When we sent the authors of the Best Czech Wine Guide our collection for evaluation, it was clear that the part of it will also be our dry Pálava. This wine is typical for Sonberk, and at the same time, it makes us quite different from other wineries. So it´s why of the reasons why we were awarded the title Collection of the Year. Pálava is a variety, which many wine consumers associate with a sweet taste. But we made it in our dry version. Our winemaker Olda Drápal does not plan to change it, and there are many reasons for it. What exactly?
First of all, the character of the variety and its flavour. “The fact that Palava is often made sweet is not written; there is no rule for it. It is sweet simply because some winemakers do it because they know that it will appeal to people who do not drink wine so often,” says Olda, who has been working with this variety at Sonberk since the founding of the winery. But it was for him for the first time in a larger amount, because Palava is a relatively new variety.
The hybrid of the Traminer and Müller Thurgau varieties is specifically Moravian. The new variety of Pálava was registered in 1977, so it took a while to spread, but it became more popular. Traminer is known for its spiciness, but often lacks acidity and has uneven fertility, which Palava supplies Müller Thurgau. That was the reason why it became a part of the vineyard in Sonberk founded years ago.
Today we owe this variety the most significant international success. According to the evaluation of the Decanter World Wine Awards, our dry Pálava 2015 became the best dry aromatic wine in the world in 2017, which caused a crack on the Czech market and abroad as well. “This award means, among other things, that we got a whole page for ourselves in the Decanter magazine, which informs about the world's best wines and is followed by everyone interested in wine. The British and Americans used to come to us with a copy of the magazine,” says our marketing and sales director Dáša Fialová.
Among other things, thanks to the success in Decanter, Pálava is the wine that most often goes from Sonberk abroad, especially to London. Wholesalers and restaurants remembered it thanks to the competition, and they like it as a specific Moravian variety, so it is unique to them. In the future, we will have even more of these grapes. Pálava is one of the two types we planted around Sonberk in the autumn.
Would you like to see and experience all this? We look forward to seeing you at Sonberk.
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