Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The best wines are from hand-picked late vintages, with sugar
content reaching 27 percent.
The quirky local specialties are straw and ice wines. The
grapes for straw wines mature in barns for months spread on
dry straw. Ice wines, a Moravian and German specialty, are made
by storing grapes for most of the winter, then pressing them
at negative 6 degrees Celsius. As these two wines are very dif-
ficult to make—the process is practically alchemy, as even the
best vintners cannot predict which grapes will turn into a good
ice wine—they are also the most expensive. A tiny .3-liter bottle
(about 10 oz.) costs more than 700 Kč.
The communists mismanaged wine production by using
bad shoots prone to diseases. Over the last 15 years, vintners
have replaced most of these old vines with young, quality ones.
Moravian wines improve from year to year. Look for vintages
from odd years, which have been better in the past decade than
even ones. Among older vintages, 1994 was outstanding.
One of the most prominent wine companies in the country
is Reisten, the exclusive supplier to Prague's luxury restaurants
and the president of the Czech Republic. Reisten produces its
wines in Pavlov, in the cellars next door to Restaurace u Venuše.
The owner will take you down for a tasting (open most of the
day; coming from the church and Florián, turn left by Restaurace
u Venuše and then look on your right for a small Reisten sign; tel.
519-515-222, mobile 777-151-299).
SlEEPING
$$ Hotel Tanzberg is a beguiling Baroque townhouse, formerly
the home of one of Mikulov's richest Jewish families. When you
step in the atmospheric interior, you're transported back to the
1930s (Sb-1,000 Kč, Db-1,200 Kč, apartment-2,200 Kč, across
from synagogue at Husova 8, tel. 519-510-692, fax 519-511-695,
www.hotel-tanzberg.cz, provoz@hotel-tanzberg.cz).
E ATI NG
Restaurace Alfa, the best restaurant in town, is on the main
square in the white Renaissance house with sgraffiti decorations.
Their fresh daily specials, available from 11:00, land on your table
before the foam settles on your beer (daily 10:00-22:00, Náměstí
27, tel. 519-510-877).
At Le Patio Café, in a graceful Renaissance courtyard com-
plete with balconies and a gallery, you can peacefully sip a Turkish
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