The Montefiore family, Adam, David & Rachel, were photographed at a private meal at the Ritz Carlton, with bottles of Carmel, Tabor and Montefiore wines on the table. Adam works for Carmel, David for Tabor and Rachel for Montefiore wineries. One family, three wineries.
The father , Adam Montefiore, has worked for many years in the wine industry, for Bass Charrington in England, and for the last twenty five years in Israel, for both the Golan Heights Winery and Carmel Winery. He is now wine development director for Carmel Winery and Yatir Winery.
His son, David Montefiore was in turn wine & spirits manager and sommelier at some of Israel’s leading wine restaurants like Tapeo, Jaffa Tel Aviv and Toto. He studied wine at the WSET in London and then worked for Capcanes Winery in Monsant, nr. Priorat, in Spain, and Rocland Winery in the Barossa Valley in Australia. Now he is wine culture manager at Tabor Winery, the 6th largest winery in Israel.
Rachel Montefiore, David’s sister, worked for the Vino Cigar and the Derech Ha’yayin wine shops. She studied at the year-long Ramat Gan College Wine Academy Course, became the sommelier at Pushkin & the Blue Rooster restaurants, and then worked for Bravdo Winery, also marketing Sicilian & Austrian wines. She is now the marketing & sales manager for the new start up, Montefiore Winery.
For the record the wines they drank were Tabor Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Montefiore Red 2012 and Carmel Sumaka Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. One wine for each winery they represent.
Time Out Israel has published a list of the top ten Israeli wineries, as selected by wine expert, Gal Zohar. The list appears in the January edition of the English version of this magazine.
The cover headline is ‘Wine Tourism in Israel.
Gal Zohar is a sommelier and wine consultant, who is also in the process of producing the New Israeli Wine Guide.
He recently published the top ten Israeli red and white wines in association with wine journalist, Yair Gath and will soon publish the full guide.
However the guide is a list of wines, not wineries, so it is of interest to see his top ten winery selection.
The wineries he selects are as follows:
- Carmel Winery
- Golan Heights Winery
- Flam Winery
- Domaine du Castel
- Margalit Winery
- Sphera
- Tzora Vineyards
- Sea Horse
- Lewinsohn
- Kerem Shvo
Wine by the glass, a rip-off or an inexpensive way to expand and enhance your lifetime journey with food and wine. At times it can be one or the other or both depending on how your approach it and where you partake.
Wine by the glass is generally determined by the wholesale price of the bottle so if a restaurant paid NIS 30 or NIS 45 per bottle for instance for a bottle of Dalton Canaan or Carmel Appellation (two popular series of wines in Israeli restaurants) that the establishment would charge consumer the same per glass and that this was an unreasonable mark-up since they might pour 4 to 5 glasses per bottle. Often the restaurant will get special pricing on wines they offer by the glass to encourage lower prices to the consumer and because they know they will move more and that most places limit who gets those most competitive slots on a wine list. This pricing schematic often holds true but the conclusion that this is unreasonable is open to debate. On the surface for anyone who hasn’t worked in a restaurant this might see this as aggressive pricing yet for wines without a track record of selling well, basing the by the glass price on the wholesale bottle cost guarantees an owner that when the staff opens a bottle to pour by the glass that if no one else orders that wine in a timely fashion that they won’t have to pour any leftovers down the sink, use it for cooking or drink it after work one night. This allows the management to offer a greater selection of wines by the glass if they know any time staff opens a bottle they will at least break even. Now many places will even give better prices on wines they know they can move well. For instance, if a bottle costs NIS 75 (Flam Classico) and they get 5 150ml (5 oz.) glasses per 750 ml. (25 oz.) bottle they might for instance offer it at NIS 28/glass during Happy Hour (NIS 140 per bottle) or NIS 35/glass (NIS 175/bottle) or NIS 40/glass (NIS 200/bottle) and still make a decent mark-up if the wine was moving. If it wasn’t a popular wine or new to the list and they were fearful of selling only half the bottle they might barely break even when you consider their overhead of the building, staff, glasses and decanters (including breakage) and storage costs for older vintages. Additionally some restaurants have lower margins on their food because they expect their beverage sales will help offset those margins. With restaurants that seem to have high mark-ups and small portions of food, high mark-ups and small portions of wine can seem excessive and over taxing. Often, a restaurant might have some wines by the glasses that are better deals than others so don’t be afraid to ask your server their favorite, what they think the “best deal” is or even for a taste.
I’ve heard it said that “wine people” don’t order wine by the glass and they almost always order wine by the bottle because they of all people know how bad a value ordering by the glass is and they’re not prone to be satisfied with just one glass. I think that’s a bizarre statement to make. There are plenty of circumstances I as a “wine person” or other “wine people” might not order by the bottle. Often I come across a wine I’m curious to try but might be alone and don’t want to spring for a whole bottle. Or I might want to even order a flight of wines (smaller tastes 60 ml. of three wines with a common theme) if they have that option, so I can better decide what I might want to order for the whole table or just as a way of expanding my wine knowledge and experience beyond just one offering. Also, depending on what I’m eating or how many courses are being offered maybe if I’m thinking I might start with a white go onto a red and then a dessert wine. As insider I might want a perfect wine to match each course instead of trying to find just one wine that matches them best of all wines available on their list. Some restaurants will stock some 1/2 bottles (375 ml) to accommodate a couple who might want to pair their courses with more than one wine without getting totally sloshed at their table or soaked by the bill. Or if dining as part of business, sometimes it seems more appropriate to drink less than more. Or if you need to drive later most regions now have strict enough driving laws that any more imbibing than one or two glasses of wine an hour is risking your safety (and that of others ) as well as your freedom from incarceration or wallet gauging fines. Or maybe its lunch and one glass with the meal seems reasonable but anymore than that means some difficulty trying to get back to work that day or getting fired from your job (which to seems like just a way of sponsoring a wine habit).
Some might think that buying wine by the glass you didn’t know might result you getting poured leftover wine left on someone’s table because it was someone’s experience that any time anyone did that their establishment had a policy of pouring that remaining wine by the glass. It may happen but it is the exception and not the rule. What I have seen establishments do is if a bottle is sent back because for whatever reason it wasn’t suitable for anyone who ordered it that the restaurant then resell that wine so not to take a lost if the wine wasn’t considered faulty by the staff. This should be expected when a wine might be the wrong vintage, there was a miscommunication or a wine just does not live up to expectations at an establishment with an empathetic staff and it’s why one person is poured a sample first for testing before the bottle is poured to all the guests. If this is a concern for you feel free to ask when the wine was opened and even ask to inspect the bottle (if its not attached to a pouring system at the bar the staff should be willing to comply) although some “house specials” some places like to keep under wraps so their competition don’t catch on. As a sommelier, I always wanted a bottle marked when it was opened so if I was off any shifts I and other staff knew how long a bottle was opened before pouring by the glass. So asking what the policy of the establishment is, how they preserve opened bottles and the provence of any bottle or glass coming to your table isn’t the most outrageous request if you have concerns. For kosher consumers, they may want to order the whole bottle only because they want to guarantee the provenance of the wine.
If one is considering buying wine by the bottle instead of by the glass because it allows for taking unfinished wine home by placing the cork in the bottle. I’ve done that for myself when out and for others where I’ve served but it’s not been a major consideration and if the mark up is steep not a good selling point since if the price is two to three times or more what you might be to get on your own a half a bottle of leftover wine is still the same price or maybe twice as much or more as a whole new bottle bought to take home.
Surprisingly, the best value option for some reason is often ignored. If the cost of having wine out is a concern exploring the restaurant’s corkage policy (where you bring your own bottle and often for a small fee drink your wine in their glasses) is your best bet to get the best bang for your buck dining out but that has and does it’s own article. Call ahead if this interests you and support establishments that you think are charging reasonable prices for their wines by the glass or bottle (whether its theirs or yours) otherwise you’re supporting the owner’s lifestyle rather than your own. Many people who have money need help spending it but for those who have a bit less they still deserve and should expect to be able to enjoy a night out at reasonable prices for quality food, wine and service.
(disclaimer: wholesale prices mentioned for wines were generalizations and for privacy sake of the wineries not entirely accurate but provided as rough examples…those prices are considered confidential to the wineries and their wholesale clients)
David Rhodes, CBW is a sommelier who has worked at restaurants and wineries in Israel and the United States. David has written hundreds of wine articles and hosted his over 100 episodes of his own radio show about Israeli wine and can be reached at [email protected]
