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Along with the beginning season inspectors of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) commenced to inspect sellers of half-fermented wine. So far, they have checked 65 stalls and shops where they have in 15 cases identified deficiencies. For now, the inspectors focus mainly on checking the satisfaction of hygiene requirements, correct labelling and inspecting the documents on the origin of products.

The majority of sellers have apparently taken a lesson from last years inspections and apart from few exceptions they satisfied all hygiene requirements. In spite of this, CAFIA found out that in several cases half-fermented wine was sold in used PET bottles, sometimes there was no running potable water or potable water in reservoirs.

Not all sellers know that according to the new Act on viticulture and wine making, they are obliged to inform their customers about the producer of half-fermented wine. Some sellers have been trying to fob the customers off, others even attempted to fool CAFIA inspectors by making up non-existing producers´ names or business identification numbers. In such cases an administrative procedure was initiated and its result will be a fine.

CAFIA also identified a curious situation when a seller marketed “sour cherry half-fermented wine”. According to the Wine Act, no other beverage may be labelled as “half-fermented wine” than half-fermented must produced from grapes grown in Bohemia or Moravia. Even beverages produced from grapes imported into the CR from other EU countries must not be labelled as “half-fermented wine”. What more, legislation does not allow to manufacture wine from grapes imported from third countries. It is clear that “half-fermented wine” can not be produced from other fruit than from grapes.

Consumers are advised to avoid buying half-fermented wine which is sold at stalls along roads or which is “pre-packed” in PET bottles or when the seller is not able to inform them about the origin of half-fermented wine. The clue for purchasers can be its colour. This should be yellow, ochre or beige, but not brown or darker.

CAFIA inspectors will keep checking half-fermented wine and in the near future they will begin to take samples in order to check the content of added, so called exogenous water.

Other information on wine and half-fermented wine can be found on