Cellar Profile
Founded in 2006, Petr Marada’s eponymous winery is focused on creating dry wines with varietal precision and sparkling wines of character. His “Natural” wines are clean, fresh and full of primary character and his still, orange and red wines are all lovingly crafted. However, the real passion project here is sparkling: some made in the Traditional Method (where a secondary fermentation is encouraged in bottle), others made in the Ancestral Method (where initial fermentation takes place in bottle). Four distinct vineyards offer four unique sets of soil types which include sandy loam, loess, chalky tuffeau and volcanic.
Region
Moravia is the largest wine region in Czechia, accounting for 96% of total production. It sits on the border of Austria and Slovakia, on the same parallel as Champagne, but is warmer than any of them during the growing season, growing grapes with higher sugar content, leading to fuller-bodied wines with riper flavours. The soils are mostly marine and freshwater sediment left over from large inland seas, along with tuffeau, sandstone, limestone and loess. The driest months in the region are happily also the months where ripening of the grapes is most crucial (August and September), so vintages are fairly consistent. Marada is located in the Slovácko sub-region of Moravia, well known for producing quality wines.
Vineyard
The Kněžské vineyard lies in the Mikulčice municipality of Moravia. The sandy, loam soil is particularly suited to highlighting primary varietal fruit. While these old vines are farmed naturally, with no use of pesticides or chemical interventions, they cannot certified organic as the neighbouring vineyards are not.
Varieties
The homeland of this grape—which literally means Spice (Gewürz) Traminer—lies in the foothills of the Alps. It originated in Germany but over several hundreds of years it has completely circumnavigated the Alps including Italy, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, France and Slovenia. While Gewürztraminer has high natural sugar, it can be made from bone dry to intensely sweet in style. With its inherent aromatics of lychee, ginger and tropical fruit, Gewürz is a fabulous pairing with Indian and Asian cuisine. It has been planted in Czechia for over 700 years, and is known as both Traminer or Roter Traminer. Its skin is actually light red, so wines made with skin contact will frequently have pink, copper or red hues, depending upon the length of maceration.
Winemaking
Grapes are hand-harvested at optimal ripeness and then crushed into stainless steel for a slow fermentation while macerating on the skins for three weeks. The wine is then transferred to acacia barrels, where it rests on its fine lees for six months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, it may throw some sediment – be sure to stand before serving.
Tasting Notes
Brilliant orange with some pinkish hues. Aromas of white flowers, ginger, grapefruit and peach. There’s some zesty acidity on the palate, with a touch of tannic grip. Flavours of blood orange, pink grapefruit, ripe pear and tomato leaf, with a savoury element in the background. Chill lightly and serve with a charcuterie board, fried eggplant or spicy sausages.