Why not buy red wines in the hypermarket?As everywhere, wine lovers in the Czech Republic are divided into two groups - some prefer white or, in the extreme case, rosé wines, others prefer red wines with a rich content of tannins. However, while red wine consumption is generally more prevalent than white in the world, in the Czech Republic the ratio of consumption between white and red brands is estimated at 73 % to 27 %.
It is not hard to guess why this is so. The climate in our regions, and especially in Moravia, has always been more favourable to white varieties, which are used to produce high-quality dry wines. The Czech consumer is then traditionally used to what is grown in his latitudes. But it's not just a matter of patriotism, but also of good taste - Moravian white wines are increasingly winning international awards for excellence, with over 900 such awards last year alone.
The problem arises, however, if you long for a quality red wine. Despite climate change, which is increasing the number of sunny days in Moravia, it is still not enough to grow red varieties competitive with the wine-growing superpowers. Even some Moravian winemakers have come to understand this and prefer to plant white varieties on their original red vineyards, where they can achieve results comparable to foreign competitors.
Then there is no choice but to look around for foreign wines and most consumers head for the hypermarkets. But buying a quality red wine priced under CZK 200 is like winning the lottery jackpot. In this case, the hypermarkets target the highest volume at the highest discount, which means that the winemakers or importers are definitely not selling the best of their portfolio. Another option is to go to specialist wine shops, but where the inexperienced consumer can easily get lost. The staff at such specialty shops tend to offer more expensive wines, but even price is no guarantee of high quality.
As customers, we too have experienced these situations and the subsequent disappointments countless times, which is why we at ZEBRA WINES have made it a cardinal rule: we will subject all the wines we offer to a personal tasting directly in South Africa, and we will not offer those that are not of sufficient quality. We know that there are many "seekers" of red wines of consistently high quality in the Czech Republic. We also know that we have such wines. We hope to meet you soon!