In centuries following, the Moravian wine industry was to encounter its upturns and downturns. Following on the Middle Ages, when viticulture was primarily the prerogative of the church and aristocracy, came the 16th century – the golden age of Moravian grape cultivation. But the century which followed, with its periods of war and invasions by foreign armies, led to depopulation of settlements, vineyards falling into decay, and an overall decline in the region. The post-war restoration of the vineyards lay predominantly in the hands of the country population. It was at that time that the wine cellar and so-called búda (see below) became common - two important economic, social and architectural elements of the Moravian village ever after. The history, atmosphere and appearance of cellars and wine-cellar lanes in the more than sixty vine growing villages and towns presented in this guide are captured in the words of Rudolf Malík, a viticulture pedagogue. In 1936, he wrote:

The ‘búda’ is a small cottage added to the cellar itself. It serves the purpose of retaining the direct effect of sunrays and in this way it contributes to the preservation of uniform temperature in the cellar. Búdas may be found either directly within the village or outside by the vineyards, either standing on their own or in clusters, several búdas standing together. Such a colony of búdas can make an almost depressing impression on an uninformed stranger. He considers búdas to be abandoned farmhouses and the whole mysterious settlement a place of the dead. But such an assumption is an enormous delusion. Búdas may not be permanently inhabited; still they are often a place of great merry-making.         

History

Accept therefore, please, our invitation to Southern Moravia, to a region of abundant nature, shining sun and hospitable people. We will guide you through the lanes of Petrov with its cellars protected as a national cultural heritage and take you to Vlčnov, where there is a unique grouping of búdas without cellars. You’ll see examples of folk cellar architecture in Blatnice and grand homes built over the cellars of Pavlov. You will visit an extraordinary complex of cellars dug in seven levels, one above the other, in Vrbice, as well as ancient localities in the region of Znojmo that have not altered their appearance for centuries. You will learn the past and present of grape cultivation in the south of Moravia, of ancient legends and customs, of present-day life in wine-cellar lanes and life as it was in the times of our ancestors. You will discover a region where grape cultivation and wine itself have inspired folk songs, customs and traditions; and where work in vineyard and cellar still informs the rhythm of life and shapes the souls of the local people. In cellar lanes and in individual viticultural settlements, you will meet winegrowers who will teach you how to understand and savour wine. Wander with us between the rows of grapes and into the romantic retreats of cellar lanes. Visit a region of gregarious people and places where time stands still. Time may stand still for you too: one does not age during the time spent in a wine cellar...    

You can also hit the road on a bike to uncover the mysteries of wine cellars. There's a dense network of wine trails maintained by the foundation “Partnerství / Partnership”.  You'll find a general description of individual routes in the introduction to every individual subregion. This book also contains reference maps which include four wine growing subregions and eleven wine trails, which might serve to inspire you to plan a single-day trip or a several-day fact-finding tour of the wine-cellar lanes of Southern Moravia.