směska ~ mixture
[mixture is a material made up of two or more different substances, without chemical bonding or other chemical change, so that each ingredient substance retains its own chemical properties and makeup. The physical properties of a mixture, may differ from those of the components...]
Which is not quite true in our case. Especially the part about chemical bonds does not fully correspond with reality, because in 2019 we have acquired a new member, František, but that´s another story...
Anyway, the two of us are connected by love for nature, the smell of grape skins and seeds, wine flies and a three-peak hill called Palava. Half of us is a Praguer, graduate of the Charles University in genetics, molecular biology and virology field, with roots in Hodonín, and the second half is a true South Moravian man, quite unsurprisingly graduate of the Mendel University in viticulture and viniculture field with lifelong winemaking experience.
During the last two years of various life twists, a few vineyards and a cellar have joined us in Zaječí and it all mixed together with the desire to do it our own way into kind of original group / mixture (~směska), or more precisely, to the winery SMĚSKA. So we decided, what if we shake things up a little :-)
Vineyards
So we decided to make it even more interesting and we approach to the management of our vineyards rather ecobioauthentically, so we generally avoid chemistry and choose the way in which it usually shows itself, what intervention is needed. Or rather it is not.
The year 2018, when in the first phase we started to renew / rejuvenate two older vineyards and made the first vintage, was almost spray-free. In 2019 we acquired another one, the last one. Between the rows we maintain the original vegetation, similar to the one in meadows and permanent grasslands, until the situation permits and we mow it only twice a year, in May and July.
It is very liberating to see the agricultural production in balance with the local fauna and flora. And it´s bursting into life, surprisingly!
Winemaking
We are not natural wine freaks, but some ideas of authentic wine are not unfamiliar to us, on the contrary, very close.
Especially words like noble yeast, bentonite, arabic gum and sterile filtration will not be heard in our cellar. Since we finished the school years we don´t want to hear about chemistry anymore, certainly not in the cellar. We have not completely abandoned sulfur (in acceptable quantities of course).
In our cellar you will find only wooden barrels, few demijohns, hand press and a few bottles of wine from the former owners, very typical for its authenticity and traditional rural handwriting, which you can taste.
Vineyards and wine
The combination of varieties is limited by what we have in the vineyards and we are not going to change it. There is a bit of everything in the "Old Vineyard", but the traditional white and red varieties are predominant. With the right timing and processing they form (as expected) a very complex mixtures, or cuvée if you want, amplified by beautiful mineral subsoil and age. The white mixture is fresh thanks to Grüner Veltliner, fragrant thanks to Müller Thurgau and a few heads of Sylvaner make the body. The red mixture has body from Zweigeltrebe, fullness from Blauer Portugieser tannins and aroma after St. Laurent.
The "Large vineyard" is completely varietal, southwest slope, brown soil, full of Lamium with beautiful views of Pálava. Eight lines, four varieties. Two white, two red. Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The third vineyard that we call the "Three rows" is a vineyard on loess, right next to alfalfa field and old apricots, very windy exposed with an ideal location, where the sun circulates all day long and in the afternoon is cooled by the Nové Mlýny water reservoir, where the Blaufränkisch is prevailing and the rest is André. This variety we use for the single rosé we produce. All this in French wood, sur-lie and of course dry…
Update: the "Three rows" have changed into six rows. So now you can also look forward to Gewürztraminer.
Unusual names of our wines, that´s just us. The 2019 wines are getting clear, they are full of very fresh acids, with a mild pearl and minimum or zero sugar content. So far we have prepared (without filtration ofc) into the bottles three white wines and one rosé, all of them mixtures/cuvées/směsky. The only way to taste them or buy them is to come to our cellar:-)
In conclusion
We start from scratch and we don't want to push it. We don´t have much nor few ... Just enough to enjoy it and working Saturday nights in the vineyard have only occasionally. We are not registered anywhere, not members of any association, we don´t seek out competitions and wine bars and your own company party label at the end of the year you cannot expect from us.
We value experts, but not chauvinist associations. Terroir is not an unfamiliar word to us, but we don´t overestimate its meaning. Kvevri is not our style. We make wine for ourselves, our big family, friends and all good people… Just no exaggerated commerce, which is not really possible with the size of our vineyards. We just wanted to have something of our own that we enjoy, where we can creatively fulfill ourselves, with no one interfering and at the end maybe someone who will appreciate it.
We try many other things besides wine. We bake, smoke, burn, collect. There is allways a bit of pate of our own production to taste in the cellar on the Main road and a sweet and sour pickles for hangover. We have recently learned to bake bread. We have apricots, wallnuts, cherries and a lot of lavender. In 2020, we have an ambition to accommodate three goats on our land besides the Large Vineyard. Unfortunately we don´t have other accommodation, but we will arrange it for you…
Contacts
Ivan – 724 918 570
Iva – 732 885 945
