Maybe you are a wine lover, but maybe you are confused when buying Moravian wine, because you are not familiar with our classification system.
This article is coming to solve this issue once for all.
Here in the Czech Republic, we are using a classification of wine which is called the German system of classification and is very different from more known Romanian system used in France, Italy or Spain.
The Romanian classification system
The Romanian system is based on the place, where the grapes were grown. And the place itself is the guarantee of the quality. The wines are usually cuvées (a mixture of more varieties) and the varieties are not writen on the wine label.
German classification system
Moravian wines are usually varietal wines, made only from one variety. They are classified according to the quality (ripeness might be even a better word, actually) of the wine grapes in the harvest time. The indicator of the grape ripeness is the amount of natural sugar. It is measured in degrees of Brix by mustmeter.
Our classification system (simplyfied)
Zemské víno (Land wine) – 14°
Přívlastková vína (Wines with special attribute)
Kabinet (Kabinet) – 19°
Pozdní sběr (Late harvest) – 21°
Výběr z hroznů (Selected harvest) – 24°
Výběr z bobulí (Berry selection) – 27°
Výběr z cibéb (Dry berry selection) – 32°
Ledové víno (Ice wine) – 27°
Slámové víno (Straw wine) – 27°
So next time be more carefull when reading wine label. If you want something cheaper just for cooking or a big party, buy Land wine. But if you want to enjoy the real taste of Moravian wines, try wines with special attribute. They are a bit more expensive (150 Kč/bottle and more), but “přívlastkové víno” on the wine label guarantees you the quality. It means that this wine has all typical characters of a given variety. Attention – all bottles with only “Víno” and nothing else on the wine label can be of dubious quality from anywhere.
Stay tuned for the next article – it will be full of details about what can be detected
from wine labels in the Czech Republic.