Bohemia Sekt - Elegant Czech Sparkling Wine with French Charm

10, 9, 8, 7… The old year is coming to an end, its last seconds are counting down and we are holding chilled champagne in our hands… Who wouldn’t know this moment?

A little history
The Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon (17th century), cellar master at Hautvillers Abbey near Épernay in the province of Champagne, is considered to be the father of sparkling wine. Under his leadership, wine production doubled. However, the stored wine often exploded. When Pérignon tasted such wine, he said he was “drinking the stars”. He found that the flavour was improved by blending different grapes, and at the same time, he perfected the storage process. He began to use cork stoppers, attached to the neck of the bottle by cords (= the first agraffe) and also bottles with solid walls that could withstand the high pressure inside the bottle. However, it was not until the 19th century that champagne as we know it today began to be drunk.
Today, the term ‘champagne’ can only refer to wine produced in the Champagne region of France, but sparkling wines are also produced in other countries, including the Czech Republic. When someone mentions Pilsen, we automatically associate this city with beer. But not far from Pilsen (just 9 km from the city centre) is Starý Plzenec – a small town where the largest Czech sparkling wine producer – Bohemia Sekt – is based.

And again we have to tell you something more about a Frenchman and again from the Champagne region. Louis Girardot was a lover of good wine, especially sparkling wine. He learned to make it at Moët & Chandon but decided to take it to other parts of Europe. During World War II, he settled in northern Bohemia, near the town of Teplice. He did not choose Czechoslovakia at random. Girardot realised that South Moravia had similar natural conditions for growing grapes suitable for sparkling wine as his native Épernay because both areas lie on the 49th parallel, which passes through the centre of the Champagne region. So he had wine yeast imported directly from Champagne and built his first cellar for the production of sparkling wine. When the communists nationalised his company in 1948, he moved to Starý Plzenec, where he worked as a professional consultant from mid-1949 to 1952. Although he worked here for only three years, he left an indelible mark. He taught the local cellar masters not only how to use French yeast, but also how to recognise wines suitable for the production of a quality sparkling beverage. It was as if he had breathed French charm into Czech sparkling wines.

Girardot, however, loved not only good wine but also beautiful women. His phrase that sparkling wine is closer to women and then women are closer to you, is still a legend here. In his honour, a top-quality sparkling wine bearing his name was launched in 1994. Its godfather was the famous Czech singer Karel Gott and Queen Elizabeth II drank this wine during her visit to Prague in 1995. But we’re already a bit ahead of history…
Starý Plzenec was liberated by the Americans, the first tanks appeared in the streets on May 6, 1945. The locals welcomed the American liberators with bottles of sparkling wine, served to them right on the tanks. The Americans liked the wine and bought many bottles, which was a great help for the townspeople at that time. It is said that as many as 38,000 bottles were drunk at that time. One of the first sparkling wines was Black Widow, named after the American bombers that flew over the city at night. It may no longer be produced, but you can see the original bottle in a glass case with other products on display. There’s also Château Radyně, which began production in 1945 and is now the longest-continuously produced Czech sparkling wine.

On a Tour at Bohemia Sekt
We learned all this during a tour with an excellent guide. She also explained to us the difference between the production of sparkling wine using the Charmat method and the classical method. In the classical method, the wine is aged in bottles.

We toured the cellars, built 12 meters underground. Originally there was a brewery here. The economic crisis in the 19th century also had an impact on the brewing industry. The brewery merged with the brewery in Pilsen and the premises in Starý Plzenec were emptied and closed in 1929. Only later, it was rented by a wine company from Prague. At first, they produced only still wines, later also sparkling wine, but they did not sell it. The bottles of sparkling wine were hidden away – until the arrival of American soldiers in 1945.
Sparkling wine is aged in bottles for 12, 15 or even 36 months. 30% of the total production is produced using this method. The wines used are from the South Moravian wineries: Habánské sklepy, Vinařství Pavlov, Víno Mikulov and Château Bzenec.
We were also shown historical photographs, some of the original equipment and tools.

I learned here that the wire basket on the stopper is called an agraffe.

We also saw how the yeast is shaken off or how the sparkling wine is decanted. There are up to 360 bottles in each of these huge blocks. It’s an interesting sight when those blocks start turning.

The Charmat method means that the sparkling wine is matured in tanks. We also saw the biggest tank in Czechia, over 20 metres high, which can hold up to 1 million litres of wine. But in total, there are a whopping 11 million litres of sparkling wine in this hall!

Bohemia Sekt Today
In the 1960s, the company became the largest producer of sparkling wine in the Czech Republic. In 1970, they began producing the new Bohemia Sekt demi-sec, which is still the most popular sparkling wine in Czechia today. In 1995, the company renamed itself Bohemia Sekt after its most successful brand. Another new product was Bohemia Sekt Ice in 2020, which started the trend of drinking sparkling wine with ice in Czechia. Two years later, they added the Pink version, which became the most successful new product in the company’s history.

The design of the bottles changed seven times, but they retained the golden elements. Today, 20 million bottles of sparkling wine are produced here each year, 3 percent of which goes for export.

After a nearly two-hour tour, it was time for the even more enjoyable part – the tasting. You can taste 3 or 5 wines. My favourite was the Bohemia Sekt Prestige Brut. This is the one we will toast the New Year 2025 with.

A specialty of the company are also unique glasses in which bubbles are constantly forming. You can buy the glasses directly from the wine shop (beware, they must not be washed in the dishwasher!) and I hope that, like me, you won’t be able to resist buying also some bottles.

More information about the company: Bohemia Sekt
Tour information (tours in English and German): HERE
To taste the sparkling wine, leave your car parked in Pilsen and take a train (12 minutes) or bus from the city to Starý Plzenec. Transport information: HERE
For additional orders: e-shop

Extra Tip:
As I mentioned before, one of the most popular products is Château Radyně. This wine is named after the landmark of the region – the ruins of Radyně Castle. It’s a nice walk (also to air out the bubbles after wine tasting) even on a typical autumn day.

The royal castle was built in the 14th century by the Czech King Charles IV to ensure the safety of the trade route between Nuremberg and Prague. As was the custom, the castle was given a name related to this monarch – Karlskröne (Charles’ Crown). However, this name did not catch on with the Czech inhabitants, who preferred to call it Radyně – after the hill and the rock on which it was built.
The castle burnt down in the 16th century and was abandoned. Today it is open to the public, but climbing the tower is at your own risk.

Opening hours and entrance fees: Radyně
Much more interesting is the legend of Radouš, who had donkey ears, a goatee and boar’s teeth. Thanks to the spells from the book he found, he built this castle and sent the goblins to the town for the most beautiful maiden, whom he took as his wife. But when they had a child with donkey’s ears, a goatee and boar’s teeth, Radouš killed the mother and the child and married another maiden. This sad fate was repeated several times, until one day a storm came and Radouš lost the protective locket from his mother. Lightning struck the tower and it collapsed on him. So now his spirit is said to wander among the ruins…
The tower offers a magnificent view of the surroundings. You can also see the entire Bohemia Sekt premises from here.

After a busy programme, it was time for lunch. Directly below the castle, there is a car park and the Restaurant pod Radyní – a cosy mountain-style establishment. Even the menu offered reminded us of the proximity of the forest. We chose a fallow deer ragout on mushrooms and white wine with fried potato gnocchi…

…and fried rabbit cutlets with homemade potato salad. Excellent choice!

Some Final Advice:
The next time you are expecting the New Year or celebrating something else, you might be toasting with champagne or other sparkling wine, and maybe just one from Starý Plzenec. During the tasting, they also explained how to open a bottle of sparkling wine properly:
First, you remove the staniol wrapper. At the longer end of the agraffe, you untangle the wire with your fingers. When removing the agraffe, you should hold the stopper with your thumb so that it does not accidentally fly off. If you don’t want to hurt anyone and you don’t want the wine to spill out of the glasses in a waterfall, hold the bottle in one hand at the bottom at a 45° angle. With the palm of your other hand, grasp the cork firmly (secure it with your thumb) and turn the bottle (!) several times to loosen the cork. After that, you can usually just give the stopper a gentle nudge with your thumb.
Cheers! And I wish for you to discover stars in those bubbles too!