Titled “Czech Wine Day”, a presentation was held in London on 27 April 2017, introducing the Czech Republic as a country offering high-quality wines, which in recent years have won prizes in international wine competitions. The event was organised by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in London together with the UK office of the CzechTourism agency, as part of the economic diplomacy project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The guests came from a wide spectrum including wine shops, importers of wines and alcoholic beverages, chains of hotels and restaurants, but also journalists and bloggers specialised in wine, gastronomy and tourism.

The Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Libor Sečka, opened the presentation in his residence. He mentioned that the Czech winemaking industry is already well-known to British wine connoisseurs, and he also reminded the guests that even Queen Elizabeth II had had the chance to familiarise herself with Moravian wine during her visit to the Czech Republic in 1996, a bottle of which she happily accepted as a gift on the occasion of Ambassador Sečka’s inaugural audience in 2016.

The event then continued with a presentation by the professional Czech sommelier, Aleš Pokorný. He introduced the guests to the historical and current forms of wine cultivation in the Czech Republic, focusing especially on the region of Moravia and its typical wine varieties. He also emphasised the current international success of wines from Moravian region of the Czech Republic.

Following the presentation, the representatives of the seven Moravian wineries of Templářské sklepy Čejkovice, Sonberk, Nové vinařství, Vinařství Ludwig, Reistein, Vinařství Jakubík and AnnoVino Lednice presented their wines to the attending guests, and together with their British partners discussed the possibilities for cooperation and further expansion onto the British market. The smartphone application Czech Wine Day, developed by the Czech company ADAMAPP, contributed to the success of this event by providing the participants with information and contact details of the wineries in attendance.

The British wine market is very competitive, with on one hand wines from all over the world being imported and consumed, and on the other a rising domestic wine production, most notably that of sparkling wines. Nonetheless, the British wine market continues to offer interesting business opportunities for Czech producers of high-quality and unique wine.