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Winter excursion

Celebrating the deity of good French wine in Burgundy

By Helena Baker
For The Prague Post
February 7th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Banda Desperados roams the streets entertaining crowds at the St. Vincent festival.
The third weekend in January has become a kind of holiday for Czech Republic wine aficionados. At that time every year, a stalwart group heads to the legendary golden slopes of Burgundy to partake in 72 hours of wine-tasting known as the Fete de la Saint Vincent Tournante.
La Saint Vincent, as it is colloquially known, is held in honor of the patron saint of winemakers, a most important personage indeed. The festival started back in 1938 as a way to promote the wines of Burgundy, staged first in the village of Chambolle-Musigny. Except for the war years, it was repeated annually in a different village — the word tournante means turning — with a different village hosting the event every year. Unfortunately, by 2003 no town would volunteer to take on the now-onerous task of entertaining the hundreds of thousands who descended upon the usually sleepy wine region. The bill for security alone had reached the stratosphere, with helicopters and legions of police on duty (even though little extreme inebriation was ever in evidence). For the past four years, therefore, the festival has been a stunted affair.
This year, however, the tradition was resumed in smaller form when the iconic town of Nuits-Saint-Georges decided to take up the baton. As always, Saturday began with fanfares and a procession in which more than 80 Burgundian wine-making communes of such renown as Chablis, Pommard, Puligny-Montrachet and Gevrey Chambertin were represented. All carried their Saint Vincent statuettes through the main square before filing into the church for a blessing.
Meanwhile, outside, the covers came off and the corks began to pop on the specially produced cuvées made by the individual winemakers of Nuits-Saint-Georges, including such stars as Méo-Camuzet, Mugneret, Confuron, Potel and Faiveley. Visitors who paid 10 euros ($12/280 Kč) received a commemorative glass and a series of tasting vouchers, redeemable at pouring points dotting the streets. For gourmets, there were many local delicacies available: Burgundy snails marinated in Chablis, Brittany oysters and palettes of cheese.
Everyone, including families with children, had a good time, though what will happen next year remains uncertain. For more information, e-mail beatrice.bourely@wanadoo.fr.

Winery of the Month:  

Vinařství Baloun  
Radomil Baloun has been making quite a splash recently on the international wine scene. This includes a host of silver medals and one gold received at prestigious wine challenges such as Vinalies Internationales held in Paris, and Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, which took place last April in Lisbon. In total, his top wines garnered 35 prizes in competitions at home and abroad during 2006.  
This charismatic vintner founded his winery in rundown premises in the key Moravian wine town of Velké Pavlovice back in 1991. He also acquired a large formerly state-owned cellar in the neighboring town of Hustopeče. Massive investment was necessary to bring both these facilities up to standard, though it has paid off in a total of 850,000 litres (220,000 gallons) of wine from 60 hectares (150 acres) of vineyard. Like all winemakers with a large output, Baloun  would like to be judged on his top products, those with exceptional attributes, as opposed to the more run-of-the-mill fare found mostly on supermarket shelves. “You must not beat the customer with aggressive advertising,” he says. “The wine’s body and soul must do that job themselves. This is a harder way to gain loyalty, but one that is longer lasting. It is a gift from on high, and not given to all.” For more information, e-mail  Radomil.Baloun@tiscali.cz.     
Wines of the Month
Foreign rosé:  Santa Digna  Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Reserva 2006   
Producer:  Miguel Torres, Valle Central, Chile    
Valentine’s Day is a good time to return to the pink, and wash away those glum wintery blues. Here’s a fine rose-tinted and youthful pearl, a light wine made from the lusty Cabernet grape. It comes in a deep hue of shocking pink. On the palate, notes of cassis and strawberries with cream predominate. The wine has a lively acidity with, as the label would have us know, “a sensual and prolonged afterglow.”  (From most outlets, 250 Kč/$11.50)
Local sparkling:  Crémant de Vinselekt  
Producer:  Miloš Michlovský, Rakvice, subregion Velké Pavlovice, region Moravia
To add a little shimmer to life, here is a well-known local sparkler made by one of the top Czech wineries. The winery uses the traditional, or Champagne, method of fermentation in the bottle. Lesser sparkling wines are raised in the tank, or even injected with carbon dioxide. A fine stream of bubbles rises inside the glass, leading to a rich floral nose and biscuity, almost Champagnelike, taste experience. Note: Always use a dry, clean glass or the experience will suffer. (299 Kč)   
February Events Diary
For those keen to taste new and possibly interesting products, every Tuesday at 7 p.m. tutored wine tastings take place at Cellarius Vinotéka at Budečská 29, Prague 2. Recently, Plantaganet Wines from Western Australia presented their wares. On Feb. 13, Habánské sklepy and Velké Bílovice. February 20 brings Robertson Winery from South Africa. Feb. 27 will be a wide range from Miloš Michlovský, of Rakvice. The price is 200 Kč, which includes 100 Kč toward any purchases of the offered wines. For more about these and other events, write  info@cellarius.cz .

Helena Baker can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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