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Current AffairsExperts question authenticity of burčák currently on sale
Burčák season is coming – but not, say experts, just yet. The end of
August sees a number of festivals kick off around the country in honour of
the sweet, deceptively fruit-juice-like, alcoholic drink. But with Czech
grapes still to ripen properly, experts are warning that the burčák
currently available is of dubious origin and a pale imitation of the real
deal. I spoke to the head of the National Wine Centre in Valtice, Pavel
Krška, to ask what made an authentic burčák:
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Current AffairsThe art of burčák-making
Wine lovers from countries such as France, Spain or Italy might often turn
up their noses at wine that is made in Moravia and Bohemia. But each year,
there comes a time when Czechs enjoy something unknown to those
wine-producing powers – the fresh, fruity and fizzy young wine known as
burčák. Jan Richter reports from South Moravia, the wine capital of the
Czech Republic.
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Current AffairsDozens of valuable artworks returned to Czech Republic
It’s not everyday you are given a budget of 10 million crowns (624,000
USD) and told to spend it all. But that’s exactly what a group of Czech
art experts were ordered to do by the government on Tuesday, in a bid to
bring home some of the Czech Republic’s lost art treasures. Christie’s
auction house in Amsterdam was putting more than 400 items from the
Liechtenstein family’s art collection under the hammer. Many of these
items had once hung on the walls of Czech chateaux. And following the sale,
that’s where many of them will be finding themselves once more.
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Current AffairsCzech government team sent to recover lost art treasures at Christie’s auction
Art lovers have good reason to visit Amsterdam next week. On Tuesday, the
Dutch branch of Christies auction house will be putting some very
interesting artefacts under the hammer – approximately 400 items from the
famous Liechtenstein art collection, one of the largest private art
collections in the world. Some of these items once graced a number of
Liechtenstein chateaux in the Czech lands and their administrators are now
holding their breath: a team of Czech civil servants is heading for
Amsterdam to try and buy some of them back.
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Letter from PragueSpring, summer, burcak, winter
On the rainy days of early September, when summer is just gone for another
year and the bleak, cold months of winter are approaching, people dwell on
darkest thoughts and their hearts sink into melancholy. But there is one
region in the Czech Republic where locals look forward to the beginning of
autumn more than any other time of the year.
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Current AffairsYoung Wine an Old Custom
A few weeks ago, the word burcak began to appear in the windows of pubs and
bars across the Czech Republic. It's the Czech word for young wine. But
what does it taste like, and why do Czechs drink it?
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Current AffairsBurcak: the traditional young Moravian wine in season again
Burcak the fermented young Moravian wine that appears on the market several
weeks into the start of the grape harvest is once again available in
Prague, a treat for connoisseurs and new-comers alike. Of course, Burcak
can be something of a wolf in sheep's clothing: its high-sugar and cloudy
juice-like content fooling some first-timers into underestimating its
punch.
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MagazineMagazine
The man who went to see the Prime Minister with a billy-goat and donkey in
tow. A new monastery has been consecrated in the Czech Republic - the
first in more than 600 years. And, philatelists travelled from near and
far to get the Roman Sebrle stamp at Prague's main post office. Find out
more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
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