During our holiday in Poland, we visited juice press plant in Żukowo village in Wielkopolska region (about 30 km from Poznań – a capital of the region), the place where a local cider “Cydr z Wielkopolski” is made.
We met with Mr Tomasz Rembowski – the owner. He invited us to his mansion to taste some cider and juice and listen to his story. His family-run company specializes in juice pressing. They started in 2000 after their previous business didn’t provide sufficient money and security. Their first juices were made in the kitchen. His children are involved in the company and he said that an indispensable asset of running a family business is the trust and emotional involvement of employees. Over time, a growing number of shops have asked them to offer more juices.
The company produces apple juice pressed using the traditional method. It is not made from concentrate but is obtained by pressing and pasteurization, which brings out the unique taste and nutritional value. This technology excludes the use of preservatives, stabilizers, and sugar. The company also offers apple juice with added chokeberry, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mint, cranberry. Our son really enjoyed fresh pressed apple juice and we recommend the product.
A few years ago they decided to produce cider. His cider was made on the basis of a nineteenth-century recipe without added sugar or sulfur, the bubbles are natural and come from secondary fermentation in a bottle. It is a real farmhouse cider, cloudy and has 5.8% ABV. His cider won some prizes. We also tried a cider made recently but it is not yet matured, however, tastes good and we think that after having settled it will be excellent.
We talked with Mr Rembowski about cider industry in Poland and its future. He hopes the cider will be more popular among Polish customers.
