Source: www.slavnosti-brno.cz

Náměstí svobody sq. is going to host three festivals in a row: you can enjoy food, wine and local culture. Sadly, not at the same time.

From September 22 to September 25, food festival is taking place at the central square. It got some criticism last year, as it had not presented the best side of Moravian gastronomy, just some average local restaurants. I hope it will be better this year.

A week after, from September 30 to October 7, a popular anual wine festival will present the works of local winemakers.

The last festival will be dedicated to Moravian folklore culture. The “days of regions” will be held from October 10 to October 16.

(To be correct, the series launched with a beer festival, which was mentioned at the Facebook page of Brno Now. I was quite disappointed with it, as some beers were rather undrinkable.)

The events are organised by the council of Brno-centre. The official website is available in Czech only. What a surprise.

Roast goose (source: Wikimedia Commons)

For hundreds of years, geese are being killed and roasted on this day – and then served with dumplings and cabbage. You can get this delicious meal in many restaurants in Brno until Sunday.

Few years ago, wine makers started to market their young wines as “St. Martin’s wines” (“svatomartinské víno”) – you can buy them in many shops around the region since November 11, 11 a.m. The Beaujolais nouveau influence is pretty obvious, but who would care? Carpe diem!

Slovak girl tapping burčák (source: Wikipedia)

You may enjoy red, white, sparkling and other kinds of wine at the Wine feast, but most importantly – fresh burčák, i.e. “federweisser”, young wine. Burčák has a cult status in south Moravia, it is avaible only for few weeks in a year and people love it.

There is a proverb saying that you should drink 5-6 litres of burčák every year, because you have the same volume of blood in your veins. Be careful – it may cause a serious hangover!

Source: Wikimedia Commons

As usualy, first bottles of this year’s wine come to market on St. Martin’s Day – Wednesday, November 11.

Although the tradition of tasting the young wine on this day begun in the 18th century, it had been almost forgotten before Moravian winemakers decided to use it as a smart marketing event in the 2000s.

This year, 211 wines were good enough to receive the exclusive mark “Svatomartinské víno”.

Where to get the wine

If you want to taste St. Martin’s Wine, come to the Náměstí Svobody sq. on Wednesday afternoon. Bottles can be bought in wine shops in the whole country (a list of sure-fire shops to go to at southern Moravia) as well as in many cafés and some supermarkets.

I recommend to combine the young wine with roasted goose, cabbage and dumplings.

Slovak girl tapping burčák (source: Wikipedia)

Sweet, lemonade-like but still dazing drink is sipped at streets, in wine shops and in the living rooms of most Moravian families.

As I am the only person in Brno who dislikes the beverage (I never got used to its smell), I can not recommend the best source of burčák. However, don’t be afraid to take an empty bottle and go to a nearest wine shop. Price is usually set at CZK 50 (€ 2) for a litre.

Travelling to wine-producing towns as Mikulov, Znojmo or Skalica, Slovakia, for enjoying burčák is highly recommended.

Read more about the burčák madness

• Much Ado About Burčák | Notes on the Czech Republic’s beloved seasonal drink
• Beware of the Burčák | The dangers and delights of young Czech wine
• Burcak: the traditional young Moravian wine in season again