Chodorowa vineyard near Grybów: tour and wine tasting

The Chodorowa vineyard (Winnica Chodorowa) lies in the hills of the Rożnów Foothills (Pogórze Rożnowskie), a few kilometres from the small town of Grybów in the Sądecczyzna region. It is a family winery founded in 2012: the owners learned winemaking on oenology courses at the Jagiellonian University and with Polish wine associations, and they do all the vineyard work themselves. The plot sits at 300–370 m above sea level on a south-facing slope of about 17%, so the vines get sun all day while cold air drains downhill instead of settling. The soil is clay, which gives fuller-bodied wines.

Today the vineyard covers about 2.5 ha with 10,500 vines, and it is meant to grow to 3.5 ha. It is planted with Rondo, Regent, Solaris, Hibernal, Johanniter, Bianca, Seyval Blanc, Muscaris and Muscat, as well as Polska Jutrzenka — a variety bred in Poland that is made into a separate semi-dry wine. The grapes are picked by hand from early September to late October. Besides wine, a more than 70-year-old apple orchard supplies cider and apple wine made by the traditional method. Chodorowa wines have won medals at Polish and international competitions, including Galicja Vitis, the PIWI International Wine Challenge and the Polish Wine Competition in Jasło.

Why go

• Tour with tasting. The owners show the vineyard and the winery, explain how vines are grown in the Carpathian climate and how the wine is aged at 10–12 °C, and pour four wines from the current range. The visit lasts about two hours.
• Harvest and vineyard work. Visitors can join in tending the vines or the autumn harvest — this has to be arranged in advance.
• The view. From the slope you look over the rolling hills of the foothills, and the area lies on the Wooden Architecture Route of Małopolska. The best time to come is late summer and autumn, when the grapes ripen on the vines.

What to taste and buy

Dry red Regent and Rondo with aromas of forest berries and cherry; white Hibernal, Johanniter, Seyval Blanc and Solaris (from dry to semi-sweet); a semi-dry Rondo rosé; the sparkling Chodorowa and Chodorowa Rosé, aged on the lees for at least nine months; plus dry cider, rosé cider and the Stary Sad apple wine. According to the winery's online shop (as of October 2026), still wines cost mostly 60–70 zł, sparkling wines 80 zł and ciders 35 zł; some items may be sold out.

Practical information

Address: Chodorowa 60, 33-325 Krużlowa Wyżna (Grybów commune). The vineyard is on a side village road south of road 28 between Nowy Sącz and Grybów; it is easiest to come by car, as public transport hardly reaches it. Visits are by prior arrangement only, by phone or e-mail. Price: a tour with a tasting of four wines costs 360 zł for a group of up to four people; larger groups get an individual quote; gift vouchers are also available. Contacts: +48 663 763 951, +48 663 726 289, +48 536 380 623, [email protected]. Tastings are for adults only; drivers had better buy wine to take away.

Nearby

• Grybów — a small town with the neo-Gothic Basilica of St Catherine, about 6 km away.
• Barć apiary in Kamianna — honey and beekeeping traditions near Krynica.
• Personall Kraft brewery in Stary Sącz.
• Sądecki Ethnographic Park in Nowy Sącz.

Official website: winnicachodorowa.pl

Photos: winnicachodorowa.pl.