It’s a few days until New Years – or Sylvester as we call it in Israel – and with that comes bubbly. Yup, sparkling wine (or champagne, but champagne really only refers to sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France). Well, Israel isn’t known for being a world-class leader in this category but there are several worthwhile (and a few lacking, I admit) Israeli sparkling wines worth opening this December 31. The always-excellent Golan Heights Winery makes two different […]

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When I first visited Eli Ben Zaken of Castel, in 2006, he said that he was waiting for the Wine Advocate to start noticing Israeli wines. It seems, his wish has happened. Mark Squires, of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, has just reviewed 11 Israeli wines in the latest issue (#193). All of the wines scored between 87-93 points, including the following 3 90+ point wines: 1. Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, 2007: 93 points 2. Margalit, Enigma, 2007: 90 points […]

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10 Apr 2011 by David Rhodes The white French Columbard grape (often called just Columbard elsewhere) plays many roles in Israeli wine production. It is the most planted white wine grape in Israel and noted for being suited to warmer climates. It’s used in many white blends, as the base for sparkling wine or even brandy but has yet to make a name center stage such as a featured single varietal like its white counterparts: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Muscat […]

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21, Nov 2007 Share Tweet Questions for anyone who happened to stop by this blog: When did you start learning about/appreciating wine? Why do you like wine? How do you learn about wine? Books? Which ones? Courses? Where? Winery tours? What countries/regions? Share this:EmailPrintFacebookStumbleUponDigg In: Wine 101 Tags: books, learning, survey, wine education

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21 Nov 2007 by Questions for anyone who happened to stop by this blog: When did you start learning about/appreciating wine? Why do you like wine? How do you learn about wine? Books? Which ones? Courses? Where? Winery tours? What countries/regions? In: Wine 101 Tags: books, learning, survey, wine education

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21, Nov 2007 Share Tweet Questions for anyone who happened to stop by this blog: When did you start learning about/appreciating wine? Why do you like wine? How do you learn about wine? Books? Which ones? Courses? Where? Winery tours? What countries/regions? Share this:EmailPrintFacebookStumbleUponDigg In: Wine 101 Tags: books, learning, survey, wine education

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21, Nov 2007 Share Tweet Questions for anyone who happened to stop by this blog: When did you start learning about/appreciating wine? Why do you like wine? How do you learn about wine? Books? Which ones? Courses? Where? Winery tours? What countries/regions? Share this:EmailPrintFacebookStumbleUponDigg In: Wine 101 Tags: books, learning, survey, wine education

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11, Nov 2007 Share Tweet As a follow up to Friday’s post about how Shabbat provides an excellent opportunity for all – Jew, non Jew, religious, non-religious – to experience new wines and explore one’s personal tastes, I mentioned that I was serving the Galil Mountain 2006 Merlot. Just to prove my point more about how Shabbat is […] In: Kosher Tags: Galil Mountain, Gamla, holidays, Shabbat

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One of the secrets frequent wine drinkers indulge in is bringing their own wine along when they eat out at a favorite or new restaurant. It’s called paying a corkage fee referring to the fact the waiter is merely uncorking the wine for you, decanting if necessary and providing the guests with wine glasses. This is a very common practice in many Western countries but it’s a much rarer practice in Israel but growing in popularity as the wine industry […]

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13, Nov 2007 Share Tweet Israeli wine has a bad rap. Too many people associate it with either cooked wine (due to the old way that mevushal ­–a kosher stringency – was done, but wine that is not mevushal is equally kosher and, as I will repeat over and over again, there are plenty of non-certified Israeli wines […]

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