Posted at 04:21h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 0 Comments One of my favorite ways of passing an evening in Israel is introducing visitors or newcomers to good if not great Israeli wines and dining experiences they haven’t yet encountered. Often I’m limited by different factors such as if the group keeps kosher or keeping to a budget of some kind. I don’t see those as constraints as much as challenges. Anyone can host an amazing evening with an […]

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Posted at 21:18h in Events, Kosher by Avi 0 Comments For the religiously observant who do not want to attend a wine festival that also has non-certified kosher wine, and a testament to the growing sophistication of even the more observant populations, a rival wine festival that consists of solely kosher wine is now also taking place in Jerusalem. More than 40 wineries will be exhibiting at the Jerusalem +972 Kosher Wine Festival. The festival is one of the largest […]

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Posted at 09:37h in Wine industry by 1 Comment I have just been informed by Richard of Israeli Wine Direct that limited quantities of Clos de Gat is being made available. Clos de Gat is also available in the US via some New York-based distributors, but besides IWD’s purchase, had to find outside of New York. Clos de Gat is an excellent boutique Israeli wine – in fact, the wine importer that I was with a few weeks ago picked […]

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Posted at 22:16h in Events, Wineries, Wines by Avi 0 Comments Sommelier 2015 has come and gone. Held yesterday and today, wineries from around the world poured hundreds of wines to members of the food and beverage industry, including top wine journalists and critics from Germany, France, India, the Netherlands, and Poland. One of the benefits of Sommelier is that many wineries that don’t otherwise attend wine festivals attend this event and wineries that attend other events frequently pour special […]

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Posted at 21:18h in Events, Kosher by Avi 0 Comments For the religiously observant who do not want to attend a wine festival that also has non-certified kosher wine, and a testament to the growing sophistication of even the more observant populations, a rival wine festival that consists of solely kosher wine is now also… Posted at 20:06h in Events by Avi 0 Comments The Ra’anana Wine Festival takes place tomorrow (Wednesday June 27) and Thursday June 28 at Lev […]

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If you like white wines half as much as I do then you should stop by the last night of the 5th Annual White Festival at the Herzliya Marina. There is an amazing selection of Israeli and imported white wines, rosés and sparkling wines in…

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Posted at 11:12h in Wineries, Wines by Avi 0 Comments This was the second year of the Best Value competition, organized by Studio Ben Ami. There were 128 wines in the competition from 28 Israeli wineries. The main category was for wines less than 79 shekels and there were also prizes for wines under 50 shekels. The results were announced at the David InterContinental Hotel in Tel Aviv and they are listed below. The best results were achieved by Carmel […]

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Posted at 10:41h in Wine 101, Wines by Avi 0 Comments Unfortunately most Israelis associate sweet wines with Kiddush and religious ritual, and therefore the very word ‘sweet’ has connotations of a cheap and nasty wine. Something which is to be avoided, at all costs. However some of the world’s most sought after and expensive wines are sweet, pudding wines. An Eiswein or Trockenbeerenauslese from Germany, Icewine from Canada or Sauternes from Bordeaux are sweet, but it would be a […]

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Beers 2013 at Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv During my four plus years in Israel, I’ve tried to attend the major beer events each year typically held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. By far the one most suited for writers and insiders is the annual Beers Israel expo organized by Sommelier Israel, the same organizers of the annual Sommelier wine trade show typically held every November in Tel Aviv. It’s the only beer event in Israel with three hours each […]

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Posted at 15:23h in Events, Wineries by Avi 0 Comments David Rhodes is the only guy I’ll call the Israeli wine guy besides myself. He’s definitely one of my favorite Israeli wine guys — and a neighbor to boot. David was just on Gary Vaynerchuk’s Sirius radio, talking about Israeli wine. Listen to David on Gary’s show:… Posted at 17:06h in Events, Featured, Reviews by Avi 12 Comments In honor of Gary Vaynerchuk’s appearance in Wednesday’s New York Times, I’ve […]

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