Sztukówka Vineyard near Frysztak: wines named after folk instruments

Winnica Sztukówka lies on a low hill in the village of Glinik Średni, two kilometres from the small town of Frysztak in Podkarpackie. The owners took the name from the place where they have lived for over a decade: Sztukówka is a rise with a dozen or so scattered houses, the rest being fields and woods. The farm and the vines sit on the southern, sunniest side of the slope, in the buffer zone of the Czarnorzeki-Strzyżów Landscape Park in the Strzyżów Foothills of the Carpathians.

Leszek Szczęch founded the vineyard in 2009 on one hectare; another 0.6 ha was added in 2016 and two more hectares in 2020. The varieties are hardy against frost and disease: Rondo, Regent, Maréchal Foch, Léon Millot, Cabernet Cantor, Solaris, Siegerrebe, Seyval Blanc, Johanniter, Hibernal and others. The owner's favourite is Regent. The most original thing about Sztukówka is the wine names: each is named after an old Polish folk instrument, and the label tells its story in brief. The wines have repeatedly won medals at the Galician Wine Competition, ENOEXPO and the Polish Wine Competition in Jasło.

Why go

• A guided tasting in an arbour right in the vineyard, looking over the vines and the rolling Strzyżów Foothills. It includes three wines and a cider, home-made proziaki, the traditional soda flatbread of Podkarpackie, and local cheeses, and lasts about an hour and a half.
• A tour of the vineyard and winery during the tasting: how the varieties grow and where the wine matures.
• Buy wine straight from the winemaker, all year round, as well as gift sets and tasting vouchers.
• Groups of 10 or more can arrange a tasting with lunch or dinner of freshly cooked Podkarpackie dishes.

What to taste and buy

In 2026 the list included the semi-dry rosé Maryna 2025, smelling of strawberries and wild strawberries and named after a bowed instrument from the Szamotuły area; the dry white Złóbcoki 2024 from Solaris and Siegerrebe, named after the Podhale fiddle carved from a single piece of wood; the dry red Harmonia Polska from Regent, with cherry, blackberry and prune notes; and the semi-dry white Suka 2025 from Hibernal, after an old bowed instrument from near Janów Lubelski. The crisp white Cymbały from Seyval Blanc recalls the hammered dulcimer that survived longest precisely in Podkarpackie. Local cheeses and olive oil are also sold on site.

Practical information

Address: Glinik Średni 153, 38-130 Frysztak. The vineyard is about 2 km from Frysztak and best reached by car; there is parking and bike racks, and a marked cycle route runs past. Minibuses run from Frysztak to Krosno. Tastings by prior arrangement only, minimum 4 people, 80 zł per person; groups up to 30. Wine costs 70–80 zł a bottle. Contact: +48 605 539 422, [email protected]. The owner speaks English.

Nearby

• The railway shelter in Stępina-Cieszyna, a concrete wartime tunnel built to hide a train.
• The wooden churches of Lubla and Gogołów.
• The Wisłok kayak route Wojkówka – Frysztak – Markuszowa.
• The ZZ brewery in Wojkówka and the vineyards of the Jasło Wine Route, such as Vanellus.

Official website: sztukowka.pl

Photos: images.squarespace-cdn.com.