What are the Little Carpathian wine cellars hiding?

The peak of the season here draws wine lovers like a moth to a flame. This beautiful event is taking place for the twenty-second time already! 164 winemakers will spill their beans in 137 cellars from Bratislava to Trnava. There are many wineries, each one is different but all of them hide a unique story. So, grab a glass and listen.

It’s that autumn time again when wine finally starts to feel comfortable in barrels. We cordially invite you to spend the third weekend of November with the Little Carpathian winemakers in the most beautiful local cellars tasting and evaluating their year-long hard work.

Over the two days, you will have the opportunity to taste mainly young wines coming straight from the vineyard. As this year’ grape harvest started earlier, although still very fresh, the wines will already have rich bouquet. Winemakers will also have older wines on the offer, and, who knows, maybe you will strike it lucky and taste some speciality from their archive. The wineries in the wider center of Bratislava will also open their gates. This time, the most wineries will be found in Modra, Svätý Jur and Šenkvice.

You can start your journey in Devín, where you can taste not only traditional wines but also typical blackcurrant wines. Locals are very proud of their blackcurrant wines as they have a long tradition of making them. Alois Sonntag’s Historical Cellars will also be opened to the public for the first time. The cellars are the place where the blackcurrant wines tradition began a century ago. Svätý Jur offers the largest number of historical cellars. Make sure to stop by the cellar that served as a set for the TV series Red Wine about the Habdžovci family. The cellar features a lot of memorabilia from the set and unique photos of the actors. The oldest cellar dates back from the Renaissance, that means almost 500 years ago. The stone-clad cellars will make you forget about the present and daily problems and transport you to the times long gone. Cellars of Pezinok, Modra and Trnava, with their old vaulted ceilings, rank among the best in the Central Europe. Here you will learn about modern wine production technologies and history of the award-winning vineyards. Heading from Svätý Jur, make a quick stop in Grinava. There, you can admire an old vaulted house from 1887 that has undergone a renovation in recent years. Directly opposite stands a modern wine showroom – beautiful juxtaposition of old and new.

The wine route continues through Limbach, where, in addition to the excellent and well-known Limbach sylvan, you can try roasted pigeons, one of the most exceptional delicacies of the wine route. Pezinok will welcome you with a majestic, beautifully renovated castle. Modra, a typical winemaking town, boasts with the most wineries of all attending municipalities. Take a stroll along the streets and peep in a winery or two. Trnava boasts with one of the most famous wineries of the region. Your journey can start or end here, it is up to you.

Open Cellars Day is not only about wine. It is also about a beautiful landscape dotted with vineyards, about regional gastronomy (some meals are cooked by skilled winemakers themselves), a rich and entertaining program, with folk, country, jazz or ethno-rock bands playing in the cellars. Over the two days, history intertwines with the present. 137 cellars in 24 towns and villages of the Little Carpathian wine-growing region will open their doors to all wine enthusiasts. Make sure not to miss the event!

Open Cellars Day is the most famous wine event in Slovakia. Wine enthusiasts have an opportunity to peep in the many cellars of the Small Carpathian winemakers in the search for the best wine. The journey begins directly below the ancient castle of Devín. You can look forward to small cozy cellars and large modern wineries of Devín, Nové Mesto, Vajnory, Rača, Svätý Jur, Limbach, Modra, Častá, Doľany and Trnava. Excellent Little Carpathian wines, warm and welcoming atmosphere and friendly meetings are ingredients for success.

The Autumn Open Cellar Day is always a sought-after event, as it celebrates the hard but beautiful work of winegrowers and winemakers. The even has been going strong for 22 years. What the first years of the event looked like? They took place on November 11, the very day when we celebrate the feast of St. Martin. A day on which the St. Martin blesses wines. The tradition of the Open Cellar Day started in 1999 and attracted almost 20 winemakers from around Pezinok and the surrounding area. As the years passed, the word spread and the event attracted even more winemakers from around the Little Carpathian region. The Little Carpathian Wine Route attracts wine lovers from near and far, wishing to sneak a peak at the history and tradition of the region. The event gives wine lovers the opportunity to taste wines from the entire Little Carpathian region directly in the wineries where it is produced, to talk about wine with producers and to learn about its secrets. The event also plays a significant role in increasing the awareness of culture of serving and drinking wine in the Little Carpathian region.

The ticket comes with a bag and a glass with the logo of the event, as well as a map marking all the participant and a wine passport – Wine Guide. The guide is full of information on the program, regional gastronomy, accommodation in nearby hotels and guesthouses along the Little Carpathian Wine Route, but above all a profile of each presenting winemaker complete with the short history of the winery. The two-day event (Friday and Saturday) gives you a chance to enjoy the atmosphere of wine cellars, exquisite wine and sample delicious food in the company of friends and soon-to-be friends.

The winemaker’s year in the Little Carpathian region route culminates in the harvest, the blessing of the wine and, above all, the Day of Open Cellars, which attracts thousands of visitors from all around Slovakia and abroad. Unlike the grape harvest or other events, this event takes place all over the Little Carpathian region from Bratislava to Trnava. Visitors armed with a wine passport and a tasting glass wander around the region, drawn by flickering lights of more than a hundred cellars where large and small wine producers, members of the Little Carpathian Wine Route civic association, await them. Even though the Little Carpathian Wine Route is an event wine lovers look forward to all year, fans of architecture, history or nature walks will enjoy themselves, too. After all, strolling along vineyards refreshes not only the body but also the soul!

Join thousands of lovers of the ancient drink and discover the treasures of local cellars on November 18 and 19 in the Little Carpathian wine region.