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The new Wine Act (Act No. 321/2004 Coll., on viticulture and wine making) assigned new competencies to the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA), according to which CAFIA decides, within the Commission for Wine Evaluation and Classification, under which designation domestic wines will be placed on the market.

The purpose of wine evaluation and classification is that wines of respective quality category with appropriate designation reach consumers. Therefore, each domestic producer who wishes to sell wines of better quality than table or country wines must submit samples of his wine to the Commission, along with results of analysis from accredited or approved laboratory. The Commission members then assess whether the wine in question correspond to the category declared by the winemaker.

The Commission members are appointed by CAFIA Director General, Jakub Šebesta. The members of the Commission are experts from the ranks of wine inspectors, but also representatives of producers – in particular cellarmen or technologists, sommeliers and wine merchants. The work of the Commission is ensured by the CAFIA inspectorate in Brno.

The Inspection Authority reconstructed part of the building of the Brno inspectorate for the work of the Commission. The evaluation of wine samples includes assessment of their sensory properties – appearance, colour, smell and taste. For this reason, premises where the evaluation takes place must be as less disturbing as possible – for example, the room is painted in white, similarly, the equipment is white. Seven tasting boxes are technically equipped so that they comply with relevant European standards. Each box is equipped with own stainless steel sensor taps and tables with back light working desks. At the back of air-conditioned tasting room there is tempered preparation room equipped with high capacity cooling container. The total cost of the reconstruction and the equipment amounted to about CZK 1,300,000.

Only last year the Commission for Wine Evaluation and Classification met more than eighty times and evaluated 3 932 samples of which 3 792 were classified. Since the beginning of this year, the Commission has already classified 1 500 samples of domestic wines during 30 meetings. Samples of white varieties (about 66%) outnumber red varieties (about 34%).

PHOTO (CAFIA): Attached photographs document the work of CAFIA’s Commission for Wine Evaluation and Classification.