Wine tasting nirvana at the Czech Republic Wine Salon

If you are a wine enthusiast who enjoys vineyard visits and wine tastings, you are going to rejoice over this story about the Czech Republic Wine Salon. This is one of the most unique and remarkable wine experiences I’ve ever had.

Located in the small town of Valtice, in the Southern wine region of Moravia near the Austrian border, is an impressive 18th century Baroque castle that houses the nation’s 100 best-rated wines. The Czech Republic Wine Salon is situated within the celebrated cellars of the Valtice Chateau, designed and built by the Lichtenstein family as the seat for the ruling princes of Liechtenstein. While the Valtice Chateau is one of the most impressive Baroque residences in Central Europe, it’s the Czech Republic Wine Salon that attracts the most attention.

When visitors arrive at the Valtice Chateau they are directed down to the cellar, which is enormous in size with an equally impressive display of vino. One hundred wines are on display, each with its own uniform rack of bottles with a display board providing a host of information, from vintage, vineyard, region, grape variety, alcohol volume to sensory characteristics and more. To be featured in the Czech Republic Wine Salon is the highest and most prestigious honor for wine makers, and the competition is fierce! A committee of wine experts select the top-100 wines each year. These wines are made available to the public in the chateau cellars from March, until January of the following year. Visitors have the chance to taste the best wines from around the country in one place, at the same time.

There are two impressively long corridors in which to peruse, each side flanked with the various wines on display. One of the unique features of this experience is that they have an app they encourage you to download. Since you are deep underground, they have their own WiFi system set up. Once you have downloaded the app, wine tasters can scan QR codes to get multimedia information on the vineyards, but the best part is being able to rate the wines—then, you can see how others rated the wines and compare it to the expert ratings. During your wine tasting experience, you can place bottles of wine into a virtual shopping cart within the app. When  you have finished the experience, your wines will be ready for you to purchase on your way out.

Another great aspect to the Czech Republic Wine Salon experience is how affordable it is. They have several tasting options that start from just 100CZK (about $5 USD) to 500 CZK (around $22 USD). With several of the tasting programs you can try as much as you want. I would recommend allocating 1.5-2 hours for this experience.

I think the Czech Republic Wine Salon is likely one of the most underrated and undiscovered wine experiences in the world. If you have a passion for vino, this is a place you should indeed put on your bucket list.

Nearby is another really worthwhile stop, the Lednice Manor. Connected to the Czech Replubic Wine Salon by a 4-mile long tree-lined street, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. There is a great place to eat on the grounds and lots of gardens to stroll. Don’t miss taking a tour inside the mansion, including the lush greenhouse.

Information on Visiting the Czech Republic Wine Salon:

Address: Zámek 1 691 42 Valtice GPS: 48.739504, 16.755581
Phone: +420 519 352 744
Email: Salonvin@vinarskecentrum.cz
Website: http://www.salonvin.cz
Hours: Year-round Tuesday – Thursday 9:30am to 5:00pm | Friday and Saturday 10:30am to 6pm

If you’ve ever been to the Czech Republic Wine Salon, leave a comment below and share your experience.