Polish wine exploration: Winnica Moderna (updated with fresh notes, 2026)
Website: https://www.winnicamoderna.pl/
Winnica Moderna is based in Poland’s Lower Silesian region, which is one of the warmest parts of the country. Their vineyards are in the Trzebnickie Hills, and I tasted the wines with owner Nestor Kościański (pictured below).
Notes from 2026:
Winnica Moderna Pet Nat ‘F*ck the Frost’ 2024 Poland
80% Rondo, 20% Johanniter. A big spring frost meant harvest was only 20% of normal. Orange-pink in colour with lovely brightness and texture. Notes of pear, orange peel and nice herbal hints. 90/100
Winnica Moderna See You in Hell Brut Nature NV Poland
Riesling, base year 2019, 2 years in tank, bottled 2021, recently disgorged. Vivid and intense with nice acidity and sweet citrus fruit. Dry with a great acid line. 91/100
Winnica Moderna See You in My Life NV Poland
Rondo, base wine 2021, bottled 2022, disgorged November 2025. Zero dosage but residual sugar of 9 g/litre. Lovely citrus, with some stylish pear fruit, and notes of cherry and almond. Smoky and spicy with some toasty notes. 91/100
Winnica Moderna Johanniter Muscaris Skin Contact 2024 Poland
This is an orange wine, with the only addition a little SO2 before bottling. Full yellow colour with lovely fruit, and a nice pithy note under the pear and peach fruit. Nice acid line and good balance. 92/100
Winnica Moderna Johanniter Orange 2023 Poland
Just a small SO2 addition before bottling. Full yellow in colour with nice tangy citrus fruit with a touch of orange peel. Nice weight and good acidity. 92/100
Winnica Moderna Pinot Noir 2023 Poland
10 days on skins then malolactic in stainless steel, then 300 litre used French oak. Pale red colour. Delicate, sweet strawberry and red cherry fruit. Light, with some spicy detail. Lovely stuff. 92/100
Notes from January 2025
Winnica Moderna Pet Nat 2023 Silesia, Poland
This is a blend of Johanniter, Riesling and Scheurebe, and it’s a brut nature. It’s undisgorged. They split the juice into two, fermenting on portion then adding the remainder (which has been kept in a fridge) on bottling. This is fruity, lively and bright with nice energy and good acidity. Juicy, bright and alive, this is limey with lovely purity and texture. Serious. 92/100
Winnica Moderna Pet Nat Rosé 2023 Silesia, Poland
This is 80% Rondo and 20% Pinot Gris. Fruity and lively with good acidity, this shows textured cherry, pear and lime fruit. Zesty and alert with lovely fruit. 90/100
Winnica Moderna Chardonnay Sur Lie 2022 Silesia, Poland
13% alcohol. Stainless steel. This is fruity and lively with apples, wax and pear. Shows nice texture and depth with a hint of almond. Fine and expressive. 90/100
Winnica Moderna Chardonnay Sur Lie & Barrique 2022 Silesia, Poland
Complex with almond and woody notes, as well as bold, textured pear and peach fruit. Nice density and fruit intensity, with a savoury twist. 90/100
Winnica Moderna Pinot Noir 2022 Silesia, Poland
Sandy clay soils in lower Silesia, with 3.1 hectares of vines. They grow both vinifera and resistant varieties, with a focus on vinifera, including Riesling and Pinot Noir. This Pinot is made from French clones. 10 days on skins, 14 months in used oak. Juicy, bright and pure with nice focused red cherry and raspberry fruit. It’s quite fresh and very focused with lovely direct fruit. Lovely purity to the fruit with some elegance, although it’s a tiny bit rigid and hollow on the mid-palate. But really impressive and pure, with high acid apparent. The fruit is fully ripe, though. 92/100
Winnica Moderna Cabernet Cortis 2022 Silesia, Poland
Chalky, gravelly nose with a hint of beetroot. Lovely weight on the palate, with chalky, spicy notes showing nice weight and some grippy character, as well as some green hints. Mouthfilling and satisfying. 91/100
