Survey: Czechs are drinking wine more often and spending more on it!

Czechs prefer domestic wines for their better taste and quality, they drink wine more often and are willing to pay more for good wine.  Among consumers there is also an increasing number of women. 

Wine is enjoyed by 75 % of the adult population in the Czech Republic, which is a relatively stable long-term indicator.  Along with this evolution, however, comes the consumers’ perception of what is a quality wine.  More and more Czechs are now able to appreciate fine wine, which is reflected in their willingness to spend more money on really good wine.  As compared to 2012, the average monthly spending on wine has gone up by 65 crowns to 379 CZK.  Czechs are now happy to take as much as 155 CZK out of their wallets to buy a bottle of wine for their personal consumption, which is 33 CZK more than in 2012.  But their friends and family are even better off as the Czech consumer is going one step further by buying them wine for as much as 229 CZK as a gift.   

Czechs’ total monthly spending on wine, however, does not only go on more expensive wines, but on those of better quality generally.  Wine is also being consumed more often, and when it is, a little more is being drunk each time.  One third of all respondents said they now drink wine more often and half of these drink the same amount of wine as compared to 2012.  Since 2012 there has also been a decrease in the number of drinkers who do not consume more than 2 decilitres of wine at one sitting, but on the other hand a slight increase in the number of those who indulge between 3 decilitres to whole 0.75 litre bottle.  On average they consume 0.53 litres of wine per week, generally during the evening.  They prefer to drink in the company of people they like, most often while visiting friends (25%), at home with a partner (19%) or during family celebrations (16%).  

"Moravian and Bohemian wines present a clear quality choice for the Czech consumer.  60% of Czechs prefer them whilst only fewer than one tenth of consumers show a preference for foreign production.  Wines from Moravia and Bohemia are the closest to the Czech heart and they prefer them in the main because of their better and on the whole more satisfying taste and high quality.  Through their purchase they are also happy to lend their support to Moravian and Bohemian producers," commented Jaroslav Machovec, director of the Wine Fund which has been following wine consumers’ habits since 2006 through the results of regular surveys.

Hand in hand with this greater preference for wines of quality goes an awareness of the Wines of Moravia and Wines of Bohemia brand.  Some 78% of wine drinkers are already acquainted with this slogan which, in comparison with 2012, shows a rise of 8%.  The Wines of Moravia, Wines of Bohemia brand has become for them the definitive purchasing guideline.  

Among white wines the most popular varieties with consumers are Pálava (16%), Pinot Gris (14%), Chardonnay (13%), Sauvignon Blanc (13%) and Gewurztraminer (12%), while among red wines they prefer Blauer Portugieser (17%) , Lemberger (17%) and Saint Laurent (13%). 

And just who are the Czech wine drinkers? They are experts and enthusiasts, regular and occasional drinkers, demanding and undemanding, but one segment of the vinous population is worth mentioning because it has never appeared so markedly in any of the previous surveys.  These are the younger female wine lovers. A sizeable group of women (15% of all wine drinkers) has materialised out of nowhere and drinks almost a quarter (24%) of all wine in the Czech Republic, i.e. around 3 decilitres of wine per week more than the average wine consumer.  Women mostly afford themselves wine in the company of either their partner or friends and wine counts as an integral part of recreation and having a good time. 

The main places for making purchases are supermarkets and hypermarkets in which 6 out of 10 Czechs buy wine, while 42% of them buy wine here most often.  Then there is a third that buys wine in wine shops and also a fifth that goes right to the producers themselves.  Wines are selected mainly on the basis of previous experience, the majority of purchasers focusing on proven brands, wineries and types of wine, whilst also taking advice and not being shy to taste new products.  

About the survey  

Since 2006 the Wine Fund has been regularly commissioning surveys on consumer attitudes towards Moravian and Bohemian wines on a representative sample of over one thousand respondents.  The main indicators are the popularity, perceived quality, brand awareness and preference for our wines, regardless of price.