As I have often mentioned, while most wines are meant to be consumed early and don’t benefit from any additional time in the bottle, a few years of cellaring can make magic happen for a small percentage of quality wines (usually the most exciting ones). The additional time in the bottle gives the tannins, acid, fruit and flavors time to come together in the harmonious music the wine maker intended. However, this week I wanted to focus on another oenophilic […]

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Here are two videos on how to taste wine. Not specifically Israeli-wine related but still useful for many. From WikiHow Steps Look at the wine, especially around the edges. Tilting the glass a bit can make it easier to see the way the color changes from the center to the edges. Holding the glass in front of a white background, such as a napkin, tablecloth, or sheet of paper, is another good way […]     The World Cup is […]

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Ha’aretz’s Family Affair section in the weekend paper profiled Roy Yitzhaki, owner of Tulip Winery, last month. Yitzhaki, 30, started the winery while still in college (in his mid-20s), and also runs a marketing company with Saslove in Tel Aviv. Very interesting to see a true entrepreneur. Tulip, whose first release was only in 2004, […] The latest Ha’aretz review from Israeli wine critic Daniel Rogov. This time, on what he calls good values in local wines. Note that all […]

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Haven’t watched it yet but Gary Vaynerchuk has the 2003 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon on the latest Wine Library TV. Now, if only he referred to it as Israeli and not kosher (although it is a great wine – like most of Golan Heights Winery – that happens to be kosher)! Why do you think he […] Monday night I had the opportunity to taste five truly amazing wines. While most were from California (including Covenant’s second label, the Cabernet Sauvignon […]

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One of my new favorite Israeli wineries comes from a kibbutz not far from Jerusalem. Tzuba Winery is based at Kibbutz Tzuba in the Judean Hills. It’s first release was only from the 2005 vintage. While that vintage was quite enjoyable, this year’s releases (of the 2006 and 2007 vintages) are absolutely amazing and a great price. Only available in Israel, Tzuba is just another hidden gem of unique and excellent wines only available to visitors in Israel. My favorite […]

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During the last five years, I’ve attended dozens of Israeli wine festivals. Now I even consult for a few festivals. Before I moved to Israel I helped start a wine festival for San Diego County’s wineries. After years of offering free advice, I found often that the only way to get people to listen to you is to charge for your advice. Sadly most people seem to put value on advice depending how much they pay. Some doctors and lawyers […]

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Ella Valley Winery is located in the valley of Ella in the Judean Hills, which has been a viticulturally important area for 2000 years. While, from an historical point of view, the aesthetically stunning Ella Valley is primarily known for the monumental show-down between David and Goliath; it does have other claims to fame. As with many other Israeli wineries, an ancient wine press was discovered on the site of the winery providing additional visual confirmation that the area had […]

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The Savannah Morning News picked the Galil Mountain Chard as the “Wine of the Day” for January 30, 2008. Saying that it could fool anyone into thinking it’s a California Chardonnay in a blind tasting, I have to admit that I would be very interested in trying. Israeli wines definitely would make a useful blind […] From the Vancouver straight.com. The prices seem a bit high, I must admit (although it is Canadian dollars). Uncorked February 14, 2008 Israeli wines […]

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While this site is not a kosher wine site, with many Israeli wine not being kosher and much kosher wine not being Israeli, I know it’s of interest to some readers and so I’m reviewing a new book out on the market, written by a New York real estate expert, The Kosher Grapevine: Exploring the World of Fine Wine Disclaimer: I received the book as a review copy Irving Langer’s The Kosher Grapevine: Exploring the World of Fine Wine is […]

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Wine Blogging Wednesday featured kosher wine and was hosted by The Corkdork. Yes, I know, it’s Thursday, but Wednesday was chag, the last day of Passover in Israel and the second-to-last day in the Diaspora. More importantly, I was invaded by the in-laws, so my Wine Blogging Wednesday post had to wait. For WBW: Kosher […] Gary Vaynerchuk does a kosher and Israeli wine tasting I’ve posted my Passover wine recommendations here and here (and, in an update, I believe […]

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