ACTA UNIVERSITATIS AGRICULTURAE ET SILVICULTURAE MENDELIANAE BRUNENSIS Volume LX 43 Number 2, 2012 STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF VARIETAL VINEYARDS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC J. Sedlo, P. Tomšík Received: November 30, 2011 Abstract SEDLO, J., TOMŠÍK, P.: Strategic development of varietal vineyards in the Czech Republic. Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun., 2012, LX, No. 2, pp. 325–334 The paper describes strategic changes in the structure of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) varieties grown in the Czech Republic. In 2004–2005, (i.e. a er the admission of the Czech Republic into the EU) expenditures associated with restructuralisation and transformation of vineyards amounted for CZK 25,423 thous. The authors examine the development taking place in this domain within the last 50 years (i.e. from 1960 to 2010) and pay detailed attention to the period of 1989 to 2010. The paper analyses reasons of these changes and tries to describe the future development expected a er 2010. The current production potential of the Czech Republic are 19,633.45 hectares of vineyards. For the time being, there are in average 1.07 wine growers per hectare of vineyards. As compared with 1960, the acreage of vineyards has doubled up and the number of the most frequent varieties has also increased. Within the period of 1989–1990, four varieties (i.e. Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling and Sankt Laurent) occupied more than 60 % of the total vineyards area in the Czech Republic, whereas at present there are altogether 8 varieties (Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling, Rhein Riesling, Sauvignon, Sankt Laurent, Blaufrankish, and Zweigeltrebe) at the nearly the same acreage. As far as the percentages of Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling and Sankt Laurent varieties is concerned, it is anticipated that their acreages will further decrease, whereas those of Rhein Riesling, Sauvignon, Blaufrankish and Zweigeltrebe are expected to grow. The industry is under pressure of all Porter’s fi ve forces of competition from external sources. strategy, structure, attractiveness, trends, grapevine varieties, development, popularity of varieties, vineyard area In the course of years, not only the economic 2004. This restructuralisation was induced by importance of individual industries but also of economic and political changes of 1989, which their structure is changing. This means that it is enabled the introduction of the Act on viticulture necessary to change and modify also the strategy and winemaking, 1995. In 2004, the Czech Republic of each industry under study. As far as viticulture entered into the European Union and for that reason and oenology are concerned, it is obvious that both it was necessary to amend and pass the new Act No. of them are of strategic character and that also the 3321/2004 Coll., on viticulture and wine making. decisions about their future and development are of The Czech national legislation on viticulture was a long-time nature. further specifi ed and during this process several A er 1989, Czech viticulture passed through related acts were passed by the parliament (e.g. a period of marked changes that concerned Act No. 179/2005 Coll., Act No. 444/2005 Coll., Act crucial and strategic decisions about the choice No. 215/2006 Coll., Act No., 311/2008 Coll., Act of prospective assortment of grapevine varieties No. 227/2009 Coll., and Act No. 281/2009 Coll., and structure of vineyards. The most important which all amended the preceding legal standards). changes took place within the period of 2000– In this context it is necessary to emphasise that all 325 326 J. Sedlo, P. Tomšík these legislative changes concerning viticulture and, subsequently, also legislative changes) and and oenology resulted in deep positive changes as to assess if they were caused by changes of other far as the Czech wine producers were concerned. factors functioning in the exogenous environment CUERVO-CAZURA & DAU (2009) analysed of the wine industry. pro-market reforms and fi rm profi tability in developing countries and mentioned also the MATERIAL AND METHODS necessity of changes in this fi eld. As mentioned by ŠKORPÍKOVÁ (2004), it is necessary to monitor and The evaluation of the development of and changes evaluate continuously impacts of common market in varietal structure of vineyards was performed organisation (CMO) for wine on wine market in on the base of historical data about percentages of individual countries. This problem concerns not individual grapevine varieties grown in the present only Czech Republic but also Spain (BORTOLÓ, territory of the Czech Republic, earlier results of 2009) and it is quite natural that these changes were fi eld surveys performed by the Českomoravská infl uenced also by fl uctuations taking place in vinohradnická a vinařská unie (Czech and preferences of individual varieties and by changes in Moravian Union of Viticulturists and Wine Makers) consumers demand for red and white wines. performed within the period of 1994–1996, and data The attractivity of the industry under study raised stored in the register of vineyards kept at the Central an interest to study it not only from the traditional Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture viewpoint of technological issues but also from that (CISTA). This register was established in accordance of management and economics (TOMŠÍK, ŽUFAN, with provisions of the Act No. 115/1995 Coll., on SEDLO, 2006). ČERNÍKOVÁ (2004) compared the viticulture and wine making, which entered into Czech and Austrian wine markets and investigated the legal force on 1 Sept. 1995 and, subsequently, endogenous factors infl uencing the overall pursuant provisions of the Act No. 321/2004 Coll., on situation in this industry. Some other authors viticulture and wine making as amended. In this case compared situations existing the Czech Republic the reliable data could be used since the year 1997. and Slovakia (DUDA, 2004), Spain (HRABALOVÁ, All these data were also confronted with information 2004), and Germany (ČERNÍKOVÁ & ŽUFAN of the Czech Statistical Offi ce about acreages of (2004). BENTZEN & SMITH (2009) corroborated production vineyards in the Czech Republic. The justifi cation of such studies in their paper about investigation was focused on the period 1960– wine growing in a small country (Denmark). 2010. When evaluating causes of changes taking CHLÁDKOVÁ (2004) analysed the structure of place in the varietal structure of vineyards within vineyards in the Czech Republic and paid attention the last two decades (i.e. 1990–2010), we have used to future prospects of the Czech wine market. Some data about percentages of white and red grapes problems of the world production of wine were and about their average prices as collected by the investigated by Italian scientists BACARELLA & Czech and Moravian Union of Viticulturists and CORONA (2008). It was (and still is) necessary to Wine Makers and, later on, by the Winegrowers study and evaluate eff ects of moving forces of this Union of the Czech Republic and their members. industry, above all of bargaining power of sellers To visualize results of this analysis, various kinds of and buyers operating inside and outside the wine graphs (frequency polygon, pie charts, histograms industry. When evaluating developmental trends, etc.) were used (HINDLS, HRONOVÁ, NOVÁK, it is possible to use information about other 1999). Estimations of the future development of products and other markets (ANAND, MESQUITA, varietal structure of vineyards in the Czech Republic VASSOLO, 2009) and about multiple business (SEDLO, LUDVÍKOVÁ, JANDUROVÁ, 2011) were contacts potentially infl uencing economics and performed on the base of data about the actual performance of a company (GIMENO & WOO, changes in percentages of individual varieties and 1999). According to ŽUFAN (2004) it is also necessary about the average age of existing plantations (2010); to compare wine with such substitutes as beer and these data were stored in the Register of Vineyards to perform analyses of situation in viticulture and kept at CISTA. The paper also takes into account hop-growing and brewing industry. As far as the the methodology of the research project MSM foreign authors are concerned, problems associated 6215648904 and the methodology of the research with wine substitutes were analyses by ANDERSON project of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture QF (2009). 3276. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in strategic decision-making concerning varietal RESULTS AND DISCUSSION structure of Czech vineyards a er 1960, especially The privatisation and restitutions of vineyards within the last two decades (till 2010). At the same a er 1990 infl uenced, among others, also the general time we also tried to predict the developmental opinion concerning varietal structure of a part of trends in percentages of the most frequent varieties cultivated vineyards. In 1995, the Act on viticulture grown in Czech and Moravian vineyards. To reach and wine growing created conditions for qualitative this objective, it was necessary to evaluate crucial changes of produced wine and due to this fact it transformation that occurred in the wine industry was also necessary to change shares of individual within the period of the last 25 years (i.e. political Strategic development of varietal vineyards in the Czech Republic 327 varieties and the structure of the varietal assortment. and political changes and subsequent strategic Earlier, the main (and preferred) objective of wine decisions of grape producers. The area of productive growers was yield of grapes, not their quality. Since vineyards (i.e. with a three-year delay a er their 1995, the sugar content in grapes has become the planting) is illustrated in Fig. 1. main parameter of quality of grapes and, moreover, In the past centuries, the total area of vineyards due to a gradual intensifi cation and openness was undoubtedly higher but the curve presented in of international market, the consumers could Fig. 1 begins as late as in 1960, i.e.