overview about the place The Baba Vineyard is exceptional in many ways. It is Prague’s only certified organic vineyard, and the gentle and close-to-nature care of the vines gives not only produces some unique organic wines, but also provides a habitat for some rare species of flora and fauna. On a visit to the vineyard, you can encounter the beautiful and endangered European green lizard, and admire the Nopal or prickly pear cactus from Mexico. The Baba Vineyard, with thousands of heads of Pinot Noir, Hibernal and Neronet (there are plans to plant other, traditional varieties), was restored on the original vineyard slopes in the 1990s and is now the only vineyard to continue the very best of the rich tradition of Czech winemaking in Hanspaulka, Baba and Prague in general. more about the place The vineyard lies on the edge of the Baba protected area, where vines have been cultivated since ancient times. The Dejvice and Hanspaulka vineyards have a tradition dating back to the early 15th century and the reign of that great wine lover, Czech King Wenceslas IV. Now a unique residential district with some exquisite functionalist mansions by architects such as Pavel Janák, Josef Gočár and others, it was originally home to 130 vineyards, which gradually disappeared, first during the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War and then after 1922 owing to the extensive development of what are now Dejvice, Hanspaulka and Baba. All that remains of the vineyards now are the street names. Not to mention the romantic ruin of Baba, originally built in 1650 by Servác Engel as a vineyard summer house. After 1673 the vineyard was given the beautiful name “Čechorodka”, having been bought by the Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vítus, Tomáš Pešina of Čechorod. During the War of the Austrian Succession, the summer house was destroyed by Bavarian and French troops and was not rebuilt until 1858, as the romantic castle ruin of Baba. The vines are cared for naturally by a true “baba”, or “woman”, owner Dita Jandová. It is the slate bedrock that gives the local red rosé and sparkling wines their unique mineral tang and taste. You can arrange with the owner to visit the vineyard, taste the wines or hire the place out for social events. You can enjoy the local wines, as well as some enchanting views of Prague and, of course, get a glimpse of those agile guardians of the vineyard, the rare green lizards.