Burčák at Vinná Galerie

I didn't know about "Burčák" until our Czech teacher mentioned it to us the other day. Then my hubby found it at a wine bar/cellar called "Vinná Galerie" near his office. So, off we went yesterday after work.

Once you step inside the bar/cellar through the wide wooden door, you see a softly sloping corridor surrounded by brick walls going down to the underground bar/cellar. The cellar expands beneath arched brick ceilings, with three huge tables displaying all kinds of wines in the middle. There is some seating along the side walls. We got there rather early, and we managed to get a seat by the window. The decor is perfectly suited to wine lovers. Something about the atomosphere relaxed me completely.

We ordered two glasses of wine as they were out of Burčák when we got there. The store clerk told us they would be getting a new barrel soon, so we sat by the window and enojyed the Moravian white wine while waiting for the Burčák.

Then it came!! A guy brought down two huge containers of Burčák. We got the first ladle of Burčák. It was like a very thick purplish apple juice. My hubby, who had drunk Burčák the previous night at the same place, told me it tasted different from the one he had. Indeed, I think it was thicker as we got the first glass out of the newly brought in barrel. The second glass (yep, I had a second glass of Burčák!) was much smoother and had a murky honey-like cream color. I also noticed a distinctive smell the second time which I didn't notice from the first glass. It actually reminded me of the smell of the stuff you apply when you get your hair permed :-)

Burčák is fermented young wine, or pre-wine sweet drink with 4 to 8% of alcohol. It is only available around this time of the year (it seems that it can be only sold from Aug 1 till Nov 30 by law), after the first grapes have been crushed. Burčák has a short life. It is said that it should be tasted rather quickly. I also heard that the alcohol content goes up as you leave it in the bottle and that it could give you a major headache if you drink 3-day old Burčák.

Moravians seem to have an especially strong bond to Burčák and seem to believe that you can't expect to be healthy unless you drink at least seven litres of the young wine each year! Indeed, it seems that Burčák is rich in Vitamin B and minerals.  And, there were lots of housewives and hubbies, often with cute little kiddies in tow, coming to the store with their own empty bottles to take Burčák back home. The store also sells the empty bottles, and we treated ourselves to a small 1-litter bottle of Burčák to take back home. It cost only 30 CZK (approx. $1.50)!