Archangel Vineyard owner Mary Zurakowski said the 31-year-old backpacker had helped with a couple of harvests at the vineyard, located between Cromwell and Wanaka.
"...she was very bubbly, always smiling and just loving being on the vineyard and in New Zealand.
"It is [a] horrific and violent end to such a young life ... it is awful. I am in total shock."
Miss Pytlickova was travelling with two other female backpackers and had asked if they could camp on the vineyard, "and I let them do that".
"I am from a Polish background, and I knew they were Eastern European and that is why I was curious to know [where they were from]."
Miss Pytlickova, also known as Dasha, was found dead in a forested area near Waimate on Sunday. Police said yesterday her throat was slashed by convicted sex offender Jason Frandi, of Waimate.
The man in charge of the investigation, Detective Inspector Greg Williams, also revealed yesterday that although Miss Pytlickova's sister, who had arrived in New Zealand to meet her, was assisting police, she was a "very prominent person" and was having "great difficulty" in dealing with the situation.
Police would not reveal her position in the Czech Republic and an internet search also failed to reveal her status.
"You can imagine how the family is.
"We are doing our best to support them through this.
"They are having to deal with the whole complex issue of this happening in a foreign country."
Det Insp Williams also confirmed a weapon located at the scene, along with initial autopsy reports, pointed to a murder-suicide.
"Dasha a suffered quite a severe wound to her neck area.
"There was some suggestion of sexual assault. Certainly the neck injury seems to be a significant cause of death.
"In respect of Frandi himself, he has self-inflicted wounds to his left wrist."
Det Insp Williams said forensic investigations of Frandi's silver BMW were ongoing, but police were "satisfied" no other party was involved.
The investigation was now centred on the Kurow and Omarama area, and investigative teams were canvassing the area.
The public had provided "very good" leads to date, but Det Insp Williams appealed for CCTV footage from the Omarama area.
A main focus was to "track the movements of Dasha, of when she left Cromwell, to when she met Mr Frandi sometime late Saturday afternoon."
Police had been contacted by a member of the public who stopped just north of the Cromwell Bridge (Deadman's Point Bridge) and spoke to Miss Pytlickova about 3pm on Saturday.
"She indicated to him that she intended to hitchhike through to Fairlie.
"He wasn't in a position to take her there because he was going somewhere else."
Miss Pytlickova would have been in the Omarama area between 3pm and 4pm, Det Insp Williams said.
