Wine in Poland. Is that really a thing? Well, indeed it is and we went there to explore and to learn more about wine tourism in Poland. One of the things we got to do was to visit the Saint Vincent winery. They are all about making great Polish wine. And so far, they are doing a great job!

Wine in Poland – Winnica Saint Vincent

While being on a press trip in the Lubuskie region, we were all about the wine. Since both of our parents are from Poland, we knew that Poland was all about beer and vodka. But wine? Not even our parents knew that that’s a thing. Well, let me tell you – it is a big deal! I don’t think that you can find cheap Polish wine, it’s more on the high end. However, it is really great!

We got to spend a day with Michal Popiolek from Winnica Saint Vincent. He is the promotor of their wine and he showed us the vineyard and taught us more about Polish wine. First of all – the Polish wine is mostly made out of hybrids (crosses between several different grapes). Since growing grapes is all about the right temperature and Poland might not have the perfect climate for that – hybrids are super important. By choosing the right grapes, they can get the grapes to get ripe sooner and make sure that they don’t get bugs.

Wines of Winnica Saint Vincent

At the vineyard outside of Zielona Gora, there are several different grapes growing. The company makes four white vines and three red once. As for the whites, they make Riesling, Muscat Ottonel, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. And for the red once: Pinot Noir, Regent, and Rondo (the latest two are mixes). Their vineyard is super impressive to see! Even if it’s not the biggest in Poland, it’s still an impressive place and you will enjoy yourself while strolling around – tasting grapes.

So just to get you a feeling for this place and its size:

• Riesling: 2 hectares.
• Pinot Gris: 1 hectare.
• Muscat Ottonel: 1 hectare.
• Gewurztraminer: 1 hectare.
• Pinot Noir: 0,5 hectares.
• Regent: 0,5 hectares.
• Rondo: 0,5 hectares.

The winery is about 10 years old and they produce about 25 000 bottles each year.

Easier to make a white vine

As you can see, there are more white grapes growing than red once and that is due to the climate. It’s easier to grow white than red. They focus on giving their wine a rich flavor and that’s why they are famous for their whites. The red once is mostly made because there’s a demand for it. And let’s be honest and say that the red grapes look a lot better on the branch than the white once!

A lot of the work at Winnica Saint Vincent is made by hand. They focus on quality and not quantity. Because when it comes to wine, it’s not “the more grapes the better”. If there are fewer grapes on a branch, the wine will have more flavor and taste better. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s totally worth it because the wine turns out great!

Taking a guided tour around the vineyard

Even if Winnica Saint Vincent focuses on making great wine and not on wine tourism. They do allow tourists and groups to come to the vineyard, get a guided tour and finish it off with a winetasting. The most important thing is to make a reservation. Don’t just show up – call or text in advance so that they can make all the arrangements.

When you get here for a guided tour, you will also be able to try the grapes. Yes, you read it right! You are allowed to taste the grapes. And it’s super interesting and fun to do because each sort of grape tastes completely different! Our absolute favorite was Muscat Ottonel – oh, how sweet the grapes were. The price for a winetasting is from 60 zlotych (14 €) per person! And at that price, you also get some treats and cheese that are locally made.

Make sure to plan your trip to the wine district in late August, beginning of September so that the grapes are ripe!

Dont pick grapes – myth or fact

Now, this is the information that we got from the winery. We don’t know enough about wine to be able to say what is right and what is wrong but this is the information that we got from Renata Wisniewska. And she knows her wine! So, according to her, the myth is that you are not allowed to pick grapes because there’s a risk that the grape will get mold if you start taking them off the branch.

According to Renata Wisniewska, the reason why people are not allowed to pick grapes is for the simplicity that someone might pick more than just a couple of grapes. If people start tearing branches off, there will be no wine in the end. Since this vineyard is a smaller one, they think that it’s part of the experience – to get to try different grapes before they try their wine! Boy, do we wish that you could buy these grapes in the store!

Produced closed to home

Winnica Saint Vincent is all about making everything at the same place. Their winery is located at the same place as their vineyard. Having it like this, the grape doesn’t need to travel far before it becomes wine. This also eliminates the risk for the grapes and that they don’t get damaged. And this is also really good for the environment.

What about birds? Birds love grapes, right?! Well, at Saint Vincent they know how to do things right. Big speakers with the sound of birds of prey, keep the smaller birds away! And they keep changing the position of the speakers so that the birds don’t get used to them (kind of like a scarecrow). And then there are roses placed among the grapes. That is to detect bugs. The roses will get “attacked” first and they get some time to fix the problem before it moves on to the grapes.

Making award-winning wine

You can feel that the quality, just by walking around the vineyard. For example, they have three meters between the rows of grapes. This allows the sun to reach the grapes and makes the wine better. They are thinking of everything here! For example, when it comes to night freeze – this can kill any grapes!

To prevent that, Saint Vincent has thousands of lanterns that they light up. When the ground freezes, they light the candles and the candles warm up the ground surrounding them. Before they used to cover the plants but that’s not the case anymore. How interesting is that?! They take care of the grapes like you would take care of a child.

Tour of the winery

Since Winnica Saint Vincent make their wine right at the vineyard. And what’s really fascinating is that they try to use everything and don’t let things go to waste. For example, they have a guy that comes and buys all their grapeseeds. He uses them to make oil and that’s perfect because even the seeds are reused!

And at Winnica Saint Vincent they even bottle the wine. Wine in Poland is a big deal and it’s becoming even bigger with time. If you want a great bottle of wine, Winnica Saint Vincent can provide you with that. If you want, you can come here and buy wine to bring back home. This is a great place to visit and to learn more about Polish wine.

Wine tasting in Poland

Usually, when you visit Winnica Saint Vincent, you will have the wine tasting at the vineyard. Since we visited during the wine festival, we got to have our wine tasting at the festival in Zielona Gora. Michal needed to be back and take care of business and we couldn’t wait to try out their wines. And we weren’t disappointed!

We got to try out some different wines. We both fell in love with the logo of the wine. If you look carefully, you will see that the logo is the vineyard from above – how awesome is that!

• Sloneczne 2016 – a white wine that is made from a mix of different grapes. Good wine for food. 50:-zl (12 €)/bottle.
• Riesling 2018 – a white wine with a fruity taste of apple and peach. 50:-zl (12 €)/bottle.
• Muscat Ottonel 2018 – a white wine with hints of flowers and a honey taste. Dry and not sweet. 55:-zl (13 €)/bottle.
• Gewurztraminer 2018 – a white wine with a hint of roses and tropical fruits. 60:-zl (14 €)/bottle.
• Cuvée Jutrzenka 2015 – a red wine that’s made of a mix of different grapes. Earthy notes with a hint of forest fruits, cherries, and plums. 55:-zl (13 €)/bottle.
• Regent 2017 – a red wine that tastes a bit like freshly cut grass. 50:-zl (12 €)/bottle.
• Pinot Noir 2018 – a red wine with a hint of green leaves. 55:-zl (13 €)/bottle.

Wine in Poland is great

All the wines that we tried from Winnica Saint Vincent were surprisingly good. Sure, they cost more but it’s totally worth it. You can taste the quality and since our press trip to Poland, we are huge fans of Polish wine. Winnica Saint Vincent is part of the “wine trail of Lubuskie”. While being in the area, make sure to stop by and visit more wineries and try out some really nice wine.

The best time to visit is when the grapes are looking nice. They are picked in September and October. And if you want to get the most out of your trip, make sure to visit Zielona Gora during the wine festival that is in September each year.

Information about Winnica Saint Vincent

Address: Borow Wielki 57E,67-124 Nowe Miasteczko.
Offer: Tastings, tours and a shop.
Phone number: +48 68 388 89 40.
Website of Winnica Saint Vincent.