Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

The President of Poland Visits Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

November 2005

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On Sunday, September 11, 2005, His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski, the president of Poland, and First Lady Jolanta Kwasniewska joined Warren Winiarski and his daughter Julia, owners of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, for a luncheon at the family’s private lake.

Taking a break from his official duties during his final state visit to the United States, President Kwasniewski requested to visit Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Of particular interest to him was the opportunity to meet Warren Winiarski, the winemaker whose wine won the red wine category in the famous 1976 Paris Tasting. “There are not many winemakers in Poland as wine is not a national product. The weather is cool and cloudy and not suitable for growing grapes, and I wanted to meet the people and see the vineyards that won the Paris Tasting,” said the president.

Winiarski’s family immigrated to the United States in the late nineteenth century from Poland. Warren, a native of Chicago, was among the early pioneers in the renascent Napa Valley. “On behalf of my family … including my ancestors who came to this country more than 100 years ago with a different vision in mind than the one they had in Poland … thank you for honoring us with your presence. Their journey made your visit here today possible,” said Winiarski to the president.

At the conclusion of the luncheon white doves were released to symbolize the spirit of peace and cooperation between the United States and Poland.