Poland, like Sweden, is not an obvious wine country. It is too cold and too rainy, with a too-short growing season, for most pure Vitis vinifera. Instead, Polen has planted hybrid grapes that are crosses between Vitis vinifera (for the taste) and a grape from another Vitis family that provides the characteristics required in a cool climate.
The Dom Janton Rondo that we drank recently, purchased when Per made a short stopover in Warsaw on his way home from Croatia, is made from the Rondo grape.
It is a grape variety created in 1964 in Czechoslovakia, a cross between an Asian Vitis amurensis grape and the Vitis vinifera Sankt Laurent, well-known in Austria. Rondo buds early in the season and can therefore be harvested early. It has good resistance to both frost and fungal diseases, such as the dreaded mildew. In other words, it is perfect for a cool climate. In addition to Poland, the grape is grown in Sweden, Denmark, and England, among other countries.
So, what did we think of Dom Janton Rondo?
Well, I tasted it blind, and my comments were positive: light in style and body, quite juicy and with plenty of red berries such as strawberries and raspberries on the nose. A bit discreet on the palate. The overall impression? A pleasant everyday wine.
Dom Janton is a specialist in sparkling wines made with the traditional method, using another famous hybrid, seyval blanc.
