Winemaker Jan Stávek

He has finished his studies at Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry and he is continuing his PhD. studies there. He gives lectures at the Wine Academy in Valtice, he contributes to conferences and he has written many articles and three books. But he’s still a nice, cheerful guy – more a winemaker than a scientist. And he’s an alchemist too. Besides the wine, he produces syrups and jams, fruit liquors and fruit brandies. He makes study trips all around the world but, during the folk feast, you will meet him in a folk costume singing and dancing with the other people in Němčičky. His approach to his guests reflects the family tradition of hospitality. He is well-read and he prefers well-informed guests, but beginners are welcomed in his cellar too. Jan welcomes the guests and they can see and taste everything in his winery with very interesting comment. Beginners will be guided by his helpful and well-informed assistant throughout the whole evening.

Wines and vineyards

Jan is making wine also from grapes grown in the vineyard located on a beautiful viewpoint at the chapel of St. Antonínek, which is one of the symbols of Němčičky. The wine from here is especially delicious. Jan’s specialities are non-traditional wines and particularly so-called fortified wines. Fortification is a process of adding spirit to a wine. This is done before completion of the alcoholic fermentation and the remaining, unfermented sugars cause the wine to be sweeter than would otherwise be the case. There are only a few winemakers who are allowed to produce these wines. The oldest of these wines in Jan’s cellar – Mistelle de Muscat – is available in many selected restaurants and vinotheques. However, you can taste many more. Apart from fortified wines he produces several interesting blended wines, rosés and several traditional, varietal wines, e.g. an excellent Frankovka (variety also called Blaufrankisch, Limberger or Lemberger).

Cellar

The winery consists of several cellars and other rooms which you will be guided through by the winemaker. The red and sweet white wines mature in barrels in the original cellar. The wine production, wine maturation and wine bottling phases are each located in different rooms. The function room has a capacity of 25–30 people. It is great to sit directly in the courtyard during the summer.

Usual programme

Guests usually begin with a short tour of the vineyard with a presentation and a wine tasting. They taste some “jug” wines followed by bottled, higher quality wines, including some older wines. Then they are free to drink again most of wines they liked best, and the wine tasting is followed by a cold buffet (ham and cheese plates, home-made pork specialities, bread etc.). It is possible to broaden the programme to include a short tour through the local vineyards on the wine tourist trails, order traditional home-made desserts, or a special tasting of young wines etc.

It is also possible to enrich the evening programme by a fruit liquor tasting (rose hip, hawthorn, blackthorn, cornel, raspberry, red currant, mulberry, rowan and fig) with a presentation on their curative effects or by a fruit brandy tasting (apricot, plum, pear, apple, grappa, rose hip, raspberry, banana, date, fig and pineapple) with an explanation of their production.