You likely don’t think of a rich selection of local wines when you think of the Czech Republic. And yet, Moravia has no shortage of vineyards and Czechs even have their own wine-esque – Burčák. What is it? When and where can you find it? Let’s take a look!
Burčák
What is it?
Burčák is not fully ‘wine’ per se – it’s actually a partly-fermented wine, available only during the wine season, meaning from late August till November. We can only speak of burčák if it comes from the fermentation of local Czech grapes – it’s actually a EU-protected product. It’s typically about 5-8% and can be found practically anywhere near the Moravian wine regions.
Be careful when buying burčák, as, due to the short shelf-life due to it being partly fermented, there are no official branded long-term sellers – instead, these are typically sold in either cups, bottles or in bars. As such, you should keep a few things in mind: burčák is typically light yellow or clean pinkish red if it’s from red wine grapes. The liquid should be clean and without sediment at the bottom. If there is sediment or the colour turns brown, you may be either dealing with an improperly produced or stored burčák or something that isn’t even burčák to begin with. Also, due to the fermentation still going in burčák, it’ll actually fizz! If it’s fizzing, then you can feel safe.
When should you drink burčák?
Wine season
As we’ve said, burčák is only produced during the period of August – November. This is not only because it’s simply the wine season, but it’s also a formal binding regulation – sellers outside of this window are not only scammers but are also offering illegal services. We’d usually say that early September is the sweet spot, though this window also depends on the weather in a given year, as this may delay the harvest.
In general, try to either find proper wine stalls during festivals, as these will typically be transparent about where their burčák comes from, or a wine bar near the region. If someone is offering you brown dirty burčák at a street stall or trying to sell it to you beyond the August-November window, it’s unlikely they’re offering burčák in the first place. Also, you won’t find good burčák far from the wine region, as it doesn’t handle travel very well.
You can also check out the list of official wine events in the Czech Republic here and find an official burčák event!
How to drink burčák?
A few tips
Though burčák may have only up to about 8% alcohol, it actually tastes a bit like soda due to the fizz. Though this may sound wonderful, it’s why we recommend being very careful with drinking it, as it can demolish you surprisingly quickly. It also doesn’t help that it’s often sold in 1.5 litre bottles. Also, be careful with tightening the cap too much, as it can explode. It also just doesn’t taste all that good once you open it a few times, so don’t keep it waiting too long.
As for drinking it, it’s typically consumed at about room temperature – no warming it up, no freezers, nothing. The no-fridge rule is quite important, as the sudden change of temperature would stop the fermentation – we don’t want that.
How much does burčak cost?
Cena Burczaka w Czechach
How much does a bottle of burčák cost? The price for a small glass starts at about 10 CZK – for a bottle, you’ll typically pay about 80-160 CZK, depending on the size.
We highly recommend giving burčák a shot, though please do so responsibly. Czechs also make other excellent wines in their southern wine regions, so we highly recommend stocking up on some of those too!
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