The house on Hlinky No. 56 is the lowest building in the street, but the wine tradition has left indelible traces here - an extensive cellar labyrinth. It is the house where Alfréd Reissmann founded his wine wholesaling business in 1868.
From the descendants of this company we also learned the interesting history of the production of the famous Brno specialty - dessert spiced wine known later as Metropol. At the time of the company's existence, however, the special sweet wine was called "Red Carp" and was very popular among consumers. Felix Reissmann brought the original recipe for its production directly from Italy after his return from the First World War. The product, which was made from claret wine to which macerates of 32 types of herbs were added in a special proportion, was classified as a vermouth. The alcohol content ranged from 15 % to 18 %, and the main ingredient, wormwood, with its bitter taste, provided a beneficial and stimulating effect on the digestive tract. The finished product, however, had to be matured in barrels for several weeks before it could be bottled. The cellars of the Reissmann factory were also well equipped with these casks, and as the size of the casks exceeded the dimensions of the underground access passages, they had to be assembled directly in the individual cellar cubicles. However, the prosperous company had to close down in 1948.
The cellars and corridors, which are almost a quarter of a kilometre long, were built during the 18th century. In 2006, the cellars were still equipped with giant barrels and wine-making technology. But it was the last moment of their long history. The mould-ridden wood was no longer able to withstand the ravages of time and gradually disappeared from the places where the sought-after delicacies of Brno's restaurants and wine bars had been maturing for centuries in a cool and untouched by civilisation environment.