The tiny (approx. pop. 3,700) village of Mutěnice, in the South Moravia region of the Czech Republic, is inextricably tied to viticulture- just take one look at their municipal seal, dated 1613, with the grapevine front and center. Jaroslav Tesarik and Pavlína Tesaříková and their family make up Dlúhé Grefty- “long vineyard row”- seeking to discover and express the Mutěnice terroir through experimentation, thoughtfulness, intentionality, and utmost care of their land. Pavlína is the head of the business and assists with vineyard work, while Jaroslav is the winemaker and farmer. Jaroslav purchased the vineyard in 2008 seeking a hobby to dive into in his spare time, and produced his first wine in 2013. Since then they’ve expanded to 1.5ha of land in total, composed of 8 small plots- Zárybnické, Okrouhlické, Vazové I & II, Dubičí, Přední hora, Zadní hora, and Zmrzlák- all farmed organically. They favor beneficial plants in the vineyard in an effort to increase biodiversity and use no herbicides or pesticides. In the cellar they employ spontaneous fermentation, age in oak barrels, and most of the whites see some time on skins. They use some sulfur at bottling, occasionally, and never fine or filter.

We didn’t find enough articles about Jaroslav, but luckily he offers a window into his life and philosophy through his blog:)
Jaroslav takes a poetic and insightful approach to his winemaking. He wants to be useful, as he says- he is inspired by wine’s role as a cultural drink, a drink of joy to bring people together. And he loves to be around his vines- he’ll be sure to stop by on a Sunday stroll and just admire the land, taking pleasure in its existence. He says, “if you really want to farm, you have to love the land.”

Jaroslav is an experimental and individualistic winemaker who both understands and relishes the role- a good steward of the land, a creative craftsperson, and a deliverer of enjoyment to the people. Rubra Mixtura- St Laurent, Blauer Portugieser, Pinot Noir- sits squarely in the Burgenland style with some extra juice and a little Slavik twang to it. It’s brambly and dry with a baked fruit/sumac nose- pithy cherry, low alcohol, and fresh.