St. Martin's Day wines will stand out this year for their fresh taste and high quality

63 winemakers and wine companies entered their wines in the first round. The demanding quality requirements were met by 95.4 % of the wines entered, but all is not lost for the producers of the 13 samples that have not yet been granted the possibility to use the St. They will still have the opportunity to work with the wines and compete again in the second round, which will take place on 1 November. Then the exact number of this year's St. Martin's wines and successful wineries will also be known. It can be expected that around 20% more will be added after the second round, with a greater proportion of these being reds, for which many winemakers are setting aside more time.

272 of the 285 wines entered were successful

'St Martin's wines are generally very fresh, fruity and aromatic, light with lower alcohol and pleasant acidity. This is no different this year. This year's St Martin's Day Müller Thurgau has notes of ripe white peach with juicy acidity. The Moravian Muscats are wonderfully citrusy, some with a touch of ripe kiwi. The early Veltliner has a fresh juicy taste and a light noble aroma with notes of mango, lime and other exotic fruits. The rosés generally have a nice touch of strawberry yoghurt, or contain subtle yoghurt notes of forest fruits. The reds, on the other hand, are velvety soft, with aromas of violet blossoms and other spring meadow herbs and a spicy freshness," revealed the first information about the wines of the 2023 vintage Ing. Petr Gondáš from the National Wine Centre added: "The data available so far show that over 2 million bottles of St. However, an above-average sunny and warm September is behind the healthy and ideally ripe grapes for St. Martin's varieties. Winemakers picked the majority in the second half of September, giving them plenty of time to prepare the wines for the first grading date."

Of the 272 wines that passed the first round of evaluation and will therefore be able to carry the St. Martin's Day 2023 label, 124 are whites, 85 rosés and clarets and 63 reds. The most represented variety so far is Müller Thurgau (69 samples), followed by Svatovavrinecky (57), Blue Portugal (48), Zweigeltrebe (42) and Muscat of Moravia (38). The smallest number of wines was Veltliner red early (17) and one rosé Cuvée.

"This year's St Martin's Day falls on a Saturday, which is a great opportunity to fully enjoy these fresh and fruity first wines of the current vintage as early as 11 November. However, the weekend deadline complicates the delivery of orders from e-shops, so the Wine Fund has decided to adjust the conditions slightly so that this year they can be ordered via e-shops from Thursday 9 November.However, delivery will be on Friday 10 November at the earliest, with a reminder that the St Martin's Day wine is not available for consumption until Saturday 11 November. However, sales through retail and catering outlets are not permitted until the 11th," said Mgr. Zbyněk Vičar, Director of the Wine Fund. The Fund owns the trademark Svatomartinská and annually lends it to winemakers. "Starting on Saturday, countless wine tastings and celebrations will start, restaurants will offer various special menus and St. Martin's Day wines will keep us company at least until the end of the year, when they will fully retain their natural freshness and lightness, added Vičar.

St. Martin's Day Basket in Brno

All events and celebrations are dominated by the largest tasting of St. Martin's wines in our country - St. Martin's Basket in Brno, which will be held on 11. 11. from 11 a.m. on Brno's Svobody Square, traditionally organized directly by the Wine Fund. For the umpteenth time, the festival will offer 100 samples of St. Martin's wines from various winemakers. The Wine Fund also supports a number of other St. Martin's Day events throughout the country.

St. Martin's Day

Only wines that succeed in the evaluation due to their quality will be able to carry the St. Martin's Day label. The wine must therefore score at least 80 out of 100 points in the scoring. The wine's purity, colour, aroma, taste and overall impression are assessed. However, the quality control does not end with the evaluation on 23 October and 1 November. It will also continue to be carried out for wines bottled in the trade, so that everyone can be sure that the wines that that have passed the assessment are the same as those that appear in bottles in shops, wine shops and restaurants.

The 'Svatomartinské' brand was registered in 1995 and since 2005 has been owned by the Wine Fund, which in cooperation with the National Wine Centre, for the nineteenth time has been promoting these wines under a single logo.