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The venue is a former monastery, that has had a varied life and a near death since the church was booted out during the Czech equivalent of Britain’s Reformation. At one stage it was home to part of the Army, and they are not usually careful about the buildings that they own, or manage. As a result maintenance was neglected and outright vandalism occurred in parts. The restoration is a slow process and only parts of the building are open for use. We were shown around, the winery is modern and has a retail shop, but parts of the building have leaking roofs, render falling off walls and a general air of neglect. Great potential, as they say in real estate adverts.

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The vaulted ceilings of the conference room were a real distraction as far as some of the papers went, and the lunches … huge and post-lunch sleep inducing. All managed by one wonderful woman who seemed to do everything, cooking, cleaning, organising and the lot.