Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux holds first Poland tasting

Some 500 Polish wine merchants, sommeliers and bloggers tasted over 70 Bordeaux wines from the celebrated 2010 vintage in the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux's first visit to the country.

Photo: Jean Jacques Bonnie of Malartic Lagraviere and Czeslaw Jurkowiak of Histoire de Vins. Credit: Panos Kakaviatos

The 192-meter long space of the prestigious Kubicki Arcades of the Warsaw Royal Palace was the venue as the Polish wine trade tasted though the 2010 vintage.

Present at the tasting were several members of the UGCB including Jean-Jacques Bonnie of Chateau Malartic Lagraviere, Annabelle Denis of Chateau de Fieuzal, and Daina Paulin of Haut Bailly.

UGCB president Olivier Bernard said: ‘The market here is growing, and we see many connoisseurs interested in learning about Bordeaux, so it was very important to make contact’.

Despite most Bordeaux wine sold in Poland falling into the €2-6 ex-cellar price category, wine consumption and an appetite for higher end wine is increasing, industry sources say.

Economic growth has led to increased investment in Poland, giving French wine more exposure in top hotels and restaurants, said Robert Matecki, who works for the French embassy in Warsaw.

Warsaw has also seen the arrival of its first ever one star Michelin restaurant, Atelier Amaro, in March 2013, labelled a ‘sign of the times,’ by Bernard.

‘Increased prosperity means also that Polish people travel to France, Italy, Portugal and Spain and they are seeking now other Old World wines, not just Bordeaux,’ Matecki added.

Written by Panos Kakaviatos in Warsaw