Krásná Hora Winery
When the local wines we were drinking in Prague proved themselves worthy of further investigation we didn’t shy from the challenge. We found a timely blog highlighting the wineries to visit en-route to Vienna and took advantage of the fact we were going there anyway to make a detour that forever changed the history of Ahtel.
We showed up unannounced at roughly 4pm on a Wednesday in what was probably the middle of harvest, nevertheless we were greeted warmly and invited in. The vineyards gently sloping away from the winery building were easily admired from their back deck and the tasting room was soon filled with bottles and glasses.
Marek, who we would later learn to be the vineyard manager, patiently shared their wines and story only occasionally jumping up to scare the crows with a little pistol. Amanda, who is, as I might say steadfast in her opinions, was adamant that she was not interested in tasting the Riesling. I looked at her, the gun on the table and gently suggested she suck it up. Of course she loved the wine - so much so that we founded Ahtel Wines. Selfishly so that we could continue to enjoy these amazing wines, but also because we also like to share - and well something this good is really meant to be shared.
So while it may have been dumb luck that we stumbled upon this family, over the years of working with winemaker Ondřej and his uncle Marek, we’ve enjoyed watching as they’ve honed their presence in the organic/biodynamic winemaking communities. They focus on making the land and fruit as healthy as possible and let the wines speak for themselves. As more people appreciate and understand natural wines, they have increasingly focused on how they can intervene less in the winemaking while still producing surprising, drinkable, and approachable wines of the highest quality.
The view from their deck
What is their growing philosophy?
As a small family winery, they manage approximately 15 hectares of biodynamic, certified organic vineyards in Czechia that they harvest by hand. With the goal of achieving only moderate levels of alcohol according to the season, they’re able to fully express the ‘sense of place’ or terroir in their wines. Their focus is on releasing high quality, biodynamic wines from small parcels of premium fruit after long and careful ageing in their cellar - the result are brilliant dry wines with complexity, elegance, harmony, silky texture and great length.
They employ a combination of organic and biodynamic techniques to completely avoid the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The vineyards are of varied soils including loess, sand, and limestone and enjoy a location rich in biodiversity, where they are surrounded by orchards and other farmland.
Where are their vineyards?
Krásná hora winery is located in the village of Starý Poddvorov in South Moravia, a region in the southeastern corner of the Czech Republic and about an hour drive north of Vienna. At 49 degrees latitude, they share a similar parallel to Alsace and Burgundy.
Winery
What does Krásná hora mean?
Their name, Krásná hora, translates to “beautiful mountain” in English, and this family extends the beauty from the mountainside right into their wines and is even embodied in their winery.
When constructing their facilities, they underwent a modern and highly efficient yet historical interpretation of traditional village houses with saddle roofs and white facades interrupted by colored glass blocks reminiscent of windows typical of local farmhouses. Their winery building has been featured in a catalog published for an exhibition in the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague called “Architecture and Wine in Central Europe”, the preface to which includes a remark by Karel Schwarzenberg where he states, “the idea became popular… for vintners to promote the idea that Winery Architecture should correspond to the modern trends of wine production and thus also contribute to the surrounding landscape.” This could not be more true for Krásná hora. Take a tour.
Their passion and dedication to creating modern beauty translates directly into their wines.
Why the French varietals?
As the story goes, the first vines in the Krásná hora line were planted by Cistercian monks in the 13th century, which may be the reason for their traditional French varietals such as Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. The monks understood the unique requirements of the environment for excellent production which were exhibited in the vineyard; the perfect soil, the south-south west orientation of the hill, which also provides good protection from the spring frost, and the oak forest at the top of the vineyard.
Krásná hora won Czech Winery of the Year at the 2018 New York International Wine Competition as well as a Silver for their 2015 Cuvée Bernety.