Brno’s Špilberk Castle opens wine exhibition with up to 50 wines to taste

Visitors to Brno’s Špilberk Castle can now explore Czechia’s wine regions without leaving the city. And taste some of their characteristic varieties along the way.

The permanent exhibition Země vína (Land of Wine), which opened Nov. 6 in the castle’s southern section, combines an introduction to winemaking with dispensers offering up to 50 wines selected by the National Wine Centre.

Created by the Brno City Museum in cooperation with the Czech Winegrowers Association and the National Wine Centre, the exhibition aims to encourage visitors to explore wine destinations across Moravia and Bohemia.

“Brno currently has no comprehensive presentation of the history and diversity of winemaking in Moravia and Bohemia. We want this new exhibition to fill that gap,” museum director Zbyněk Šolc said.

Five rooms introduce Moravia’s four wine subregions and the Bohemian wine region, highlighting their characteristic grape varieties alongside a brief history of winemaking.

A final room houses audiovisual presentations and provides space for talks and other events. The exhibition occupies rooms the museum had not previously used for displays and is accessible from the castle’s cannon bastion.

Curator Richard Svoboda described the exhibition as a gateway for tourists looking for places to visit beyond Brno, including wine destinations in Bohemia as well as Moravia.

Adult visitors who want to sample the wines can purchase credit on a tasting card at the entrance. After providing proof of age, they receive a glass on loan and can use the self-service wine dispensers, known as Enomats.

Each regional display features five characteristic grape varieties, with two wines representing each variety. Together, the selection offers up to 50 wines.

The National Wine Centre supplies the dispensers under an agreement between the museum and the Czech Winegrowers Association. The wines are selected from entries assessed during the summer regional rounds of the National Wine Competition.

According to the centre’s Dagmar Fialová, the selection combines varieties typical of each region with their highest-rated examples. The wines are scheduled to change twice a year, and participating producers can also make their wines available to buy at the exhibition.

Organizers emphasize that the Špilberk display complements the Wine Salon’s separate tasting experience, which showcases the competition’s 100 highest-rated wines. The new exhibition instead gives visitors an introduction to the country’s wine regions, and a starting point for planning a trip to the vineyards themselves.

More information about the exhibit can be found at the Land of Wine website.