After relaxing Prague and a morning in Letná Park, the afternoon belonged to wine.

If you’ve been following along, you know wine is one of the things at the heart of how we travel. We look for the one or two things that bring us joy and seek them out through local traditions, and for us that means learning about the local wine: what makes it distinct, how the grapes are grown, and what sets the winemaking process apart (we wrote about why wine is at the heart of our travel philosophy). Prague is not the first place we would have thought of for wine, which is exactly why a private tour of the city’s hidden vineyards fit that philosophy so perfectly.

Booking a Private Wine Tour with Andrea

We scheduled a private wine tour of the hidden vineyards of Prague with Andrea, the owner of Wine Travel in Czech. This was a somewhat last-minute addition to our itinerary. We had previously looked for something Czech wine-oriented as a tour but did not want to spend an entire day driving into the country. When we came upon Andrea and her offering of a four-hour private wine tour within the city limits and we read the description and the glowing reviews, we were sold. Happily, Andrea was available and we were booked.

At our scheduled time, Andrea picked us up at our hotel and we were off. Within minutes we were hooked by Andrea’s warm, engaging personality as we drove to our first destination. Not only a sommelier but also a certified guide, Andrea provided commentary, history, and context throughout the day, in addition to a deep dive into Czech viniculture, its history, and its current state of affairs.

Sparkling Wine in Grébovka Park

We arrived in Vinohrady quickly and began our journey into Grébovka Park. Upon entering the park only briefly, Andrea stopped to begin the story of the park. But first, out of her bag appeared a bottle of Bohemia Sekt Prestige Brut sparkling wine with two champagne flutes for us. Fresh and light with notes of citrus and fruit, it was a perfect accompaniment to the walk through the park (with many refills).

The entire park, complete with villa, was built by Moritz Gröbe, and everything we encountered in the park was man-made, including but not limited to the hill itself, on top of which sit the villa and the vineyard, made from the soil from digging out the Vinohrady tunnel. The park, the gardens, the buildings, and the cave grotto were designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, or neo-Renaissance, even down to the railings in the park.

We spent an hour or so walking this beautiful park, learning its history and taking in the scenery, from the vineyard itself to the gazebo in the vines to the buildings and ultimately the cave grotto. The experience was very relaxing and enjoyable, beginning our deep drive into Czech wine.

The Botanical Gardens and St. Clare’s Vineyard

We then drove north in Prague to the Troja district and the Botanical Gardens. To our delight, the gardens were being transformed for the pumpkin festival, and the decorations were whimsical and fun. The elementary-school-aged children giggling and laughing on an outing added to the joy.

After a walk through the gardens, we went on to see St. Claire’s Vineyard and chapel, which is housed inside the Botanical Gardens. It is here in their tasting room that Andrea walked us through a tasting of five of their wines, including muscat, rieslings, pinot gris, and rosé, along with very tasty snacks.

We have had wine tastings with sommeliers before, and the experience is so much more robust and informative than a normal wine tasting, where you are told what it is, what it should smell like, and how it should taste, and then it’s on to the next wine. The sommelier tasting offers a nuanced approach wherein you are brought along and allowed to discover and explore each wine using all five senses. Andrea even had us do a blind comparison of two wines, exploring their characters and differences before revealing which they were.

Our Take

The entire experience with Andrea was a fantastic way to spend a half day if you like wine, some history, and spending time with an enthusiastic host. Our relaxing day in Prague to conclude this trip was complete. Thank you so much, Andrea.