Verdant swathes of ripening cabernet sauvignon unfold against undulating mountains while the chirping of birds rings out in the pristine silence. This idyllic viticultural scene is not in Bordeaux or Napa Valley, but in Bekaa Valley, the agricultural heartland of Lebanon. While wines from the Middle East are unknown to the average wine drinker, winemaking in the region dates back to biblical times, before waves of Islamic rule stamped out the trade. But over the past two decades, winemaking, mostly […]

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The Tishbi Winery recently released their newest addition to their Single Vineyard series their 2007 Tishbi Single Vineyard Old Vine Carignan. This 100% Carignan is from their 45 year old vineyards in Shefaya from which the Tishbi’s got their Hebrew name (an acronym in Hebrew) from renown Israeli poet Chaim Nacham Bialek which stands for “a resident of Shefaya in Israel”. With only 13% alcohol, low for an Israeli red wine, its well balanced between its alcohol, its fruit and […]

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DR: Over the last several years, Israeli wineries have been winning more than their fair share of international recognition and awards. When visiting any of the best Israeli wineries, the recognition they seem to hold most dear is that from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Robert Parker is the founder of the 100 point wine scoring system and a glowing review from his magazine can assure a winery an easier path to higher demand (i.e., easier sales at higher prices). The […]

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Much has changed since I last profiled Barkan in 2007 – the majority of it positive. In fact, so much changed that Barkan earned the title of “Most Improved Winery” in my 2010 annual round up of the Israeli wine scene. Like Israel’s largest winery, Carmel, Barkan in recent years has made an effort to lose its label of a “Supermarket Winery” by creating a number of upper tier labels packed high-end and sophisticated wines. While I have mentioned many […]

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Recanati Winery in Emeq Hefer (in the Industrial Park off Rt. 4) Plenty of food (dairy) and a wide selection of wine for 40 NIS at the winery. Friday June 1st 10am to 3pm. White Red Nights Festival 2012 June 4th-7th, 2012 This is an international festival, focusing on wine, music and cuisine. The festival is produced by the leading production and event management company, “Arnon Paz”, in cooperation with “Avi Ben” wine stores and “Shahar Wine Stores”, which has […]

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Skip to content This article first appeared on wines-israel.com and is reprinted with permission of the author. On Israel’s 64th Independence Day, it is worthwhile to look back at some of Israel’s most influential wines, which have helped to advance Israel’s image as a wine producing country of international quality. These are some of the wines that charted the progress of Israel in the international court of public opinion. The coming list is a story of Israel through its wines […]

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The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission. It represents the opinions of the author. Israeli wine has always had a special place in its surrounding society. It has had the same relevance and prominence from the days of Ancient Israel in Biblical times, through the Pre-State period at the end of the 19th century, to the now, more than 60 year old, State of Israel. In ancient times wine was a major industry and vines, grapes and wine […]

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Ha’aretz’s weekend magazine has a new series where they profile a parent and child. This weekend is Moti Teperberg, from Teperberg 1870, and his daughter Hila Lieber-Teperberg. read the full article A little history of Teperberg winery: Moti is a fifth-generation Jerusalemite on his father Menachem’s side and 10th generation on his mother Rivka’s side. The foundations for the family’s wine business were laid by Avraham Teperberg, who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine from Austria in 1850, and two years later […]

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David Rhodes talking about the Ramat Aviv Wine Festival with DJ Richard Freeman on Rustymikeradio.com David Rhodes talks about Israeli wine and food & wine pairing for the holidays David Rhodes discusses wine and food pairing for Rosh Hashana The following article was written by David Rhodes. for Viewpoint Magazine, for the Young Israel movement and National Council of Young Israel Magazine. Download the PDF, Viewpoint-WineMakingIsrael The Jerusalem Post has published an edited version of my article Wine Recommendations for Rosh Hashana. Read […]

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Although white wines have lost favor to red wines over the last few decades, they still have their place behind a bar or on restaurant wine lists or your wine fridge. As summer approaches, warm or even sweltering weather begs for chilled drinks and there’s no white wine grape more widely planted or in greater demand by patrons than Chardonnay. That’s not to say all Chardonnay’s are created equal or that if you find one Chardonnay you like you’ll also […]

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