📍 Nitra

Nitra is a wine district in south-western Slovakia, around the city of Nitra. The city lies at the foot of Zobor mountain in the Nitra river valley about 90 kilometres north-east of Bratislava. It is one of the oldest cities in Slovakia; it was once the centre of the Principality of Nitra. The district is part of Slovak wine and is protected as a PDO.

Slovakia has six wine regions: Little Carpathian, South Slovak, Nitra, Central Slovak, East Slovak and Tokaj. The Nitra region is one of them. Slovak wines are mostly white.

Growers plant Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling and Müller-Thurgau. Grüner Veltliner gives wines with a peppery aroma and fresh acidity, Welschriesling gives light ones, and Müller-Thurgau soft, floral ones. Slovakia makes various styles, including sweet wines from dried and frozen grapes.

One detail underlines the history of Slovak winemaking: in the early nineteenth century the territory of present-day Slovakia was a major supplier of wines to European courts, with up to 57,000 hectares of vineyards. Nitra is the fifth-largest city in Slovakia, with about 78,000 inhabitants.