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Marek Bieńczyk was born in 1956. After completing a M. A. in French literature at the Warsaw University he focused on Polish literature at the Institute of Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he obtained a Ph. D. for his work on Zygmunt Krasiński and a habilitation for essays on melancholy. One of the most esteemed contemporary Polish novelists (Terminal and Tworki, translated into German and French), he also pursues a career as a translator of Cioran and Kundera and as a literary critic (his books include Melancholy. On those who will never regain their loss and Dürer's eyes. Essays on romantic Melancholy). A pioneer of wine critique in Poland, he has held a weekly column in the country's most popular daily Gazeta Wyborcza and now writes for weekly Przekrój. His columns have been gathered in the popular Wine Chronicles. He has been a regular contributor to Polish WINO Magazine. He owns one of the most outstanding wine collections in Poland, and focuses mainly on France, with particular interest for the Rhône, Loire and Languedoc. Wojciech Bońkowski was born in 1976. He has two M. A. in musicology and Italian literature, and is currently completing his Ph. D. on editions of Chopin's music at the Institute of Musicology of the Warsaw University. He has translated Italian poetry and prose for several art reviews in Poland, and is active as a music critic. In 2001-2002 he spent a year in the UK, working in the wine trade and getting first-hand experience of the demanding London wine market. His main areas of wine interest are Italy, Portugal, Greece and Eastern Europe. He is a regular contributor to the WINO Magazine.