Poland

Where to try Polish Wines in Krakow?

Although Poland does not seems to be a land of viniculture, winemaking has a long tradition in our country. Winery culture in Poland was introduced by the nations, which brought Christianity on our soil, and the first vineyards were established by Benedictine and Cistercian monks, as they need wine for religious purposes (there was a vineyard even on a Wawel Hill!). Then the cultivation was expanding, but unfortunately, in the seventeenth-century climate has changed (it was called the small ice age), and also as the result of continuous war conflicts winemaking traditions have gradually disappeared. Nowadays thanks to the re-warming of the climate, and the increasing number of wine passionate people we successfully try to rebuild them. 

The main wine areas are currently Lesser Poland with Kraków, Lower Silesia, Kazimierz Dolny, Zielona Góra, and Subcarpatian areas, but small vineyards can be found all around Poland. A lot of winemakers grow Vitis vinifera grapes but there is also a wide range of hybrid varieties, which can resist our adverse climatic conditions. You should remember that Poland is located in the same climate zone as Rioja, Piedmont, Burgundy, Loire Valley, or Austria - and there are some predictions that due to significant global warming this part of the world can become soon a leading global wine region.

Currently, only around Kraków there are ca. 100 wine producers, so while visiting our city you should absolutely try some local wines.  And having some spare time you can even visit the vineyards!  15 min drive from the Kraków city center, almost visible from the Wawel Castle and reachable with the public transport, there is Winnica Srebrna Góra (Silver Mountain Vineyard, www.winnicasrebrnagóra.pl), one of the biggest vineyards in Poland, located near the historical monastery of Camaldolese monks. Here the wine-making tradition dates back to the 10th century! For the last several years, they have been growing Vitis vinifera and hybrid grapes on a total of 28 hectares of land, and from these, they are making wines, which attract the recognition of connoisseurs. One of our favorite vines from their vineyards is charming Cuvee Blanc - unfiltered, full of flavor coupage of Johanniter, Hibernal, and Solaris with the smell of Polish orchard and white chocolate and the rich pear-apple mineral taste. 

Winnica Wieliczka  (Wieliczka vineyards, www.winnicawieliczka.com) lays only 10 km from Kraków and 3 km from the famous Salt Mine and it is the only biodynamic vineyard in Poland. The owners - Monika Rousseau and Piotr Jaskólski grow only the classic European grapevine species – Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet, Muscat, Gruener Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. What we can suggest you is their wine Jantar - so-called amber wine, the delicious result of the long maceration of light grapes or Cuvee Seraf – an aromatic blend of muscat Chardonnay clones along with Sauvignon blanc which is the white wine with intense aromas of tropical fruits, and white flowers, perfect for an aperitif, salads, and spice food. 

The other place to visit can be Winnica Kresy (www.winnicakresy.pl), located in the Polish Jurassic Upland, 32 km from Kraków, and owned by Robert Zięba. He uses 8 grapes categories: Regent, Rondo, Cabernet Cortis, and Monarch for red and rose wines and Solaris, Hibernal, Johanniter, and Seyval Blanc for white and orange wines. The bottle we can recommend you from his collection is the red wine called Transfiguration 2015 made from Regent, rondo, and Cabernet Cortis grapes with very intense, strong body and balanced acidity with rough tannins in the ends. 

Next vineyard - Winnica Jura (www.winnicajura.pl) is located 30 min drive from Kraków Main Square on a south-facing slope of Kraków-Częstochowa uplands, amidst protected landscape park. Owners Joanna and Marcin Miszczak grow their wine organically, without herbicide and synthetic pesticide use. Almost 70% of its area is occupied by varieties for white wines: Chardonnay, Hibernal, Johanniter, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Seyval Blanc, and Solaris and the red wine varieties are represented by Cabernet Cortis and Pinot noir. Grape processing and wine production take place in Joanna's family farm a few kilometers away in Sanka, where they offer also a vineyard and wine tasting tour. Try their Cabernet Cortis 2018  - strong structured feisty wine with blackberry at the forefront, with notes of red and smoked paprika. 

If you would like to know more about local Kraków wines check the Lesser Poland Wine Route website (www.malopolskiszlakwinny.pl). It is the recent enotourism project that brings together vineyards from our province, providing a short description of each place that can be useful when planning your trip there. 

If you are in Kraków only for few days and you have no time to visit the vineyards, don’t be afraid that you will miss something - it’s very easy to run across the Polish wines in most of the good Kraków restaurants and specialized wine bars. If you are planning the elegant dinner choose Art Restaurant, Albertina or Filipa 18 Restaurant, where their sommeliers will propose the best local wine paired with the excellent food based on the ingredients from Lesser Poland organic farms. For the less formal evening, we can recommend you Bar a Wino on Mostowa Street or Lipowa 6F – Kraków Slow Wines bar in Zabłocie where you can spend all evening trying different kinds and eventually buying few bottles, that will be the best memories of your Kraków trip during the long winter evenings on your sofa. 


Other Wineries in Krakow

Gródek

One of the more ambitious winemaking and enotourism projects that have appeared in Lesser Poland in recent years is undoubtedly the Gródek Winery in Zbyszyce at Rożnowskie Lake. This venture has not yet been completely completed, but it promises to be promising today. Large vine plantings located in a very attractive tourist location, a well-equipped processing plant, convenient facilities for visitors, and wines produced under the watchful eye of the most successful oenologist in the country suggest that we will hear about this vineyard more than once.

The Gródek vineyard was established in Zbyszyce (near Rożnowskie Lake) in 2014. The project started on the first hectare, which was planted with five thousand seedlings (mainly roundabout, regent, and Solaris).

The Dunajec Valley, proximity to the lake creates favorable conditions for viticulture. The Gródek vineyard is nicely situated, grows on gentle southwestern slopes.

Winnica Słońce I wiatr

It is worth keeping an eye on this vineyard, especially since it has already officially started selling wine. The Sun and Wind Vineyard are two hectares of crops. The vineyards consist of three plots - they are all located on the north-east side, several kilometers from Krakow.

Goja vineyard

Wojnica Goja borders the Ojców National Park, it is located in Smardzowice. Several strains are grown, including seyval blanc, solaris, regent, maréchal foch, léon millot. Winnica conducts enotourism activities. The area where the Goja Vineyard is located is quite a special place on the wine map of Poland because, at a distance of at most a few kilometers from it, there have been about a dozen other vineyards. Of these, three have already registered official commercial activities, and several others are on their way to join them soon. Slowly, on this patch of the Jurassic plateau, a real wine microregion with specific features grows. This area is distinguished not only by the considerable density of vineyards by Polish standards but also by specific conditions for viticulture and - it can probably be said - the seeds of its own wine traditions.

 

Wroclaw's Best Street Foods You Need To Try

With summer around the corner, most of us picture a perfect day off or an afternoon after work as one spent outside. Spending time in the open air is enjoyable and rewarding until you get hungry. After that happens, it is better to quickly grab a bite before someone gets hurt (I am speaking from experience here). Thankfully, we have a variety of places that offer take-away food which will definitely save the day. From sweets, through food trucks, to one of a kind spots – street food in Wroclaw is what you should go for when the weather is nice and you want to give yourself a break from booking tables and going through the “restaurant procedure”.

If you have a sweet tooth:

1. Stara Paczkarnia – Swidnicka, Ruska

Stara Paczkarnia offers freshly fried Polish doughnuts. Every day, you can choose from a variety of fillings and just get one (or 3) doughnut to go. To be fair, the ones they make are sizeable, so one should be enough to restore your energy and help you do some more sightseeing. You may face two challenges though: a line of people who had the same idea for their snack, and too wide a selection of fillings. But as they say, ain’t no mountain high enough – you can do it.

 

2. Polish Lody – Plac Bema

The first ice cream shop in Wroclaw which started making “natural” ice cream. They were one of the precursors of the ice-cream revolution in the city, and since 2014, they have not lost popularity. To get ice-cream there, you may have to reserve some time, as there tend to be very long lines, but if you happen to need a break from walking, give it a shot. If you have company, you can split and in the meantime, they may stand in the line next door to get some other delicacies.

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                                                                                             Credit: visitWroclaw.eu

 

3.Piekarnia na Bema – Plac Bema (open Monday-Saturday)

A real phenomenon – probably the only bakery in the city where you need to stand in line for at least 20 minutes to get your favorite bread and buns. I am a person who values her time more than other things, but all they bake here is absolutely worth waiting for. If you are staying at a hotel, you may skip buying the entire loaf of bread, but you may definitely go for something smaller and easy to carry around with you. I highly recommend: a blueberry bun (jagodzianka), an apple sweet roll and a cottage cheese sweet roll (koperta z serem). They also offer savory pastries, such as rolls with onion, cheese and caraway with coarse-grain salt (solanka).

 

Savory treats:

1.Frytki + sos – Sw. Antoniego, Olawska

The idea behind Frytki + sos could not be simpler – French fries + some interesting dip and there you go. Based on that, we may say that the simpler one gets, the more genius they turn out to be. The fries are delicious – hot, thick, and crispy. The dips, in turn, are value added. They are based on original recipes and they may differ throughout the week. There are also special dips prepared for vegans. It does not matter if it is lunch time, or if it is 2 AM and you suddenly find yourself craving fries. The fries served in Frytki + sos will solve all your problems, and cater for all your needs.

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                                                                                                    Credit: Frtyki + Sos

 

2.Bratwursty - Szewska

One of the “oldest” street food crews in Wroclaw. They have a food truck and a spot near the market square and the whole city knows their wursts. You may get a classic set with a bun and a wurst (or 2), or you may go in the Czech direction and order fried cheese instead. One thing is certain – you will love it. And the best thing is that you will get it quickly, so there will still be plenty of time to visit the city.

 

3. Mania Smaku – Legnicka, Slezna, Krzywoustego

They are said to be one of the best pizza food trucks and spots in the city. In Legnicka, there is only a food truck, but thanks to a genuine pizza oven which they have, you will never call their pizza fast food. The ingredients they use are top quality, the dough is perfect and the combination of ingredients pretty innovative. If you want to get a taste of Poland, do not shy away from Rusalka. This pizza is topped with the one and only filling which is normally used in Russian dumplings (which are one of the must-eats when in Poland), i.e. farmer’s cheese, potatoes and onions, plus white sausage, bacon, cream sauce and spring onions. This pizza is to die for. I guarantee you have never tasted anything like that before.

                                                               Credit: Mania Smaku

                                                               Credit: Mania Smaku

 

4.Happy Little Truck – Kazimierza Wielkiego 39, in the backyard

I am not sure what is better – the pizza they make or the beer that the next door multitap, Marynka Piwo i Aperitivo, serves. Fortunately, such dilemmas never need to be resolved. You can simply go there, give both a chance and see if you will manage to choose the winner. Happy Little Truck is another master pizza food truck that serves pizza you cannot get enough of. They use original Italian ingredients and dough that ferments for 24 hours. My personal favorite is Chorizo on top of which they add some honey. The spiciness of the sausage combined with the sweetness of the honey is what will make your day brighter. And if you find yourself thirsty afterwards, fear not, as Marynka’s beers will help you get through it.

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                                                                                              Credit: Happy Little Food Truck

 

5. Panczo – the location of the food truck to be checked on their Facebook profile, a stationary restaurant in Sw. Antoniego

Delicious Mexican food, genuine taste, and original names on the menu. Get one of their Big A** Burritos and you will not worry about being hungry for a long time. They started with a food truck, last fall they opened a restaurant in the Four Denominations District, and soon they are about to open a new breakfast spot near the market square. Obviously, everyone wants more of what they got. Polish food is my absolute favorite, but when I am served such good Mexican food, I start thinking I may have been Mexican in some other life. Absolutely worth trying.

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                                                                                              Credit: Panczo

 

6. Wroclawski Bazar Smakoszy – on Sundays, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Paczkowska 26

If you like natural ingredients and you support sustainability and organic farming, you should visit the weekly foodie market. Apart from the possibility to buy organic produce, such as cheese, meat, honey, fruit, vegetables, bread, etc., you can choose from a variety of dishes served at different stands. There are various things on offer every week, but the most popular ones are pancakes, herring, Ukrainian dishes, coffee and natural ice-cream. It is a great place to spend your Sunday morning at.

Apart from the permanent spots, you will see a lot of food trucks around the city located along the riverside, near the Centennial Hall, and at the city beaches. You can be sure that you will find a nice place to eat at even if you move away from the very center. Also, if you are lucky enough to be in Wroclaw when a food truck festival takes place, take some time to explore the variety there. Nowadays, food trucks are trying to be as innovative as possible to be able to fully compete with traditional restaurants, so you can be confident they want to impress you and serve you something you will remember for a long time.

                                                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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