Two Israeli wineries have been included in Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Book 2010. Domaine du Castel and Yatir Winery are both listed for the first time signalling more recognition for the advances of Israeli wine. As far as wine recommendation goes, Castel’s Grand Vin and Yatir Forest are both awarded two stars. ‘C’ Blanc du Castel and Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon are each awarded one star. Two stars equates to: “An excellent wine in its category – one especially worth seeking […]

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Wine and cheese. No pairing of food and beverage is as ubiquitous in the Western world. Whether in North or South America or along the Mediterranean, when we think of one we most often think about enjoying it with the other. As Shavuot nears in Israel, a holiday where the consumption of dairy products in place of meat is the custom, Israeli wineries traditionally release and promote their white wines to coincide with Shavuot as well as to quench the […]

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School’s out! The tourists have arrived. Israelis are on vacation and visitors from around the world are amassing on Israel for their summer vacation. While you’re here this summer, there are some tremendous events not worth missing on the wine scene: 24 June – Lecture Series: Wine in Ancient Israel The Tel Aviv wine shop Pri HaGafen is hosting a series of lectures by Professor Amos Hadas who is indeed one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on […]

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I received the following report from Neta Reef of Israeli Wine Company, about the recent Israeli wine festival hosted by Kehillah Jewish High School in California. If you’ve attended or run an Israeli wine event contact me to post it beforehand and let me know how it went and maybe I will post it here. Yesterday, June 4th, the Kehillah Jewish High School together with the Israel Wine Company hosted an Israeli Wine Festival and a tasting at the beautiful […]

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Nestled amongst the vines of Israel’s largest contiguous vineyard at Kibbutz Hulda, about thirty minutes southwest of Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest winery, Barkan, hosted a press event to inaugurate it’s new and long awaited visitor center and to launch its release of their three Cabernet Sauvignon’s in their 2009 Barkan Altitude series. Over 30 wine writers and bloggers were invited from all over Israel to witness what is a major accomplishment in Israel, getting approval for a large visitor […]

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The 2013 winners of the annual Eshkol Hazahav Awards were announced at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, June 3rd to a good turnout of many of Israel’s best winemakers & an array of wine insiders. It’s the only annual wine awards focusing entirely on Israeli wines (supplemented a Best Value Awards) organized by sommelier Avi Ben Ami. Fifty four Israeli wineries submitted 236 wines to be judged. It was hosted as part of Culinary 2013, an exposition which […]

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I’ve never had the Segal (I’m scared away from them because of their low-end stuff), but will be looking out for this wine shortly due to Gary V’s review. I strongly enjoy the Yiron myself, and just picked up the Yiron-Syrah last week (a different wine) but yet to open. Carmel still has to get past their history and make more serious wines, but some of the Single Vineyard is pretty good, but they still have to improve, I admit. […]

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The following post is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission. Eli Ben Zaken, owner of Domaine du Castel, invited some of the world’s most famous wine personalities to Israel. They included Michel Bettane from France, Robert Joseph from England, Jan Van Lissom from the Netherlands, and Jeannie Cho Lee from Hong Kong. Michel Bettane is France’s most famous wine critic. He wrote for many years for La Revue du Vin and is author of the book “The World’s Greatest Wines.” […]

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When I moved to California from Massachusetts, I missed the embedded and concentrated layers of culture and history that New England had to offer over the American Southwest. Yet when moving to Israel, those hundreds of years of New England culture were overshadowed by thousands of years of civilizations that can be overwhelming to a resident as much as to a tourist exploring without a guide. I’ve half-kidded that with the right tour guide, you could easily walk every ten […]

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The following is reprinted from wines-israel.com. I don’t have to mention that another great source of Israeli wine news is this blog, aggregating and publicizing in Israel in English the story of the Israeli wine scene. The wine critic is someone who is wine knowledgeable. His job is to taste wine on our behalf and write about in a way that is informative and helpful. A critic will gain a guru-like following of people who follow every word. He quantifies […]

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