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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Posted at 13:05h in Wine industry by 0 Comments The following is a guest post from Ezra Butler, a fellow evangelist of Israeli wine. It was originally printed on Jewneric. I love his call to “be an Israeli wine evangelist.” Maybe it’s just me, but everywhere I turn in Jerusalem, I am sucked into a conversation about wine. People who know me professionally lament to me, asking “Why doesn’t Israel market itself through its wines?” My friends will either tell […]

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Posted at 07:47h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 0 Comments Besides the heat and humidity, one way I can tell summer is creeping up is when Israeli wineries start releasing their new vintages of white wines and rosés. One of the first Israeli wineries to land their new wines on my doorstep this spring is…

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Posted at 19:02h in Reviews, Wine industry by 0 Comments Just watched the WLTV clip. Gary gives a shoutout to my favorite wine critic – Daniel Rogov, the guru of Israeli wine and the only wine critic in Israel writing in English and for a foreign (and local) audience. It seems that Gary very much enjoyed the Yarden 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not surprised as all of the wines from the Golan Heights Winery are at a high level (OK, […]

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Posted at 20:38h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 1 Comment Tel Aviv Wine Festival this week…Wednesday March 6th & Thursday March 7th (NIS 70 at the door or NIS 50 by phone: 054-437-9144 or 054-225-0144) at ZOA (Zionist Organization of America) at corner of Ibn Gvirol & Daniel Frisch 6PM t0 11 PM featuring about 30 Israeli wineries offering about 100 wines to taste… a great price for a great night…for the price of two glasses at a wine […]

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Rosé is a tremendously underappreciated wine that goes well with an incredible array of food with the ability to provide welcome respite from the uncomfortable summer heat and humidity. With all due respect to Eric Asimov, while I do sometimes enjoy Rosé during the year Rosé is and always will be the perennial summer wine for me. As someone who revels in the continuous proliferation of great kosher options for the budding wine lover, I enjoy most varietals and many […]

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Posted at 13:00h in Events, Wine industry by 0 Comments So I returned Wednesday night from the first public night of the Israwinexpo 2008, Israel’s 2nd international wine trade show. While the two public days were mostly wine tastings attended by Israel’s growing oenophiles (and a few tourists, including my parents), the first day was only for professionals. Journalists from Wine Spectator, Decanter (one of Europe’s top wine magazines), several Asian wine journalists, and top wine critics (including Mark Squires, […]

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Posted at 07:47h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 0 Comments Besides the heat and humidity, one way I can tell summer is creeping up is when Israeli wineries start releasing their new vintages of white wines and rosés. One of the first Israeli wineries to land their new wines on my doorstep this spring is…

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Buy The Ultimate Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines The following is printed with permission of the author The ultimate, and final, Rogov Guide has been published. It contains nearly 687 pages. Last years version had a mere 603 pages! This year there is no International kosher wine Guide, nor a version in Hebrew. The book is published by Toby Press, the publisher, which has provided a wonderful service to Israeli wine over the years. Rogov’s Guide was first published in 2005 and […]

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Posted at 17:58h in Wine industry, Wines by Avi 0 Comments Petite Sirah was a new immigrant to Israel in the 1970’s. It came in a package ordered by Charles Loinger, the director of the Israel Wine Institute, from UC Davis. Partners in the same journey were French Colombard and Emerald Riesling. The impact of those two white grapes on the Israeli market was initially far greater than Petite Sirah. Colombard became the largest planted white grape in Israel. Even […]

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