine salon in Europe.

   How: Buy tickets online at vinarskecentrum.cz (discounted vs. door price). Admission with 90-minute unlimited tasting: approximately €15. You'll receive a tasting glass and a numbered list. Work methodically: start with sparkling, move to whites by region, finish with the Frankovka reds. Look for Mikulov sub-region whites — the limestone-driven wines are unlike anything you can get outside Moravia.

   Backup: Free walk-around option available without tasting (view as exhibition). The Liechtenstein Baroque cellar itself is worth seeing for €0.

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6. 6 Ride the 82km Wine Trail — E-Bike Through Mikulov, Valtice, and Lednice Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   Where: Start at Mikolovna E-Bike & Bicycle Rental, central Mikulov. GPS: 48.8053, 16.6377. The rental is centrally located and the owner knows the trail intimately.

   What: The Mikulov Wine Trail is an 82 km circuit that runs along the Czech-Austrian border through flat vineyard terrain, then connects to the UNESCO Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape — 200 km² of Baroque garden designed by the Dukes of Liechtenstein in the 17th century. The full loop takes in wine villages, the Dyje River, the Nové Mlýny reservoirs, and eventually delivers you to Lednice Chateau and its neo-Gothic towers framed by vineyards. It's the most beautiful cycling path in Central Europe that nobody outside the region has heard of.

   How: Rent an e-bike from Mikolovna (or Hotel Galant as alternative) — approximately 600–900 CZK/day (~€24–36). Take the shorter Mikulov–Valtice–Lednice loop (47–66 km) if time is short. Pack a picnic: buy local bread, Olomoucké tvarůžky cheese, and a bottle of Pálava from a cellar before departing. Stop at Valtice for the Wine Salon (see step 5). Note: cellars along the route close at 18:00 — start by 10:00 to hit multiple stops. Trail is largely flat and well-signed; suitable for all fitness levels.

   Backup: The Moravian Wine Trails network has 1,200+ km of marked routes. If you only have 2 hours, the shorter Valtice vineyard loop (5 km wine educational trail through chateau grounds) is signposted from the chateau and requires no bike rental.

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