Winnica Jakubowa, Karwodrza: intimate wine tastings

Winnica Jakubowa is a small craft farm in the village of Karwodrza near Tuchów, on the south-west slope of one of the hills of the Ciężkowice Foothills (Pogórze Ciężkowickie), the northern edge of the Carpathians in Lesser Poland. About 1,500 vines grow here on distinctive soil in a favourable microclimate. The story began in 2017, as the owners put it, out of a simple love of the land and a dream of making wine that captures the character of the local landscape.

Behind the vineyard are Paweł and Sylwia Jaśkiewicz. They do every stage themselves: spring pruning, tending the vines, hand-picking and winemaking. You can meet them among the vines every day, pruning, harvesting or leading tastings in person. They believe good wine is born where there is time for attentiveness and respect for the land, so they welcome every guest as if at home. In autumn 2025 the harvest began on 10 September with Solaris, and in October the vineyard launched a novelty: natural juice from dark grapes from its own slope.

The spot is no accident. The Tarnów area is called Poland's “pole of warmth”: warm summers and a long autumn let grapes ripen well on the southern slopes of the foothills. That is why several small family vineyards have appeared in recent years around Tuchów, Pleśna and Ciężkowice, and Jakubowa is one of the youngest and most intimate of them. It is not a tourist complex but a real farm where the winemaker himself will greet you.

Why go

• An intimate tasting with the owner. It is less a professional assessment of wines than a personal meeting: you will hear about growing vines, the passion for winemaking and the challenges of small-scale production. Tastings take place among the rows, with a view over the hills of Karwodrza.
• Taste home-smoked meats. With the wine the owners serve their own sausages and meats from their smokehouse, plus snack boards.
• See the vineyard in different seasons: pruning in spring, harvest in September.

What to taste and buy

Jakubowa's craft wines are made in small quantities, including from Solaris. A tasty novelty is the natural dark-grape juice: 100% from grapes from the Karwodrza slope, with no additives, pasteurised at no more than 80 °C to keep its nutrients, and sold in three-litre bag-in-box packs with a tap, a handy gift and an option for drivers and children.

Practical information

Address: Karwodrza 62A, 33-170 Karwodrza. Karwodrza lies in Tuchów municipality south of Tarnów; the vineyard is easiest to reach by car. The owners ask you to phone before the visit and will explain how to get there. When: the vineyard is intimate, so guests are received by prior arrangement only, with dates agreed individually. Prices are not published on the website, so ask when booking. Contact: +48 516 115 606, [email protected], or the website form.

Nearby

• Tuchów, a town with a well-known sanctuary.
• Ciężkowice and the “Petrified Town” reserve of fantastic sandstone rocks.
• Other vineyards of the Tarnów area, for example in Dąbrówka Szczepanowska and in Szczepanowice on the Dunajec.
• Biecz, a medieval old town, about an hour's drive south-east.

Official website: winnicajakubowa.pl

Photos: winnicajakubowa.pl.