St. Martin’s wine 2011 is here!

St. Martin’s wines are the first wines of the new vintage. These are refreshing and fruity wines, which despite having matured for only a few weeks have succeeded during this time in obtaining their distinctive character. Winemakers recommend that young wines are consumed by Easter, up to when they retain their pleasant freshness.

“Wine is indisputably a cultured drink, and when this sublime quality is combined with freshness in the form of young St. Martin’s wines, success is guaranteed. St. Martin’s wines offer a natural path to quality Czech gastronomy. During the dozens, if not hundreds of St. Martin’s events, these wines act as a social lubricant, helping to bring guests together. And last but not least, St. Martin’s wines are also capable of captivating consumers and drawing them into the magical world of the countless aromas and tastes of all the Moravian and Bohemian wines,” comments director of the Viniculture Fund, Jaroslav Machovec.

This year, on the basis of a judgement of independent commissions, 365 St. Martin’s wines from 125 winemaking firms shall be launched onto the market, with a total volume of approximately 2 000 000 bottles. The offer of white St. Martin’s wines is most abundantly represented by the Müller Thurgau cultivar, with 96 types of wine, as well as Frühroter Veltliner (23) and Moravian Muscatel (43). Rosé wines are topped by St. Laurent with 80 wines, whilst there is a selection of only 37 St. Laurent red wines. Amongst red wines Blauer Portugieser is best represented (62), whilst the same cultivar offers 17 types of rosé wine. The assortment is supplemented by 7 cuvée wines, which are mixtures of more than one grape cultivar.

An unmistakable identifying feature of St. Martin’s wines, in addition to the logo of St. Martin on horseback on the label, is the uniform shutter on the neck of the bottle. The manufacturers of the shutters are permitted to issue individual producers of St. Martin’s wines with only as many shutters as corresponds to the quantity of St. Martin’s wine produced. The Viniculture Fund, as the owner of the St. Martin’s wine brand, is thus fully informed as to who is launching St. Martin’s wines onto the market, in which quantities and varieties.

St. Martin’s wine on one hand represents a linkage with history and traditions in the form of St. Martin’s feasts and gastronomy, whilst on the other hand in several respects means a modern trend. A state of the art dimension is brought to the consumption of not only St. Martin’s wines by the Sommelier application for smart iPhones. The application is a handy guide to Moravian and Bohemian wines and the optimum combinations of these wines with food. Users shall thus always have advice at hand when serving and choosing wine to go with food, or food to go with wine, including detailed descriptions of the grape varieties cultivated in Moravia and Bohemia. The application shall also contain a reference to all this year’s St. Martin’s wines and from 11 November shall be available for download free of charge in the Appstore.

The first opening of bottles of the new St. Martin’s wines shall take place, as every year, at 11 am on 11 November at ceremonial events in Bohemia and Moravia, in wine cellars and restaurants throughout the country, and ever more frequently also at home.

The largest tasting session of St. Martin’s wines in the country and ceremonial toasting with this year’s St. Martin’s wines shall be held by the Viniculture Fund once again in Brno, from 11 am onwards on 11 November. Visitors shall have the opportunity to taste 100 wines, accompanied by music and other entertainment on stage. Selected wines shall also be available for purchase from winemakers. The wine tasting shall also link up to the St. Martin’s feast, during which visitors shall be able to enjoy specialities prepared to accompany St. Martin’s wines for discount prices in selected restaurants in Brno. On 11 and 12 November St. Martin’s snacks shall also be available directly on Svobody square, together with a varied cultural programme.

In Prague St. Martin’s wines shall dominate Jiřího z Poděbrad square in the Vinohrady district, in connection with traditional roast goose. From 11 to 20 November a Festival of St. Martin’s wines shall also take place in the atrium of the Kinský Palace on the Old Town Square, where wine lovers can enjoy the widest offer of St. Martin’s wines in Prague – 100 different wines.

The “St. Martin’s” brand was registered 1995, and since 2005 has been owned by the Viniculture Fund. This year, for the seventh time, the Viniculture Fund is organising the promotion of these wines under a single logo, together with the National Viniculture Centre. The “St. Martin’s” brand may be used by all winemakers registered in the Czech Republic who meet the stringent criteria.

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