Or how to get your stomach working.
If you are in our great city 24.9 take the opportunity to visit Pragues maybe biggest wine festival at Grébovka (Havlíčkovy sady). This absolutely beautiful park, that majority of the tourists for some reason never finds, is by itself worth a visit with its magnificent views, green areas, the cave, Grotta (more about Grotta in a near future) and of course the magnificent vineyards and its gazebo.
The festival itself takes a false start at Náměstí Míru already on Friday 22nd but the main event will take place on Saturday 23rd in Grébovka. And I promise you, here you will find something for everybody. Music, theater performances, different workshops, competitions, special programs for the young ones. You will not go hungry, on the contrary, just as the program is very comprehensive, so is the food selection, and of course the wine. You will find a huge variety of Czech wines in all of its the colours. Don’t know where to start? Why not try the wine tasting, that will get you going! And remember, we are right in the middle of the Burcák season, which you will find out in the festival area!
Burcák, and your stomach is working!
What Burcák? Never heard of it? This is something very special for the Czechs, they call it “Burcák – The Early Wine”, made from the first grapes of the season. The average Czech person goes more or less nuts when the Burcák season starts. It officially only lasts for six weeks, starting point depending on the weather each year, it’s pronounced like “boor-chark”, it’s sweet and it tastes like yeast, and it’s still fermenting! Keep that in mind if you get a taste for it, because your stomach will react! It has a low alcohol percentage, it’s mostly sold in a 1,5 or 2l plastic bottle, at the festival and elsewhere by the glass also. If you buy a bottle you have to remember to loosen the cap every now and then, due to the ongoing fermentation. For the same reason I don’t recommend it as a souvenir to take home, especially if you’re travelling by air!
Personally I think that this is just another way to bend the rules a little, the Czech are very good at that! Some thirsty people got together and the beer finished, panicking! What do we do now? Well we have the vine, but it’s not ready yet, no problem, it’s not undeveloped, its young vine! And so was the problem solved and Burcák born! 🙂
