Why Not Take a Bike Trip to Taste Slovak Wines?

Residents od Bratislava and Western Slovakia have long envied their neighbours the biking opportunities along or around vineyards - whether around the Beusiedler Lake in Burgenland in Austria or in Eastern Moravia. 

But the vineayrds between the traditional Bratislava wine-prodcuing quarter of Rača and the town of Modra are charming, too and although many people are not aware of them, there are now some wonderful bike paths in this area. You can visit a number of interesting wineries and winemakers around Bratislava on a bicycle and make your bike workouts more fun by tasting wine along the way. 

Book your wine tasting ahead

Of course, to avoid disappointment of reaching closed doors, which is quite possible on impromptu winery visits, it is better to plan ahead and reserve your wine tasting in advance.

It may occur to you: It may be nice to bike around the vineyards but how to reach them from Bratislava? If you live on the other end of the city or come from outside of Bratislava and would like to experience this, we probably want to avoid cycling through the busy Bratislava city traffic.

This problem has been resolved for a while. You can board the train along with your bicycle and get off at the stations Bratislava Rača, Svätý Jur or Pezinok – depending on the route or wineries on your itinerary. For example, on weekends the passenger train runs every two hours from Kúty (every hour during the week) and stops at many stations that allow you to reach the Small Carpathian mountains conveniently. In Bratislava alone it stops in Devínska Nová Ves, Lamač, at Železná Studienka, Main Train Station and the station Bratislava-Vinohrady (Bratislava-Vineayrds). 

If you undertake this kind of a trip, there are several interesting vineayrds offering tastings along the route from Rača, via Svätý Jur, Pezinok, Vinosady to Modra.

From Rača to Vinosady

In Rača we can start at the winery of Miloš Máťuš. Together with his wife they continue the Máťuš winemaking family tradition with deep historical roots in Rača. They work on about 20 hectares of vineyards, growing all of their grape for wines produced with the classical method.

Our virtual wine tour from Rača to Modra (which would require more than a day in real life including wine tastings) can continue in the traditional winemaking towns of Svätý Jur, at the Dubovský & Grančič winery. The winemaking tradition in both families goes back to 1677 and is now in its 8th generation. In 2005 they bottled their first wine together and have managed to accumulate almost 12 hectares of their own and leased vineyards in Svätý Jur.

Svätý Jur is home to another interesting winery – Via Jur. This new project buils on an exceptional history. The Pálffy Castly in Svätý Jur is part of its premises. Wine growers and wine makers have produced wine at this noble site since the 15th century. The current owners have restored the castle and continue with the winemaking traditions. 

Two centres – Pezinok and Modra

The next stop on our bike tour is in the town of Pezinok. We begin in Grinava, where the winery Adam Sýkora - a small winemaker with a passion for top-notch wines, which the Slovak climate can produce - has its seat. The winery is led with love and the dynamic young winemaker loves to talk wine and share wine stories.

When in Pezinok, you should not miss the Castle Winery Šimák. It is located in the cellars of a 13th century castle, which has been restored beautifully and in addition to the winery, houses a hotel, two restaurants and a park with a small lake. The premises include a Winemaking Museum, where you can taste the wines produced under the leadership of well-known Slovak winemaker Roman Janoušek. 

From Pezinok it is only a short ride to Vinosady and the Juraj Zápražný winery. Established in 1999, it also builds on a long family tradition of producing wine. They have 6 hectares of vineyards around Vinosady and produce their wines with the least invasive grape-processing methods.

We conclude our bike wanderings accompanied by wine tasting in the town of Modra. First, we can visit the Víno Rariga family winery. The brand has been in the market since 2003, although Igor Rariga planted his first vineyards back in 1986, when he still had another job. Today they manage 6 hectares of vineyards and their main varietal, in which they take great pride, is Rhine Riesling.

When in Modra, you should definitely also taste wines from the Fedor Malík and son Winery. The winery of the well-known oenologist produces specific wines with a Small Capathian dimension, full of mineral tastes and pleasing aromas. They strive for their wines not only to be tasty but also to bring memories of walks around Modra, which they highly recommend to gain a full understanding of Malík wines. Take this as another suggestion for a trip to Modra and its beautiful surroundings.

Do you need help planning a winery bike trip around the Small Carpathian mountains? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us at GoGo.wine!