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The 14th annual Czech Winegrower of the Year competition culminated in a gala ceremony held in Prague’s Žofín on Thursday evening. A jury of international wine experts evaluated a set of six wines from dozens of winemakers, the aim being to recognize all-round wine-making capabilities. 604 samples were tasted in total, with the overall winner, Bzenec chateaux winery in far eastern Moravia, scoring a unanimous victory from the judges. I spoke with Ivo Dvořák, chairman of the jury, and began by asking him to explain the state of the current Czech

Foundation Charter 77 has started raising money for a bell to honour the late president Václav Havel on the fifth anniversary of his death in December of this year. The Bell for Havel project will send thirty small bells around the world bearing a message of remembrance and gratitude. They will eventually return to Prague to be sold in an auction. The money raised, together with contributions from individuals, will be used to cast a bell named Václav which will be placed at the Church of St. Havel in downtown Prague. I asked Evžen Hart from Foundation

Four Czechs who were kidnapped in Lebanon last year are suing the state for financial compensation. They argue that if the country’s intelligence services had been better coordinated they may never have had to endure a grueling period of captivity.

The Venus of Dolní Věstonice, a ceramic sculpture of a female figure believed to be 29,000 years old and considered one of the oldest artefacts of its kind in the world, left its secret hiding place at the Moravian Museum on Wednesday to undergo a detailed scan under a special 3D microscope. Scientists hope that it will provide them with more information about how the statuette was made.

The Prague authorities have just approved funding for the city’s zoo that will go in part toward the creation of a new enclosure for giant pandas. The zoo is reported to be in line to receive two pandas from China – and its management expect the rare animals to boost visitor numbers markedly.

The country’s Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes is putting the final touches on a new educative portal mapping 40 years of communism in the former Czechoslovakia. Entitled Socialism Realised, the website is aimed at English-speaking audiences, from high school to university students with no experience of what it was like to live in the former system.

Outside of periods of drought, water conservation is not something Czechs consider a pressing issue. However the prospect of a threefold increase in the price of ground water by 2022 has divided the cabinet and elicited loud protests from municipalities around the country.

Inhabitants of the Prague suburb of Uhříněves are fast growing tired of increased traffic along one of the district’s major roads. Transport trucks heading in the direction of Hradec Kralové have taken to using the route as a short-cut. On Monday several dozen people gathered to demonstrate against the traffic, which has led to increased noise pollution and smog.

Beefed up security at Prague Castle is leading to long queues, as tourists are forced to wait to have their belongings checked by a ring of police, soldiers and Castle guards. The latest measures, which have just come into effect, are causing major disruptions at one of the Czech Republic’s top tourist sights.

Prague City Hall has once again opened up the question of where to house the famous Slav Epic by painter Alfons Mucha. On Thursday, mayor Adriana Krnáčová suggested that the series of 20 paintings could temporarily return to the castle of Moravský Krumlov, where they had been on display until 2011. In the meantime, the mayor wants to find a suitable permanent space to exhibit the works.