The older the vine, the better the wine. How to keep an old vineyard alive

A group of friends has revitalised the Tále vineyard in Bratislava's Rača.

Vinica Tál wineyardVinica Tál wineyard (Source: Sme - Jozef Jakubčo)
Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide!Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide! (Source: Spectacular Slovakia)

“There is nothing better than enjoying the view of the city from this place with a glass of wine made from grapes grown here,” said Marek Novotný. He stands in the restored vineyard of Tále above Bratislava’s borough of Rača with the city glowing below in the distance, a glass of the red Frankovka Modrá in his hand shining with rich ruby colour.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Frankovka Modrá, known to English speakers by its German name Blaufränkisch, is a wine typical for Rača, the once famous wine-producing village on the foothill of the Small Carpathians, now one of the boroughs of Bratislava.

SkryťTurn off ads

While in the past there were some 350 hectares of attended and fruiting vineyrads around the village, now they account for only about 160 hectares.

A wineyard that is a dream come true

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

The New Stations of the Cross combine old and new.

New Stations of the Cross to combine surviving remains and contemporary architecture.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad