The Nano-Winery & the Bohemian Volcano
Charlie-Karel Stejskal is a natural nano-winemaker in the village of Lovosice, in the Litoměřická sub-region of Čechy (Bohemia), Czech Republic — one of the most unexpected and geologically dramatic wine landscapes in Central Europe. By profession an agricultural economist, and by day the cellar master at Lobkowicz Winery in Roudnice nad Labem, Stejskal has built his own project — Naturální nanovinařství Charlie-VinumCelebratum — on a conviction that wine should be a pure, unmediated expression of place. Since 2012, he has farmed just 0.12 hectares on the southern slopes of the Lovoš volcano, certified organic since 2023, and produces barely 900 bottles per year of authentic, unfiltered, spontaneously fermented wine. A member of the Autentisté movement, he does not use herbicides, systemic chemicals, selected yeasts, fining, or filtration, and adds sulphur only when absolutely necessary — or not at all. His flagship GRINOR cuvée — half Pinot Gris, half Pinot Noir, harvested together, whole-cluster pressed, and aged one year in oak — has found its way to La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Prague, and to the natural wine bar Autentista. The story of Charlie-Karel Stejskal is the story of a man who decided to go a different way: from Moravian family cellars to a volcanic garden vineyard in Bohemia, proving that the smallest winery can carry the longest name and the truest voice.
The Agricultural Economist & the Čejč Cellar
The story of Charlie-Karel Stejskal begins not in Bohemia but in Moravia — specifically in the wine village of Čejč, where he started making wine in a small cellar that originally belonged to his wife's family. By original profession an agricultural economist, Stejskal approached viticulture with an analytical mind and a farmer's patience, learning the craft in the traditional Moravian family cellar before he ever planted his own vines. It was here, in the warm loess and clay of South Moravia, that he first understood the relationship between soil, vine, and bottle — and where he first felt the pull toward something more personal, more radical, and more his own.
While building his own project, Stejskal also pursued a career as a professional winemaker, eventually becoming cellar master at Lobkowicz Winery in Roudnice nad Labem — one of Bohemia's most significant historical estates. There, he crafts Pinot Blanc, Riesling, and the Czech cross Fratava (Saint Laurent × Blaufränkisch) from organically farmed vines, honing his technical skill on a larger stage while keeping his own vision fiercely independent. This dual life — professional precision by day, nano-winery anarchism by weekend — has given him a rare perspective: he knows exactly what conventional winemaking can achieve, and he has chosen to do the opposite.
In 2012, Stejskal planted his first vines on the southern slopes of Lovoš, a dramatic volcanic mountain in the České středohoří (Central Bohemian Uplands) near Lovosice. What began as a small garden vineyard was expanded in 2017 to its current 0.12 hectares and officially registered within the Pod Lovošem vineyard track. In 2021, he planted a second vineyard on the opposite bank of the Labe (Elbe) River in Žalhostice, deepening his footprint in one of Bohemia's most geologically distinct wine regions. The project was certified organic in 2023 by BIONKONT CZ, and Stejskal became a member of Autentisté, the Czech natural wine movement that demands spontaneous fermentation, zero filtration, and absolute transparency.
The name Charlie-VinumCelebratum is itself a manifesto. As Stejskal jokes with characteristic self-awareness: "Čím menší vinařství, tím delší název" — the smaller the winery, the longer the name. Vinum Celebratum translates as "Charlie's celebration of wine" — a declaration that wine is not a commodity but a festival, a ritual, a reason to gather. And from this tiny volcanic vineyard, barely larger than a suburban garden, he has built something that reaches the finest tables in Prague.
"The smaller the winery, the longer the name."
— Charlie-Karel Stejskal
Lovosice, Pod Lovošem & the Volcanic Uplands
Litoměřická is the most important wine sub-region of Čechy (Bohemia), a narrow corridor along the Labe River where the České středohoří mountains create a rain shadow and a uniquely warm microclimate. Stejskal's vineyard sits on the southern slopes of Lovoš, a dormant volcano that rises dramatically from the river plain, its basalt and phonolite slopes covered with wind-deposited loess and volcanic tuff. It is a landscape of extreme geology — nothing like the gentle rolling hills of Moravia — and it produces wines of startling mineral intensity and sharp, volcanic tension.
The Pod Lovošem vineyard track is Stejskal's primary site: 0.12 hectares of organically farmed vines facing south toward the sun, protected from northern winds by the mass of the mountain itself. The soils are a complex mix of volcanic bedrock, weathered basalt, and windblown loess — free-draining, mineral-rich, and distinctly warm. The second site, planted in 2021 in Žalhostice, lies across the Elbe on the opposite bank, adding another dimension of soil and exposure to the project's tiny but growing mosaic. Together, these two plots represent less than a quarter of a hectare — a scale so small it defies commercial logic, yet so precise it guarantees absolute attention to every vine.
The climate is unusually warm for Bohemia — warmer, Stejskal notes, than Pálava in Moravia. The south-facing slopes of Lovoš capture heat throughout the day, while the elevation provides enough diurnal shift to preserve acidity in the Pinot varieties. The region is dry and continental, with the Elbe River moderating temperature extremes and providing the humidity that prevents desiccation. For Stejskal, this means the ability to ripen Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris — varieties more commonly associated with Burgundy or Moravia — on the edge of a volcano in Bohemia. The result is a terroir that is simultaneously warm and mineral, generous and severe — a volcanic paradox captured in every bottle.
The challenges are as dramatic as the landscape. Wildlife — deer and boar — plague the vineyard, forcing Stejskal to build costly fences and fight a constant battle to protect his tiny crop. The volcanic soils, while rich in minerals, are shallow and demanding, requiring careful organic management and constant handwork. Every grape is precious; every vine is known by name. This is not farming; it is garden viticulture at its most extreme — a labour of love sustained by a day job, a tolerant family, and an absolute refusal to scale.
Stejskal's vineyards are located in the Litoměřická sub-region of Bohemia, one of only two significant wine regions in the Czech Republic outside Moravia. The primary site is Pod Lovošem, on the southern slopes of the Lovoš volcano near Lovosice, registered in 2017 after beginning as a garden vineyard in 2012. The second site was planted in 2021 in Žalhostice, on the opposite bank of the Elbe River. The Litoměřice region is known for its dramatic volcanic topography, warm microclimates, and historic wine traditions dating back centuries.
The Pod Lovošem vineyard sits on the volcanic slopes of Lovoš mountain, with soils composed of weathered basalt and phonolite tuff overlain with wind-deposited loess. These soils are free-draining, mineral-rich, and distinctly warm — ideal for ripening Pinot varieties in a cool northern latitude. The volcanic bedrock imparts a characteristic mineral tension and smoky, flinty note to the wines, while the loess provides body and water retention. This geological drama is unique within the Czech Republic and gives Stejskal's wines their unmistakable volcanic signature.
Certified organic since 2023 by BIONKONT CZ. Stejskal is a member of Autentisté, the Czech authentic wine movement. No herbicides, no systemic chemicals, no synthetic adjuvants in the vineyard or cellar. The vineyard is cultivated entirely by hand at a garden scale, with organic compost and natural preparations used to maintain soil biology. The goal is not yield but purity — to let the volcanic terroir speak without chemical interference. The organic certification is recent, but the practice has been in place since the first vine was planted.
In the cellar, the philosophy is one of absolute assistance to nature. Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts. No selected yeasts. No fining. No filtration. Sulphur is not used, or only in the most minimal amount when absolutely necessary. The wines are aged in oak barrels and bottled as pure, unmediated expressions of the volcanic vineyard. Stejskal describes his role as that of an assistant director — nature is the director, and the wine is the star. The result is a portfolio of land wines (zemské víno) that are as transparent as they are rare.
Autentisté & the Assistant Director
For Charlie-Karel Stejskal, the philosophy of the winery is to be a helper to the wine on its journey — where nature is the director, and the winemaker is merely the assistant director. This is not a metaphor; it is a job description. Every decision in the vineyard and cellar is governed by a single question: does this help the wine express where it grew, or does it get in the way? If the answer is the latter, the technique is abandoned.
In the vineyard, this means organic farming without compromise. No herbicides, no systemic chemicals, no synthetic adjuvants. The vines are tended by hand at a scale that allows intimate knowledge of every plant. The grapes are hand-harvested into small crates and transported immediately to the cellar. In the cellar, it means spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts — no selected strains, no temperature manipulation, no enzymatic shortcuts. The wines ferment at their own pace, in their own time, and are then aged in oak barrels with minimal racking.
Stejskal does not clarify or filter his wines. They are clear only through the quiet patience of sedimentation — gravity and time, not chemistry. Sulphur dioxide is either not used at all, or added in the most minimal amount when absolutely necessary. He rejects the Czech wine category system of přívlastek (special designations) entirely, bottling his wines simply as zemské víno — land wine — because the official hierarchy does not reflect what he is trying to achieve. His wines are not products; they are documents of a specific volcanic slope, a specific season, and a specific philosophy.
This approach places him squarely within the Autentisté movement — the Czech natural wine charter that demands transparency, spontaneity, and absolute respect for the grape. Yet Stejskal is not an ideologue; he is a pragmatist. He knows, from his day job at Lobkowicz, what conventional winemaking can do. He has simply chosen, for his own 900 bottles, to do something else. The result is a wine that is not corrected, not polished, not homogenised — a wine that tastes of basalt, patience, and the stubborn conviction that 0.12 hectares is enough.
Indigenous Yeasts, Volcanic Sedimentation & the Assistant Director Ethos
The guiding principle of Naturální nanovinařství Charlie-VinumCelebratum is that the wine is made by the vineyard, directed by nature, and bottled with absolutely nothing corrected. The volcanic basalt provides the mineral backbone and smoky tension. The hand-tended garden vineyard provides the healthy, precious grapes. The oak barrel provides the quiet place for transformation. And Karel Stejskal provides only his labour, his patience, and his absolute refusal to homogenise what the Lovoš volcano has already made distinct. The cellar is not a factory; it is a sanctuary where a man who spends his weekdays making wine for a historic estate spends his weekends making wine for the truth. There are no selected yeasts, no filters, no fining agents, and no excuses. The wine is clear only because time has made it so.
GRINOR, Orange & & the Volcanic Expressions
Charlie-Karel Stejskal produces approximately 900 bottles per year from his 0.12-hectare volcanic garden — a portfolio so small that every bottle is effectively a single cuvée of its own. The range is built around Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Traminer, expressed as varietal wines, an iconic co-fermented cuvée, and an orange wine that pushes the boundaries of Bohemian viticulture. All wines share a common foundation: organic grapes from hand-tended vines, spontaneous fermentation, ageing in oak barrels, and bottling without fining, filtration, or significant sulphur. The result is a range that is as rare as it is honest: volcanic, mineral, and unmistakably alive — a testament to the conviction that the smallest winery can produce the truest wine.
Bohemia & the Nano-Winery Vanguard
Charlie-Karel Stejskal is not merely a winemaker; he is a proof of concept — living evidence that the Czech natural wine movement extends beyond Moravia, beyond the loess hills and into the volcanic uplands of Bohemia. In a country where wine culture is overwhelmingly associated with South Moravia, Stejskal has built a project in the České středohoří that commands the attention of Michelin-starred restaurants and natural wine bars in Prague. His GRINOR cuvée — half Pinot Gris, half Pinot Noir, co-fermented from a 0.12-hectare volcano garden — is a symbol of what authentic wine can achieve when scale is sacrificed for truth.
The legacy of Charlie-VinumCelebratum is the legacy of Autentisté in Bohemia. As a certified organic estate and a signatory to the authentic wine charter, Stejskal has demonstrated that the principles of spontaneous fermentation, zero filtration, and minimal sulphur are not dependent on terroir or climate — they are dependent on conviction. His wines have found their way to La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, one of Prague's most celebrated tables, and to Autentista, the city's temple of natural wine. These are not marketing achievements; they are quality achievements, earned by a wine that tastes of nothing but its origin.
The future of Stejskal's project is tied to the future of his two tiny vineyards. The Žalhostice site, planted in 2021, will mature over the coming decade, adding new possibilities to a portfolio that is already one of the most distinctive in the Czech Republic. The challenges remain — wildlife, weather, the sheer physical labour of maintaining a vineyard by hand while working full-time as a cellar master — but the philosophy is unshakeable. As Stejskal puts it: the smaller the winery, the longer the name. And the longer the name, the more carefully the wine must be made. The story of Charlie-Karel Stejskal is the story of a man who started in his wife's family cellar in Moravia, climbed a volcano in Bohemia, and proved that 0.12 hectares is not a limitation — it is a lens. Through it, the wine is sharper, clearer, and more honest than almost anything else in the country.
"The philosophy of the winery is to be a helper to the wine on its way, when the director is nature itself and the winemaker is just the assistant director."
— Charlie-Karel Stejskal