What can one experience while studying at the Faculty of Central European Studies? Apart from education in the form of lectures, we can take part in various events related to tourism. On Friday, September 29, 2017, we attended the eighth annual Nitra Wine Festival. The festival was marked by the combination of Slovak traditions and French style. In the cellars of the Nitra Castle and the Pribina square, a presentation of wines from all corners of Slovakia along with their tasting took place. More than 50 wineries took part at the Festival. The largest group represented producers from the Nitra region, such as the Topolčianky Winery, the Trnovec Winery, the Mojmírovce Agricultural Cooperative, Teplan and Strelinger – Žitava’s vineyards. In addition, also southern Slovak vineyards – VVD Dvory nad Žitavou, Vintop Karkó, Chateau Marco, or the winemakers from the Tekov region – were provided with the possibility to present their products, not to mention the famous Tokaj and the wine-making icon of Skalica, Mr. Masaryk and his winery. This year’s novelty was an opportunity to taste and compare wines from two different worlds, since the invitation was also accepted by important winegrowers from the French regions of Champagne and Alsace, and regions of southern France. In individual cellars we could taste various wines, ask about wine production, its origin and about the main ingredients. The exhibited wines could be characterized by many adjectives, such as quality variety, quality brand, ice wine, cabinet wine, berry selection, straw wine or botrytized grapes selection.

It was an exceptional experience for us to attend such an event. Every one of us has acquired a great deal of knowledge about viniculture, which, we are sure, some of us will find useful in the future. We would like to thank not only the management of the Department of Tourism, but also Ms. Ing. Ľudmila Mazúchova, PhD., for the opportunity to attend the Wine Festival in Nitra.

Nikola Gálová, Tatiana Fabianová (third-year students of the Regional Tourism Studies)