Czech wine for the first time at the famous Cricket Club
09.02.2024 / 08:01 | Aktualizováno: 11.04.2025 / 16:50
On 23 January 2024, the Czech Embassy in collaboration with the Singapore Cricket Club hosted a dinner with a Czech wine tasting. The event was opened by the Ambassador of Czechia to Singapore, Ms Michaela Froňková, who introduced Czechia in a short presentation not only as a country with a rich history, cultural heritage and natural beauty, but also mentioned interesting economic data about Czechia and its membership of the European Union and other international organisations. Finally, she gave the participants some tips for places to visit around the country, such as Prague, Český Krumlov, Kutná Hora or the Lednice-Valtice area.
Approximately 80 dinner participants from the Wine Circle had the opportunity to taste more than 10 wine samples from 4 wineries from South Moravia: B\V, ČAPKA, DONATUS and LAHOFER. The special characteristics and differences of each wine were presented by Mr. Naveen Gupta, Convener of the Wine Circle at the Cricket Club and WSET Level 3 certified wine educator. The wines were accompanied by a partly Czech menu, which included Czech potato salad or "Kulajda" soup.
The wines displayed their fresh and unique taste, which reflects the specific climatic and soil conditions in Czechia. Some of the wines were made from indigenous grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Franconia or Riesling, or from international grapes that are widely grown in Czechia, such as Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Zwiegeltrebe. Moreover, Czech wine is one of the products that benefit from Czechia's membership of the European Union. Thanks to the EU's common agricultural policy, Czechia has access to financial support, technical assistance and protection of designations of origin, and thanks to the common market, it is free to seek markets throughout the EU.
Two wines produced using special techniques were special treats. One of them was Pet-Nat, which stands for pétillant naturel ('naturally sparkling') and is characterised by the fact that it is bottled before it is fermented and finishes fermenting in the bottle, creating bubbles. This method is considered to be the oldest way of making sparkling wine. The second special wine was Noble Rot, which is the English name for a noble mould (Botrytis cinerea) that attacks the grapes and evaporates the water from them, leaving a higher concentration of sugars and acids.
Lastly, quality Czech glassware under the Květná 1794 brand was also presented and available for purchase from the Singaporean company SKLO. The dinner with a tasting of Czech wine was therefore a successful event that contributed to the promotion of Czech culture, glassmaking, gastronomy and especially winemaking in Singapore and strengthened friendly Czech-Singaporean relations.