Wherever Jews have resided, there has always been home based wineries making wine for the Kiddush sanctification of the Sabbath. For the required blessing, grape beverages are necessary. Apart from a regular wine, either raisin wine or even grape juice is also suitable according to Jewish traditions, being regarded by Jewish law with the same reverence as wine. Jewish agricultural laws, with regard to vineyards in the Land of Israel, go back to the Biblical times. The Kosher wine laws […]

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Israel’s Wines of Celebration 8, Dec 2009 Sparkling wine is the wine of fashion and celebration. Whether on New Year’s Eve or at a wedding, it remains the classic wine to make a toast with. It is also symbol of success and happiness. Though it is a style of wine that has taken Israelis time to learn to appreciate, sparkling wines have […]

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Carmel Appelation 5, Dec 2007 Carmel, one of Israel’s oldest wineries, used to be the only game on the block but not anymore. As a result, Carmel has been struggling for many years and is not my favorite Israeli winery by a long-shot. However, their top end series are quite good, including from the Appelation series. In: Wine industry| Wineries Tags: Carmel

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Daniel Rogov’s 2010 Guide to Israeli Wines Launched 9, Nov 2009 Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines 2010 has been launched. This is the sixth edition of the book which has become a fixture in the wine libraries of wine lovers, connoisseurs and wine professionals alike. The launch party was an intimate gathering of the main wine personalities of Israel, including all the major wine writers and critics […]

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Israeli wine festival in Jerusalem – June 4 26, May 2009 As part of the 2009 Israel Festival, the wineries in the Jerusalem area will be holding a one-day festival on the beatiful campus of the Hebrew University, in the botanical gardens (I believe that this is the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew U, not Mt. Scopus). The festival will be Thursday June 4, beginning at […] In: Events Tags: Jerusalem, wine fair, wine tasting

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Google’s Top 100 Wine Blogs 21, Nov 2008 According to the wine site enobytes.com, HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog is one of the top 100 Google wine blogs. Here are the top 5 blogs: 1        Vinography 2        Wine Library TV 3        Dr Vino 4        The Pour 5        Fermentation Our good friend Richard’s Israeli Wine Direct blog, about his important business of bringing Israeli wine into […]

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7 Dec 2009 I’ve written about Sommolier 2009, Israel’s biggest wine festival, here and here. Here are more photos from the event. If you have more please leave the link in the comments or e-mail info@israeli-wine.org

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Carmel – On the Way Up 10, Dec 2007 While Carmel Mizrahi Winery is definitely not my favorite, it is the old man on the block. Founded by Baron Rothschild, who is also the founder of many top French chateaus, in the late 19th century, the history of Carmel is the history of modern Israel. However, for many years that also means that it […]

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