Wine Tasting in Prague: 11 Places You Have to Try

In current times it's the rooftop bars serving swish creative cocktails that are all the fashion in Prague. They're great, but if you're a wine lover, you'll be pleased to discover the Czechia capital also has a centuries-old connection to winemaking that's still prevalent in the city today and that wine is an important part of Czech culture.

In bygone times it was the monks and nuns who grew grapes and produced wine in the monasteries and convents of Prague. Many of those historic vineyards are still in existence in the city today. Go wine tasting in Prague, and it'll be a truly historic experience in more ways than one.

The religious establishments don't have a monopoly on wine tasting in Prague. There are superb restaurants with excellent wine cellars and wine caves, all of which organize tastings of international and local wines. If you're looking for things to do at night in Prague, you won't find it hard to come across a specialist wine bar you can drop into for a glass or two before going out to dinner.

The easiest way to take the fun out of any wine tasting expedition is by taking your bags with you. If you've somehow managed to get burdened with your suitcase, there is a simple solution. Drop your bags at a Bounce luggage storage facility in Prague. You'll find Bounce luggage lockers in several convenient locations around Prague that are easy to get to. While Bounce lockers are fully secure and have comprehensive insurance coverage, they're still economical to rent, so make the most of the service.

Where To Go Wine Tasting In Prague

Before you head to a wine bar or fork out for one of the Prague tours focusing on wine, make plans to visit a couple of the city's vineyards. It'll be an eye-opening and informative experience, combined with some wine tastings, where you'll learn about local wines and do some sightseeing simultaneously without leaving the city center.

Best Vineyards To Visit In Prague

St Wenceslas Vineyard

Usually, to visit a vineyard, you must leave urbanization behind and head out into the countryside. Not in Prague, though. The St Wenceslas Vineyard is a vineyard on the slopes of the hill beneath Prague Castle, one of the city's main and unmissable attractions.

Grapes have been cultivated at the St Wenceslas Vineyard at Prague Castle for hundreds of years, and legend has it that the saintly man the vineyard is named after had a hand in tending the vines and making the wine. These days there are no saints taking sneaky sips of fermented grape juice, but they do have smart waiters serving wine produced from the Moravian and Bohemian vines in the restaurant on the castle grounds called the Villa Richter.

At present, the St Wenceslas Vineyard at Prague Castle is open all year round from 11 am until 7 pm, and admission to the vineyards as well as the castle gardens is free. Tasting the finished product in the restaurant isn’t.

Location:

Staré zámecké schody 192/8, Prague

The Grebovka Vineyard

For a scenic wine tasting in Prague, the Grebovka Vineyard is hard to beat. This is a vineyard on the outskirts of the city inside the Havlickovy Park that has been producing wine since it was established in the 14th century. Most of the estate where the vineyard is located once belonged to the Czech king, King Charles IV, but is now public parklands.

Part of the attraction of the Grebovka Vineyard is its historical buildings. Wine tastings here are held in a restaurant with stunning views of Prague. Another popular spot for drinks and wine tastings at the vineyard is the beautiful wooden gazebo that's perched on a hilltop overlooking the vines. Any after effects of too much good wine can always be walked off with a stroll through the park. 

Location:

Havlíčkovy sady, Prague

St Clare's Vineyard

St Clare's Vineyard is part of Prague Botanical Gardens which is located in the Trojská district to the north of the city. The gardens cover a vast area, so if you're not overly interested in horticulture, the best thing to do is download a map from the official website, and you'll find the vineyard a lot easier.

At this vineyard, you'll be able to tour a wine production exhibition, take a stroll along the interactive wine trail leading through the vines, and then indulge in a wine tasting in the wine shop.

If you're in Prague any time between April and October, you can take a leisurely boat ride from the city center down the Vltava River to the gardens.

Location:

Pod Havránkou 34/7, Prague

Best Wine Bars In Prague

There are more wine bars in Prague than there are rooftop bars, so any wine lover visiting the city will be spoilt for choice. Here are a few of the best, but there are many more besides these, and that one you find yourself by accident while exploring a back street may well turn out to be better than them all.

Charlie Vinko

Charlie Vinko is a wine bar with a lot of characterful, if not slightly quirky, appeal. Its interior is a rustic clash of bare brick and cork-clad walls adorned with a variety of drink-related trinkets. If you enjoy drinking in old-world pubs with a cozy atmosphere, then you'll be right at home in Charlie Vinko when you're visiting Prague.

This isn't a tourist bar, so to discover the various types of local wine they stock, don't bother with the wine list; it's in Czech. You'll need to have a chat with the extremely knowledgeable servers to get a recommendation. The good thing about this wine bar is it's frequented by local wine lovers, so you'll get good wine for a low price.

Location:

Myslíkova, 30, Prague

Wine Office Prague

The Wine Office is three things in one. Primarily a wine bar, secondly a tapas restaurant, and thirdly a wine shop. It's a combination that works really well and keeps the tables in this Prague wine bar full.

At the Wine Office, there aren't any servers but sommeliers who will advise you on the best wines to try. They don't just stock Czech wine, but a huge and very high-quality selection of European wines. The sommeliers are only too happy to impart information about the good wine they stock and know each bottle's origins inside out.

Rather than local food, this Prague wine bar serves typical Spanish tapas like jamon serrano, olives, and padron peppers, as well as a selection of empanadas or mini pies. The delicious food is the perfect accompaniment to a wine tasting session. All the wines they serve at the Wine Office can be purchased by the bottle in their shop.

Location:

Truhlářská, 10, Prague

Strada del Vino

If you're going to see a show at the National Theater in Prague, you'll be pleased to know there's a great bistro and wine bar just two minutes away. The focus at the Strada del Vino wine bar isn't on Czech wine but on Italian.

The Strada del Vino offers a selection of imported Italian and international wines, which they serve in their contemporary, and quite formally furnished dining area. They don't do organized wine tastings here but offer a decent selection of wine by the glass, so you don't need to commit to ordering a full bottle of something you haven't tried before.

Location:

Pštrossova, 1708, Prague

Bokovka Wine Club and Shop

What sets the Bokovka Wine Club apart from the rest of the wine bars in Prague is its location. This wine bar is housed in an old building and has a beautiful columned and arched patio area that faces out onto an internal courtyard. It's the sort of old-fashioned style you'd expect to find in an Italian city and not the Czech Republic.

Go for a wine tasting or just a drink here, and the house sommelier will make recommendations from their wine list. It's a wine list that consists of a variety of Czech wines as well as white and red wines from France, Italy, and Austria. 

This is a relatively new wine bar, but what greatly outnumbers the wines is the offering of French champagne. If you're a champagne connoisseur, you won't want to miss going here to indulge in a bottle or two of the excellent vintages they have in stock.

This wine bar may be called a club, but it's not private, and you don't need to be a member to drink here.

Location:

Dlouhá 729/37, Prague

Wine Festivals In Prague

Wine is something they like to celebrate in Prague, and there are several fantastic wine festivals held in the city throughout the year. Cross your fingers and hope one of them falls during the dates you're visiting Prague because no wine lover will want to miss going to at least one of them. 

St Wenceslas Wine Festival

The St Wenceslas Wine Festival is a one-day event held around the end of September at the Villa Richter in the St Wenceslas Vineyard at Prague Castle. The festival is attended by up to 20 different wineries from the region, so you'll get a chance to taste more than what they produce in the host vineyard.

One wine that's a must-try at any of the Prague wine festivals is Burcak. Burcak is a traditional semi-fermented Czech wine that's produced from Moravian grapes at the start of the harvesting season. While it does have a lower alcohol content than regular wine, don't take it lightly, it's still a pretty potent brew.

Vinohrady Wine Festival

The Vinohrady Wine Festival is a two-day event held in Jiriho z Podebrad Square in Prague city center around the end of the first week of September. It's a major festival that attracts winemakers and wine drinkers from all over the world.

There's no admission charge to the Vinohrady Wine Festival on either day, which means you'll have money to spend on wine and some of the amazing food that's on offer. This festival may be about an alcoholic drink, but it's quite a family affair, and there are lots of amusements for kids plus workshops and wine-related exhibitions for the adults.

The Grebovka Wine Festival

In truth, if you love wine, September is the best month to visit Prague, as once the grape harvest is over, it's time to celebrate. The Grebovka Vineyard doesn't miss out on the fun either. The Grebovka Vineyard holds their annual wine festival in Havlíčkovy Park around mid-September, and they don't do it quietly either.

Don't expect a relaxing day because, during the one-day Grebovka Wine Festival, the Czech capital city is rocked with the sound of live music, theatrical performances, and lots of family-friendly activities from morning to night. There's plenty of tasting of Czech wines and presentations by top wine producers, as well as a surplus of delicious food too. It wouldn't be a bonafide wine festival if there wasn't.

The Troja Wine Festival

The Troja Wine Festival is a one-day event held in the gardens of Troja Chateau sometime around the beginning to the middle of September. The focus of this festival is on Czech and Moravian wine, so it's all about what's produced locally.

In truth, this festival is as much a celebration of Czech culture as it is Czech wine, so be prepared to try your hand, or better said, feet, at some folk dancing. It's not easy, but after a couple of glasses of wine, you'll feel like an expert who's been doing it all their life.

Conclusion

If you're a wine lover who's planning on spending three days in Prague, if you can, make sure those three days are in September. Visit Prague in September, and you'll have the chance to celebrate the yearly grape harvest with the locals at one wine festival or another. The festivals are a time when everyone lets their hair down and has some fun after the harvest. That definitely beats sitting sipping glass after glass in a stuffy wine bar.