Czech wine country

Deb, car would not be needed if you want to go just to Mikulov, Lednice or nearby Valtice. There is also Pavlov (nearby Mikulov) with many wine cellars, big lake and Palava hills - with a little bit of fantasy you can think you are in Toscany. You can read about that area in Rick Steves book Prague & the Czech Republic. Not too far from Mikulov is a bigger town of Znojmo - historical, with many wine cellars. Then east and southeast of Brno is a region called Slovacko with strong folklife traditions and a lot of wine and wine cellars. Consider at least Petrov with beautifully ornamented wine cellars called Plze (read Plzhe), Straznice, Uherske Hradiste (where is the biggest folklife wine festival in the country - unfortunately for you in September). If you make it there you can visit wine cellars in the neighborhood called Maratice and also Slovacke Museum about folklife traditions of the region. Signs and descriptions are also in English. In late April a lot of villages and towns have wine tastings after competition so each wine has points. It's a big event for the village where wine makers, local people and visitors mingle sharing opinions about wine. It is usually accompanied by local (or from nearby village) dulcimer band which plays regional folksongs (mostly about wine, love, horses and some about long time ago wars). There is a calendar of these actions which is supposed to be finalized after November 2nd. I intend to check it and give you some tips. If you haven't done it yet, just google Czech wine country. You find a lot of information. On this website (you can switch it to English) you will read about wine cellar in chateau Valtice where you can taste 100 samples of the best wines of the Czech Republic. I am not recommending to taste all 100 samples in one session. http://www.salonvin.cz
If you want to see more than just Mikulov and Lednice, car would be useful. But remember, driver is not drinking. There is zero tolerance of alcohol behind the wheel in the Czech Republic. You can also rent a car in smaller towns like Uherske Hradiste, etc.

Deb, if you are still interested in spending few days in C.R. wine country I found something for you or anybody else interested. It's a beautiful wine action. It will be like real Europe through the back door. The wine tasting in Slovacko (traditional region in southeast Moravia) with regional folk costumes, folksongs and of course wine. Wine tasting there is different than in France, California, New Zealand, Washington, Oregon or who knows where. Wine tasting is part of life, culture. It's very hard to be an abstinent and live in Slovacko. Here is the website:
http://www.vinarskecentrum.cz/vinarske-akce/7912-festival-otevrenych-sklepu-jaro-na-straznicku
Unfortunately it is only in Czech. Try translator. I will translate the important stuff:
Festival of Opened Wine Cellars - Spring at Straznice Region
Dates: April 23rd and 24th 2016
Town: Straznice
Place: wine villages at Straznice region - Straznice, Blatnice pod Svatym Antoninkem, Kozojidky and Petrov
Description: It is already 19th Festival of Opened cellars. There will be 30 opened cellars. You will taste wine right from the hands of winemakers. There will be cultural programs such as local folk music and other programs and also regional food specialities.
Price of the ticket includes tasting of all samples, entrance to all 30 cellars, printed guide, tasting wine glass, stylish bag, use of festival bus transport between villages (they are apart 5 to 10 miles). Wine cellars open on Saturday from 10 am to 9 pm with following evening program; Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Both days there is an option to buy wine.
Central registration place will be open in Straznice on Saturday 8 am to 3 pm and on Sunday 10 am to 12 pm. The shuttle between villages will be free with ticket.
Tickets in e-shop Nadace Partnerstvi or in Ticketstream
Kontakt email: otevrene.sklepy@nap.cz
IMHO the most beautiful wine cellars are in Petrov. Google vinne sklepy Plze Petrov and look under images and more images.
Practicalities: All young people speak English, some of them better than others. It's a mandatory language at school.
Now I myself regret that I will arrive to C.R. two days after it's over. But there is always something going on there.

Thank you both for your replies. I had already researched the information about the Wine Salon at the headquarters in Valtice. The new info on the festival sounds very interesting. We can certainly alter our trip to go there, I just have to get the additional info translated. It is nice there is info in English on the festival and tickets. Now I just have to find a place to stay and how to get there! Thanks so much for that information. I will report back on the festival if we get there, which I am really going to try to do!
Thanks again! I knew I could count on this community to help me!

Deb, it's not both. It's just me. I promised I would come back when more information about wine tasting is published. If you can, do wine tasting in the Salon of Wine (the best one hundred samples from C.R.) and Days of Open Wine cellars in Straznice - it's not just wine tasting, it's a cultural event. I can almost guarantee that you won't see many other tourists there (that's what I like). Valtice and Straznice are only about 40 miles apart. That's why I think you could try both.
Accommodation: try hotel Straznice in Straznice. In the unlikely event it is full, google accommodation in Straznice, plenty of options. But IMHO hotel Straznice is the best there.
How to get there: by car - I think the fastest from Prague - on freeway all the way to Breclav then north on road 55 (fast road) you will see direction to Hodonin then maybe Straznice or just Uherske Hradiste but when you get closer there will be sign for Straznice. Straznice is before UH. By train from Prague: You will find the information on http://www.idos.cz You can switch it to English.
I think I translated important information. If you find something which is only in Czech, try your computer translator; if that does not work well, let me know and I will translate it for you.

Sorry, I meant to thank you for both your replies. I have sent at email to the Hotel Straznice, I hope they will have accommodations. I really hope to go to the festival in Straznice, that is the type of thing I enjoy the most. As we have plans in Vienna Sunday night, we probably will just have time to visit on Friday and Saturday. I hope to avoid renting a car, I prefer to use the bus or train. I also checked some of the hotels on the festival website. Hopefully, we will be able to get a room at the Hotel Straznice.
Thank you so much for your wonderful help! I am getting very excited about going to this festival. It may be the highlight of the trip for me. My niece has never been out of the US, so it will be an unbelievable experience for her!