Petr Kočařík: Yes to Pinot, No to Pet-Nat

I've never drunk a bottle of Petr Kočařík wine I didn't like, not once. Even though his family farms only 2.5 hectares of vineyards, he would never release a bottle that he doesn't stand behind 100%. That's one of the reasons why I respect Petr so much – not only as a winemaker, but first and foremost as a person. His honesty, directness, and the right amount of principle are directly reflected in his wines. Let's call it character.

He instills this not only in his vines and wines, but also in his children. These admirable qualities are not superficial; they have depth and have always been and will always be valid.

Petr's wines have always managed to reach the right audience. They did not polarize. There was no reason for them to, because they were always meticulously and skillfully made.

This is the strongest influence Petr had on me. Wine must taste as good as it can; as a result, it needs no explanation or justifications. In the end, there are only two kinds of wines: good and less good. Petr's wine clearly belongs in the first category.

Words by Milan Nestarec, photos courtesy of Petr Kočařík

What was the 2025 vintage like for you? It's obviously too early to evaluate anything, but can it be compared to any past vintages?

2025 was the kind of vintage that we were used to in the past. Later budding, more rain during summer, harvest in late September with cooler temperatures. But we'll know what it really was like in 5 years, when we taste it in the bottle.

What was the beginning of your winemaking journey like – when did you make your first wine? Were there any moments of searching? Did your father or grandfather teach you?

I made my first wine in 1997. I made it the same way as my father, meaning dry wines, quite acidic, with higher sulfur additions, and I didn't really like that in wine. I also tried wines with residual sugar, different types of yeasts, but that wasn't my jam at all.

So I kept searching. Around 2000 – the internet wasn't as ubiquitous yet – more information became available about ageing on lees or malolactic fermentation, so I tried making wine that way and kept at it since.

Do you still have any bottles saved from this period? And how do you look at them today after the years – do they have common features with what you make now?

The oldest wine I have from my beginnings is Riesling 1998. It still maintains its acidity. In hindsight, I think it's not bad to find your own way and know how you don't want to do things.

Do you remember the time when you were joining Autentisté [the first local association of natural winemakers, editor's note], or when you started working more with new barrels and began working organically in the vineyard?

Before I joined Autentisté, I was increasingly aware that the wine I make is completely different from the ones made by other winemakers from Čejkovice and the surrounding area. I was looking for someone who was on the same wavelength. That's how I met Bogdan [Trojak], Richard [Stávek], and Ota [Ševčík; all three are trailblazing winemakers in the Czech natural wine movement]. Our joint tastings were about wines that we made in a similar way. They were also my first sources of information about organic winemaking and winegrowing. When you want to macerate grapes on skins or spend a lot of time in the vineyard, you have to take the organic route.

Who or what was your first inspiration – do you remember any pivotal meeting, moment, wine from this period?

Barrel-aged white wines by František Mádl or Petr Nejedlík [from Dobrá Vinice] and reds by the Springer brothers.

You come from Čejkovice, a village I most associate with Traminer and Pinot Noir. But was it always like this? Why the local focus on these varieties? I have the feeling that this is somehow your doing, that you "rediscovered" Pinot Noir for Čejkovice. Or was "Burgundské modré" [the old-school local name for the grape] from Čejkovice already renowned before 1990?

In Čejkovice, there are calcareous loess soils that help maintain good acidity in wines, which is good for both Traminer and Burgundian varieties. A demijohn of good Traminer could be found in every other cellar before 1990. You couldn't say that about Pinot, but in 1997, Zemědělka, the former Čejkovice agricultural cooperative, made a Pinot that was worth something. That's when I realized it belongs here, and that I wanted to dedicate myself to this variety. I don't know if I'm a rediscoverer for Čejkovice – maybe, but I didn't really think about it that way.

What fascinates you so much about Pinot Noir? When did you realize that wines from this variety stand out in your cellar? And could you imagine dedicating yourself only to Pinot? I think quite a lot of people would appreciate that [laughs].

I like the fact that Pinot is easy to work with in the vineyard, it ripens nine times out of ten vintages, nowadays actually 10 out of 10. I enjoy its transformations during ageing in barrels, and then in bottles. And you're keen to drink good Pinot throughout the whole year, regardless of the season.

I realised its uniqueness right away during the first vintages. It's pampered pampered in the vineyard, we always start working on our Pinot vineyards first and also treat them most carefully. Today, Pinot Noir makes up more than half of our production, I don't plan to make more of it, and if I were to make only Pinot, that probably wouldn't fly at home [laughs].

If I'm not mistaken, you make three different Pinots from separate plots: Niva Hrbatá, Novosady and Helezný díl. What are the differences between these terroirs?

Helezný díl is the oldest of them, planted in 1981, but we've only been working there for 5 years. It's a terrace, gently sloping to the south, well-sunlit until evening, the soil is mostly sandy-calcareous loess. It's peaceful there. We've already replanted the missing vines, but we're still harvesting the younger ones separately for now. The wine is smooth, velvety, easy to drink even when young, with the taste of good fruit.

Novosady is a fourteen-year-old vineyard, in the best plot, with clones I selected purposefully. It's a steeper southwest-facing slope here, predominantly clay-calcareous loess. Good location, quite windy. The wine is rather fruity, with good acidity when young and good ageing potential.

The Pinot from Padělek is the first vineyard that I planted myself. It's not in the best of locations, but given that it's over twenty years old, its expression has changed a lot, from earthy forest tones to fruitier expression.

One last question about Pinot, and then I'll leave you alone [laughs]. I feel that in Moravia, some people still treat PN like other red varieties, looking for muscle instead of elegance. What do you think are the key moments, whether in the vineyard or during vinification, for creating a world-class Pinot Noir? Surely there are some details, if you can reveal any.

I'll put it simply. I think Pinot needs both care and wide boundaries when maturing in barrels. An excess of tannins leads to a loss of elegance. That's about it.

Your white wines are equally excellent – Chardonnay, Odměra bílá, Hibernal [a white cross Seibel x Riesling, created in the 1960s in Germany]. Did you expect Hibernal to become the most iconic?

I didn't expect that, even though I had to struggle with this grape a lot. I don't like sweet wines with a lot of sulfur, so that wasn't an option, and the dry version with sharp acidity was undrinkable in some vintages. Then I tried barrel aging and malolactic fermentation. It worked, and I haven't changed anything in the method since. I would also add that we have it planted where other varieties sometimes freeze during spring frosts. That's why it's in our wine portfolio.

You are a member of the local Great Wines from Great Vineyards association. Can you tell me more about this platform?

My ambition has always been to make great wines; the fact that they are also organic or made following the Autentisté charter is just an added value. After all, I think that's the only way to do it these days. This association strives to highlight wines from traditional varieties that are best suited to a particular location in a given region, which is a long-term endeavour.

A new appellation system is in the works in the Czech Republic currently. Will you or your wines be involved in any way? Do you have any insight into this? What is your opinion on how it is being done?

If I were in charge of the appellation system, I would probably first contact the winemakers who have been producing genuine appellation wines for many years... Unfortunately, the reality is not quite like that. Several conflicting interests are being promoted as part of the talks, many of which do not lead to the global competitiveness of local "appellation wines" or to any improvement of the current situation whatsoever.

Although you, I, and many of our like-minded colleagues produce dry wines, Czechia as a wine-producing region still largely produces wines with residual sugar. Customers point fingers at winemakers, saying that they produce such wines, so they drink them. Winemakers claim that they have to make sweet wines because customers demand them. Where does the truth lie? Do you think that one day, Czechia will produce only dry wines, as is the case in more traditional wine-producing countries? What needs to happen for this to come true? Or is it just a matter of time?

When customers start demanding dry wines, winemakers will start producing them on a larger scale. When a glass of wine with lunch becomes normal [in Czechia as well], normal and drinkable dry wines will appear. When the average consumer knows what Traminer or Veltliner grapes really taste like, I believe that wine that I consider normal will be served at open cellars in Čejkovice or Velké Bílovice.

There are lots of new winemakers on the scene who look up to you as a role model. You have shown the way to many, perhaps without even realising it. Are you aware of this, and does it feel like a certain duty? What would you say to someone who is just starting out and trying to find their "place in the sun"?

Maybe I have shown someone the way. I was certainly pleased that I introduced two of my winemaker friends to organic viticulture, and maybe someone else, I don't know. What would I say to someone who is starting out in winemaking? They should know why they want to make wine in a certain way, i.e., based on the possibilities of their vineyards and the given location.

I appreciate that you've stayed true to your vision – you have honed your own style, which you are just refining, and you don't feel the need to do things differently just for the sake of it. It makes me smile when I remember how you told me one day, with a slight look of horror in your eyes, that your son Vašek wanted to make a pet-nat [laughter].

I like it when things that have proven themselves don't change, you're right about that. That's probably why you saw horror in my eyes when it came to pet-nat. But after all, back in my day, I also tried and did things that my father didn't like. For example, when my first wine was going through its malolactic fermentation under the kitchen table [laughter].

How is your family involved? Are you a classic family business where every member lends a hand when needed?

We are a small family business, farming 2.5 hectares. My wife and I do most of the manual work in the vineyard. Our children are allergic, so flowering grasses aren't for them, but they help me in the cellar. And the whole family takes part in the grape harvest, including our three children, my parents, and friends who are also our customers.

I tried to remember – in vain – whether I ever drank a bad wine from you. I really couldn't find one such moment. They say that people learn from their mistakes. Can you remember any specific moments when you said to yourself that you had to approach things differently, and that significantly moved you forward?

I am building a brand, so if the wine is not good, it does not go out.

For example, in 2013, we were waiting for the sugars for our Saint-Laurent, but in the end, it ended up in the distillery because of volatile acetic acid in the taste. In my opinion, VA in wine is a mistake. The lesson was that precise work is needed during harvesting—only healthy grapes—and then regular monitoring of the taste of wines in barrels.

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