“The place has such an amazing atmosphere!”, “You can chill out on deckchairs.”, “It’s a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.”, “It’s only 30 minutes from Warsaw.” — we kept hearing about Dwórzno Vineyard. Predictably, we eventually gave in. We put a couple of friends and a dog into a car and off we went to check out this mysterious wine craze spread around Warsaw. I must admit, there was a grain of truth in all the excited comments. The journey from Warsaw is quick and the surroundings very beautiful. Especially the final few kilometres on a narrow road through fields, meadows and ponds. Stunning August weather helped tremendously too. The Dwórzno Vineyard itself has charming grounds typical for Mazovian countryside — the plots for grapevine cultivation are cut out of a pine and birch forest.
Our visit had a rocky start. Upon arrival, we found ourselves in the middle of a large courtyard, not quite sure what to do next. We spotted what looked like a stripped version of the chillout area from all the social media pictures. But apart from one lonely couple (interestingly, not drinking wine) there was nobody around. After chatting with those two and wandering around the courtyard, we managed to find a door that led to an improvised shop. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with such small operations. Personally, I quite enjoy visiting these kinds of places. However, Dwórzno could at least think about some signage to help their guests navigate the estate more easily.
To our surprise, we faced a real crowd inside. About 50-60 people. You could tell the group were Warsaw natives. Many young couples and several groups of friends. It turned out that they were part of a vineyard tour. I’ve never seen so many people on a vineyard tour in my life. “They must be doing something right”—I thought. Encouraged by the apparent popularity of the vineyard, we didn’t hesitate any longer and immediately asked to taste all the wines. The options were either a whole bottle or a glass, nothing more tasting friendly. Hmm, an interesting beginning indeed.
“Let’s go with the glasses; we’ll share somehow.” – we agreed. It’s probably safer than going off the script with a somewhat rude staff member selling the wine. Five glasses totaled 120 PLN (28 €). Bottles ranged from 80 to 120 PLN (19-28 €). The super “helpful” saleswoman informed us that: “these are a bit drier, and these are a bit sweeter.” No nonsense and straight to the point. The portions seemed to overcompensate for the price. It was quite difficult to carry everything to our table without spilling.
So what did these slightly dry and slightly sweet wines amount to:
Solaris 2023 – very pale in colour, practically transparent with greenish reflections. The aroma featured green apples together with a bit of peach. This must be one of the drier ones, with a pretty decent finish. On the palate, a bit of anise, menthol, elderflower, wild flowers and citrus.
Mazovia White 2022 – the colour was definitely rounder, more yellow. It was much fruitier on the nose, I smelled acacia honey. Unfortunately, it didn’t do as well in terms of the taste. The flavours were flat, overwhelmed with lemon and grapefruit acidity.
Johanniter 2022 – a fairly full colour, more golden than yellow. Despite the hot day, the wine was served at room temperature—yummy. The aroma wasn’t very intense. I was hard pressed to detect anything specific. First sip revealed a slight fizz. It had even less flavour than the previous wine, lacking even acidity. Maybe it had more sugar? Hard to say.
Mazovia Red 2021 – an intense burgundy colour, identical to the next red as well. I could taste chokeberry, blackcurrant and a hint of cherry notes. However, it did not display any depth and the overall profile was lacking in complexity. Very little acidity. Everyone agreed that Mazovia Red reminded them of a popular Polish fruit drink, compote.
Regent / Cabernet Cortis 2022 – colour as above. The fruit aroma was more ripe, more currant-like. The palate at first seemed to be a bit more pleasant than in the previous wine, but sadly that was just the initial impression. Then came a strong sulphur taste. I probably don’t need to add that it was rather unpleasant. It left a long finish, which in this particular case definitely didn’t improve the wine.
So we sat and watched people coming out of the tour with boxes of wine. Another 50 or so gathered by the green rows of vines for the next slot. Dwórzno Vineyard can definitely boast an incredibly effective marketing strategy (the same mechanic that attracted us). They had a great idea to create an unusual urban attraction, despite being somewhat distant from the capital. Bored Varsovians will look for something “to do” on the weekend, and tourists will find this place in the list of top 10 unique experiences in Warsaw. Thanks to the shuttle rovided from the city centre, it’s very easy to get there. Another brilliant business idea. Overall, Dwórzno Vineyard deserves real praise for a very good business sense. I am just disappointed that their day trip package does not include good wine. And I wanted it so badly to be good, to have a place to stock up so close to home! Sadly it was just too good to be true…
Dwórzno Vineyard: https://winnica.dworzno.pl/.
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