Vino LoigiGeorgian Kvevri in Moravia
Vladimír Lojda. 2.5 hectares at the edge of Podyjí National Park. Biodynamic since 2014. Orange wines in buried Georgian kvevri, foot-treading, 8,500-year-old method. "A winemaker must visit the vineyards every day, and wine is made only by hands." Philosophy, history, literature.
CLAY
From museum studies to kvevri—Vladimír Lojda's literary journey into ancient winemaking.
Vino Loigi is a small winery in Znojmo founded by Vladimír Lojda in 2014. The name "Loigi" comes from what friends call him—a personal, intimate label for a deeply personal project. But wine was not his first calling: Vladimír studied museum science at university, dreaming of philosophy, history, and literature rather than farming [^68^][^89^].
His father's family were farmers in Moravia since at least 1596, but none made wine commercially. It was his maternal grandfather who made wine for family consumption and passed down the essential knowledge to young Vladimír. The grandfather's wisdom became the winery's foundation: "A winemaker must visit the vineyards every day, and wine is made only by hands" [^89^].
After university, Vladimír couldn't find work in his field—unemployment was high in the Czech Republic at the time. He took a temporary job at a winery and stayed for six years. In 2010, he found abandoned vineyards and planted Riesling, the variety he had always dreamed of working with. By 2012 and 2015, he had acquired more plots, and by 2014, the family could no longer drink everything they made—so Vino Loigi was born [^89^].
Today, the winery spans just 2.5 hectares divided between two distinct vineyard sites near Podyjí National Park. Vladimír is known for his love of Daniil Kharms and Mikhail Artsybashev—his favorite authors—and brings a literary, philosophical sensibility to natural winemaking [^89^].
"Wine is made only by hands—no additives, no selected yeasts, just time and terroir."
Vino Loigi practices biodynamic agriculture and natural winemaking with absolute commitment. In the vineyard, Vladimír has never used chemicals—the location within Podyjí National Park guarantees a healthy ecosystem free from industrial pollution or overpopulation. The vineyards are worked by hand, following the rhythms of nature and biodynamic principles [^68^][^89^].
The cellar is located in the historic center of Znojmo on Wenceslas Square—ancient stone vaults that provide natural temperature stability without artificial climate control. Additionally, bottle aging occurs in the deep sandstone cellars of Havraníky, where ideal conditions allow wines to mature slowly and develop complexity [^68^].
All grapes are processed using foot-treading or hand-mill crushing—literally made by hands as his grandfather taught. All wines are macerated on skins—white wines for a few days to start fermentation, orange wines for a month or even a full year in kvevri. Pressing is done on a handmade wooden press. Fermentation occurs spontaneously in wooden barrels or buried Georgian kvevri without additives or selected yeasts [^71^].
Wines age long on the lees (sur lie) with bâtonnage (lees stirring) for 6 to 12 months, building texture and depth. They are bottled without filtration and only minimal sulfur is added at bottling, if at all. The result is pure, living wine that expresses its specific vineyard, vintage, and the hands that made it [^71^].
Treading
Hand
Made
Two vineyards, two soils—granite & gneiss versus loess & limestone.
Popice — Granite & Gneiss
The first vineyard zone, Pod Lesem, lies along the Znojmo-Popice line. Here, 0.8 and 0.5 hectares feature southeast exposure at 250-320 meters elevation. The soil is granitic primitive subsoil with gneiss, quartz, and sandstone. Planted with Riesling (his dream variety), Müller Thurgau (1987 vines), Traminer, and Neuburger. Vladimír has recently replanted parts with experimental PIWI varieties (Johanitter, Helios, Hibernal)—fungus-resistant hybrids [^89^].
Havraníky — Loess & Limestone
The second vineyard, Skalky in Havraníky, covers 1 hectare on gentle southeast-facing slopes at 276-310 meters. This was once the coast of the Tertiary Sea—soils vary from sandstone to limestone and loess. Mean annual temperature is 9°C with low rainfall. Planted mainly with Grüner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Müller Thurgau, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling (vines from late 1990s). Wines from here show distinct marine minerality [^89^].
Podyjí National Park
Both vineyards sit on the edge of Podyjí National Park—one of the Czech Republic's most pristine natural areas. This location guarantees zero industrial pollution, healthy biodiversity, and balanced ecosystems. The national park status ensures that no chemical agriculture neighbors contaminate the vineyards, allowing truly organic and biodynamic farming to flourish [^68^].
Total Estate
Just 2.5 hectares total—intentionally small to maintain handcrafted quality. Production is approximately 5,000 bottles annually. Every vine is known personally, every row walked daily as his grandfather commanded. This is not agriculture but stewardship of place [^68^][^89^].
Three Elements, Kvevri Amber, Bubbles Touch—orange wines from buried clay.
Three Elements (Tři Živly)
The iconic orange wine—Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Pinot Blanc macerated on skins and fermented with wild yeasts in used barrels. Unfined, unfiltered, no added SO2. This is Vladimír's signature expression of Moravian terroir through the lens of ancient orange winemaking. The three varieties blend to create something greater than the sum—structured like red, bright like white, with the depth only skin contact can provide [^80^][^106^][^105^].
Kvevri Amber (Jantar)
The most profound expression of the winery—white grapes fermented and aged for a full year in buried Georgian kvevri clay amphorae. Following the 8,500-year-old Kakhetian method, grapes are crushed and placed in kvevri buried underground beneath a tree. The wine ferments with skins, seeds, and sometimes stems, then ages through winter. In spring, the clay lid is broken and the wine is drawn off. No filtration, no sulfur—pure ancient tradition in Moravian soil [^90^][^68^].
Bubbles Touch
Naturally sparkling wine made using the ancestral method (pét-nat). Fermentation finishes in the bottle, trapping natural CO2 and leaving the lees. Unfiltered, with the cloudy, lively character that defines pét-nat style. Fresh, vibrant, and utterly natural—Vladimír's interpretation of Moravian bubbles without technological intervention. Crown-capped and ready to party [^73^][^97^].
Ryzlink Rýnský (Riesling)
The dream variety that started it all. Planted in 2010 in the Pod Lesem vineyard on granite and gneiss soils. Spontaneous fermentation, long aging on lees with bâtonnage (6-12 months). Shows elegant classic Riesling character—nectarine, petrol, crushed stone—transformed by natural winemaking into something distinctly Loigi. Estate bottled from single vineyard [^69^][^89^].
Veltlínské Zelené (Grüner Veltliner)
Grüner Veltliner from Havraníky—the variety thrives on the loess and limestone soils of the Skalky vineyard. Vladimír makes this as both orange wine (macerated) and traditional white, but always with skin contact to activate fermentation and yeast. The Skalky terroir gives distinctive white pepper and citrus notes, enhanced by the marine minerality of the ancient seabed soils [^71^][^108^].
Pinot Blanc Cuvée
A real pork and dumplings wine—in the best possible way. Pinot Blanc (Rulandské bílé) direct pressed and fermented with native yeast, then aged 12 months on lees in neutral oak. Unfiltered, biodynamic, natural. Shows how even "simple" varieties gain complexity through patience and lees contact. Food-friendly, authentic, and unmistakably Moravian [^112^].
Rulandské Šedé (Pinot Gris)
Pinot Gris transformed through kvevri aging—the grey pinot's natural color deepens to amber through extended skin contact in clay. Fermented and aged in buried amphorae, this wine shows the texture of red wine with the aromatics of white. Part of Vladimír's experimental 50-liter demijohn micro-cuvées program where he tests different varieties from different sites [^89^].
Müller Thurgau Kvevri
Müller Thurgau from 1987 vines in Pod Lesem, transformed through full-year kvevri maceration. The old vines give concentration; the clay amphora gives structure and tannin. This is Vladimír's experimental side—taking a workhorse variety and elevating it through ancient Georgian technique. Also produced as micro-cuvées in 50-liter demijohns (66 bottles each) for testing [^89^].
Georgian Kvevri in Moravia
Kvevri buried underground
🏺 Before it was mainstream
8,500-year-old method
🌳 Under a tree
Vladimír bought his kvevri in 2012, "when it wasn't yet mainstream." Buried in the ground beneath a tree, these clay vessels from Georgia ferment and age wine for a full year—creating orange wines of extraordinary depth and authenticity.
The Literary Winemaker
Vladimír Lojda is not a typical farmer—he is a philosopher-winemaker who found his way to agriculture through literature and history. He never wanted to be a farmer; he loves Daniil Kharms and Mikhail Artsybashev, studied museum science, and approaches wine as an artifact of time and place [^89^].
His wines are micro-cuvées—literally experimental batches of just 50 liters (66 bottles) from specific varieties and specific vineyards, allowing him to observe how different grapes behave in different terroirs. This scientific-literary approach, combined with his grandfather's folk wisdom, creates wines that are simultaneously ancient and avant-garde.
Available internationally through Thirst Merchants, Atlas Wine Merchants, Raisin, Pure Wine NYC, and EJS Wine Shop, Vino Loigi represents the intellectual side of Moravian natural wine—wines made with books in one hand and dirt under the fingernails of the other [^106^][^112^][^72^].
- Founded 2014
- Vladimír Lojda
- Museum science
- Daniil Kharms fan
- Artsybashev reader
- 2.5 hectares
- 5,000 bottles
- Biodynamic
- No chemicals ever
- Podyjí National Park
- Pod Lesem vineyard
- Havraníky Skalky
- Granite & gneiss
- Loess & limestone
- Foot treading
- Hand mill crushing
- Handmade press
- Wooden barrels
- Georgian kvevri
- Buried amphorae
- Kvevri since 2012
- 8,500-year method
- Orange wines
- Skin maceration
- Sur lie aging
- Bâtonnage 6-12 mo
- Unfiltered
- No selected yeasts
- Minimal sulfur
- Three Elements
- Bubbles Touch
- Riesling specialist
- Grüner Veltliner
- Pinot Blanc
- Micro-cuvées
- 50-liter demijohns