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NEW NORMAL

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic produces about quality even when it comes at a higher reasona-
0.25% of world wine production, which co- ble price.“
vers approximately 1/3 of the wine consumpti- The general view of the wine industry is
on of 10 million inhabitants of the Czech picturesque cellars with old barrels and a fa-
Republic. The wine industry in the Czech Re- mily atmosphere. Tomáš Šupa is the owner of
public is not large, but it is focused on quality large wineries Mutěnice, Neoklas Šardice and
and variety. It enjoys the great respect of the Vino Pezinok: „However, most of the produc-
nation, also because it has remained largely in tion takes place in large wineries, such as ours.
the hands of Czech owners. For those who focus more on gastronomy, last
How did Covid-19 affect the production year was a disaster. We are better off because
and consumption of wine in the Czech Re- we make most of our sales through large sales
public? Just out of curiosity: networks. We are important partners for small
The restriction of travel between countries wine-growers during the crisis, because we buy
has caused complications during the grape their grapes and wines from them. Last year, we
harvest, which for many years has relied on bought a record quantity of grapes from dozens
wine pickers from Slovakia and the countries of smaller growers. So we provide them with
of Southeast Europe. The harvest estimated cash flow.“
at 90-95 thousand tons was above average, as Losses in the amount of several millions CZK
was the quality. Czechs value their traditional associated with Covid were caused by the go-
winemaking, so thanks to various social initi- vernment‘s ban on folklore tasting events typi-
atives and challenges, people who usually just cally associated with grape harvest. For exam-
drink wine participated in the harvest. Some ple, organizers of the Pálava Grape Harvest
of them spent their holidays in the vineyard Feast, usually visited by over 50,000 visitors,
for the first time, so the good harvest eventua- had to delete it from the calendar for the first
lly got into barrels and vats. time in 72 years. Znojmo‘s Historical Grape
„September and December were the most su- Harvest Festival attracts up to 100,000 visitors
ccessful months of the year for Znovín Znojmo. and the square and the streets, usually full of
We can be satisfied with the last year‘s numbers,“ stalls and music became abandoned.
Pavel Vajčner, the director of the company, In addition, according to economists, the
said in an interview. „Sales in hotels and restau- price of wine is expected to increase during
rants dropped to 10 to 20 percent last year, but the rest of the year, which will only intensify
our segment of physical customers, our fan club, the trend towards cheaper wines. „Wine lovers
bought a lot of wine, so it substituted the income drink it more often at home, which plays into the
from closed restaurants.“ hands of larger producers who have a better ma-
„The current trend is to spare. Consumers are naged distribution,“ Lidl economist Iveta Bara-
turning to cheaper products. The current situa- bášová says.
tion with COVID-19 only supports this,“ confirms „Even the smallest are helped a lot by the origi-
Martin Půček, the Executive Director of the nal Czech project Our Bottles / Lahvotéka. A group
Czech Winegrowers Association. The president of young people has programmed a virtual mar-
of the association, Tibor Nitray, also thinks that ketplace and provides individual „stands“ for
about a fifth of customers decide on the basis winemakers as an easy-to-manage i-shop,“ wi-
of price. „However, the part of consumers that nemaker Jiří Maděřič praises. „Thanks to them,
we call “educated“ is willing to pay for higher really everyone can sell their wine online.“ ƅ
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