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The following article is also from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission. The sentiments are also from us. I & HaKerem salute you!
It was a very moving evening for the Israeli wine industry. They came together as one to salute Daniel Rogov, who has recently been in ill health. Winemakers and growers, wine journalists and wine lovers, restaurateurs and chefs. They gathered to pay tribute to the legendary wine & food critic, who has bestrode the Israel wine & culinary scene for thirty years.
The idea for the event was the brainwave of Eldad Levy, an importer of Champagne and Austrian wines and wine writer for the food & beverage magazine, Al Hashulchan. He passed the idea onto Tal Gal Cohen, president of Chaines des Rotisseurs and owner of the website www.israelwines.co.il. The event was held in the Dan Panorama, kindly arranged by Haim Spiegel, the overall Food & Beverage Director of the Dan Group.
Meni Peer was the distinguished compere of the evening. He is a famous television personality, a veteran wine writer and editor of Israel’s main wine magazine, Wine, Gourmet and Alcohol. Television crews and cameramen added to the atmosphere and sense of occasion.
All the main figures of the Israeli wine industry, past and present, were there to pay their respects. It was said there was never an occasion that so many of Israel’s wineries were represented under one roof.
Daniel Rogov began to write on food and wine in Israel in 1982. Eventually he became a ‘wine and food critic’. (Note the change in order.) He began with the Jerusalem Post and then moved to the Haaretz newspaper. He is the author of a number of food books, but lately is best known for Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines and Rogov’s Guide To Kosher Wines, both published annually.
He consults for Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book and wrote the section on Israel for Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. He also runs a wine discussion forum, which has an international following. He has charted the wine and culinary revolutions in Israel over the last thirty years. Quite apart from this, he is a much loved personality and a raconteur with a story for every occasion. How much loved, he would find out when he attended the tribute in his honor.
When the lights went down and Daniel Rogov entered the banqueting hall to the sound of Sinatra’s ‘I did it my way’ in the background, everyone stood up to a man. The applause lasted until he reached the table in front of the stage and sat down.
Meni Peer opened the proceedings and gave some brief anecdotes and classic Rogov quotes. He explained that Rogov made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel in 1976 from New York, and that 1976 was a special year for Israeli wine. Peer explained it was the year of the legendary Carmel Special Reserve 1976, which was born as though in his honor. It was also the important year that vineyards were first planted on the Golan Heights.
There were two speakers on behalf of the Israel wine industry, Adam Montefiore and Victor Schoenfeld and two representing the Israeli world of gastronomy, Shalom Maharovsky and Eyal Shani.
First there was a video message made by Jay Buchsbaum, vice president of Royal Wine Corp. He had wanted to fly over, but was kept in America because of Hurricane Irene. It was fitting that the world’s largest importer and distributor of kosher wines would send a message to the world’s leading critic of kosher wines.
Tal Gal Cohen, the prime organizer, then read out personal messages to Daniel from some of the world’s most famous wine writers and critics. This very distinguished list included:
Howard Goldberg of the New York Times, and Decanter.
Hugh Johnson, author of The Wine Atlas, Wine Companion & Pocket Wine Book.
Mark Squires, the Israel specialist of the Wine Advocate.
Tom Stevenson, author of the Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia & editor of The Wine Report.
Serena Sutcliffe MW, head of the Sotheby’s Wine Department.
A witty letter from Howard Goldberg referred to Rogov as the ‘Israeli Robert Parker,’ whereas Tom Stevenson described him as an ‘Israeli Hugh Johnson’.
The warmth, respect and how well he is regarded by his international peers, was clearly in evidence from the messages.
Adam Montefiore, wine development director of Carmel Winery, was the first of the main speakers. He told of how he has known Rogov since 1990. He explained Rogov was the first proper wine critic in Israel, who set all the standards. He called him the architect of wine culture in Israel and a great ambassador of Israeli wine worldwide.
Victor Schoenfeld, chief winemaker of the Golan Heights Winery, said that Rogov was the first to develop a proper language for describing wine and reminisced about some of his early meetings with him.
Shalom Maharovsky, owner of the celebrated Mul Yam Restaurant in Tel Aviv, told two anecdotes with characteristic humor centered around Rogov, the personality.
The final guest speaker was the celebrity TV chef, Eyal Shani. He explained how Rogov’s use of words helped him understand wine. He explained he learnt a great deal from Rogov and thanked him for it.
Eldad Levy then gave a witty presentation of Daniel Rogov using existing video footage. This caused a great deal of amusement, especially when Rogov was compared to the food critic in the film ‘Ratatouille.’
The final curtain was a video greeting from Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. It was clear that Vaynerchuk greatly respected Rogov. Of course Rogov had appeared on one of his shows in the not too distant past.
After some brief words of thanks from Rogov himself, there was another standing ovation, again to the strains of ‘My Way’. Then the principals of the Israeli wine world lined up, like at the entrance to a wedding, to hug, kiss and convey the love and affection they felt for a very special man.
Thank you Daniel Rogov for all you have done for Israeli wine and food. Thank you for being the great personality you are. You have had a great effect on the Israeli wine industry in particular and your knowledge, love of wine and humor has touched wine lovers everywhere! Wines-israel salutes you!
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 his opinions exactly, often with a score out of 100 or twenty, depending on the points system used. His readers will know that the difference of one point in a score is a precise statement, and the score overrides any text or explanation about the wine.
The critic who tastes wine for a living should be distinguished from the wine writer. The writer is someone who is caught up with the magic of wine. He is more interested in all that surrounds a wine. He sees the romance in the people that made the wine, the place where it comes from, the particular year it was made and all this is before getting to the wine itself. Wine is a subject that lends itself to literature. It is a fact that people like to talk about wine and read about it, as well as drink it.
Wine critics and wine writers are both educators and translators. Their job is to absorb information, evaluate it and present it in a way that is useful to their readers.
The most powerful, famous and influential wine critic in the world, is an ex lawyer from Maryland, USA called Robert Parker. His judgments can make or break any winery. A score of 90+ points from Parker, and a wine will be sold out immediately, whereas an 89 may scarcely cause a ripple. He has made the scoring system out of 100 a new fashion in wine and here critics have copied him too. His Wine Buyer’s Guide No.7 is generous to Israel, giving Israeli wines no less than nine pages. His main medium for transmitting his message is the highly influential Wine Advocate Newsletter. The Wine Advocate publishes tastings of Israeli wines twice a year.
Hugh Johnson would see himself as a wine writer rather than a wine critic. He is from England and he has written many of the standard books of wine that are in every wine lover’s library. These include the World Atlas of Wine, The Story of Wine and The Wine Companion. His wonderful prose and sheer enthusiasm for wine has nurtured many new wine lovers over the years. Johnson does not believe in wine scores out of 100, believing that one does not give scores in art, music or gastronomy. He instead gives ratings to wineries. His Pocket Wine Book lists no less than thirty Israeli wineries.
Though the wine trade is a very masculine environment, many women are superior tasters to men. Jancis Robinson is a Master of Wine from England who ticks all the boxes. She has the ability to write for wine academics but also for the person who does not yet know how to open a bottle. Her pioneering television programs were classics in their own way. She writes for the Financial Times and has her own flourishing website. She is the editor of the The Oxford Companion To Wine, the most comprehensive encyclopedia on wine that there is, which features an explanation on Israel and kosher wines.
Howard Goldberg, from New York, is the leading international expert on kosher wine. For years he worked as the wine correspondent of the New York Times, and also writes for The Wine News and Decanter Magazines. He was the first international wine writer to detect the wine revolution in Israel nearly 30 years ago and has been a great supporter of Israeli wine since then.
Arguably the most up to date international expert on Israeli wines today, is American Mark Squires, who works in Robert Parker’s elite wine tasting team. He specializes in the wines of Portugal, Greece, Lebanon … and Israel. He does two major tastings of Israeli wines a year which are published in the Wine Advocate.
Apart from this, there are wine magazines like the Wine Spectator in the USA, Decanter from England and La Revue du Vin from France. These have published features on Israel. In Israel the main wine magazine is Wine, Gourmet & Alcohol, which is published by Adi Avissar and edited by the TV celebrity and wine lover, Meni Peer. They all offer scores and reviews and have earned credibility according to their reputations. ‘Al Hashulchan’ is basically a food magazine with a few pages on wine at the end. The wine part is written by Eldad Levy. Both Wine, Gourmet & Alcohol and Al Hashulchan are for Hebrew speakers only.
The main wine communicator in Israel is Daniel Rogov who writes an annual guide on both Israeli & kosher wines and there is much discussion in Rogov’s Wine Discussion Forum, which has an international following. He tastes more Israeli and kosher wines than anyone in a year. His books and data base are comprehensive. He is the nearest there is to an Israeli Robert Parker.
The wine writers for the main Israeli newspapers in Hebrew are Daniel Rogov in Haaretz, Guy Gissar in Yediot Aharonot, Yair Gat in Israel Hayom and Amit Yariv in Calcalist. For those that read in English, Daniel Rogov writes about wine in the English edition of Haaretz. Adam Montefiore writes a weekly column called ‘Wine Talk’ in the Jerusalem Post.
The main Israeli wine websites are www.israeliwines.co.il, created by Israel Preker and now owned by Tal Gal Cohen and www.wines-israel.co.il, created and managed by Israel Preker. The main Israeli wine website for English speakers is www.wines-israel.com. It was created and is maintained by Israel Preker, and it remains a good way to keep in touch with Israeli wine. Apart from this there are countless bloggers who are never shy about pushing forward their own opinions.
The main books on Israeli wine in English are: Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wine by Daniel Rogov, published by Toby Press. This is an annual wine guide, with scores and tasting notes on thousands of wines. The Wine Route of Israel published by Cordinata, is a book about wineries, rather than wines. Michael Ben Joseph’s Bible of Israeli Wines, published by Modan, offers good background on the Israeli wine scene. The Book of New Israeli Food published by Al Hashulchan has a chapter on wine, which is a comprehensive but concise introduction to the world of Israeli wine.
Some Israelis contribute to books written by some of the finest international wine writers. Daniel Rogov writes the chapter on Israeli wine for Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. Adam Montefiore writes the section on ‘Israel’ for Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion To Wine and the section entitled ‘Kosher’, jointly with Howard Goldberg. Michael Ben Joseph writes the part on Israel for Andre Domine’s ‘Wine’. Both Daniel Rogov and Adam Montefiore jointly contribute to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, amongst others.
Fortunately, though the bulk of the wine media in Israel is geared to the Hebrew speaker, there are a few outlets for those seeking information on Israeli wine in English.
At sunset August 29th, at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, a virtual who’s who in Israeli wine attended a tribute to veteran food & wine critic Daniel Rogov. It was especially moving to see how many turned out since we’re in the middle of harvest season in Israel and many of the winemakers are in crunch time working long days and into the night to insure their vineyards yield desired results. Never the less, almost every winemaker of note came to show their appreciation to the man who blazed the trail for discussions about Israeli wines and Israeli cuisine in Israel as well as throughout the world.
Close to three decades of Rogov’s writing weekly newspaper columns of wine and restaurant reviews and more recently yearly guides brought both attention and reflection on Israel as an emerging wine region and culinary destination into today when Israel has become accepted as a region that has come of age by the international food and wine press. Britain’s Hugh Johnson, who publishes the world’s best selling international wine guide, and Mark Squires, who writes about Israeli wines for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, both sent their praise for the most prolific writer about Israeli and kosher wines. America’s most popular and influential wine enthusiast, Gary Vaynerchuk, sent a video tribute, mentioning his affection for Daniel who had appeared on Gary’s Daily Grape video podcast while visiting the United States. Jay Buschbaum, of Kedem wines (the largest importer of Israeli wines into the United States) also sent his regrets for not attending (Hurricane Irene was to blame) and his appreciation for how Rogov’s reviews were critical to Israeli wines gaining acceptance in Israel’s largest overseas marketplace.
Adam Montefiore, who as spokesman for now Carmel and previously the Golan Heights Winery and as an unofficial ambassador for Israeli wine, has known Daniel for decades also took to the stage to impart kind words about a fellow Anglo immigrant whose substantial contribution to Israeli wine was needed if not always appreciated in the moment by wineries who came into Daniel’s focus. Also from Carmel were winemaker Lior Laxer and CEO Israel Ivzan and sister boutique winery Yatir’s laudable winemaker Eran Goldwasser. Carmel’s 2008 Single Vineyard Kayoumi Shiraz was one of the special treats served throughout the evening.
American born and trained Victor Schoenfeld, the winemaker of the Golan Heights Winery for the last twenty years, spoke eloquently about how his and Rogov’s career had mirrored each others for so many years and how Israeli wine had no better advocate and champion during the years it transformed itself from a region associated with making religious sacramental wines to the region it is today noted for making a wide selection of quality wines in different styles and from dozens of grape varietals. Tal Sendovski, Golan Height’s winemaker in charge of research and Israel’s first woman winemaker (since 1989), was also at Victor’s table. Boutique winemakers Uri Hetz of Chateau Golan and Tal Pelter of the Pelter Winery also made the drive down from the Golan Heights for the occasion.
From the Barkan Winery, another of Israel’s women winemakers Irit Boxer was present representing Israel’s second largest winery. Barkan’s Altitude 412 Cabernet Sauvignon and their Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve also filled a lot of glasses throughout the evening. Winemaker Na’ama Sorkin of the Galilee’s Dalton Winery, whose wines have been winning more and more favorable reviews from Daniel, joined Roni Saslove of the Saslove Winery and Illana Rabau of the Alona Winery as other “daughters of the vine” in attendance. Roni’s father winemaker Barry and mother Nili also represented their family winery with several vineyards most notably their Kadita vineyard. Tsina Avidan from the increasingly heralded Avidan Winery, a neighbor of the Saslove Winery, filled in the mix of Israel’s women winemakers who came to applaud their most ardent suitor, well at least of their wines.
And if one mentions the Kadita vineyard, no discussion would be complete without mentioning the Margalit Winery, Israel’s first boutique winery going back to 1989. Margalit has been a perennial favorite of Rogov’s going back to when Ya’ir Margalit founded Israel’s first boutique winery. Ya’ir’s son Assaf Margalit, who took over in 2000 as senior winemaker took an evening off from what is a slightly delayed harvest this vintage as the summer has been unseasonably temperate. Ya’ir was also the first winemaker at the Tishbi Winery, and it’s present winemaker, Golan Tishbi, the winemaker since 2000 also came to pay his respect from Israel’s largest family owned and operated winery.
When one mentions Margalit, often Domaine du Castel is also mentioned as a friendly rival and the Ben Zaken family was present with affable and soft spoken founder Eli one of the many well reviewed winemakers showing their appreciation to a man who showed his appreciation for Castel wines in print for years. South African born Paul Dubb, the former viticulturalist of the Castel Winery and the present winemaker of the up and coming Tzuba Winery came into Tel Aviv from the Judean Hills as well as vineyard pioneer Prof. Ben-Ami Bravdo and his daughter Hadar from Karmei Yosef’s Bravdo Winery.
Additionally, the winemakers from Binyamina (Sasson Ben Aharon & Asaf Paz), Vitkin (Doron & Sharona Belogolovsky), Clos de Gat, Ramat Naftali (Yitzhak Cohen), Galil Mountain, (Micha Vaadia), Recanati (Gil Shatzberg & Ido Lewinsohn) Seahorse (Zeev Dunie), Teperberg (Shlomo Rauchberger), Psagot (Josh Hexter), La Terra Promessa (Sandro Pellegreni) and the whole Flam Winery family ( Golan, Gilad, Israel, Gefen…) helped round out what was touching affair. As well, dozens of employees from many of the wineries , from CEO’s and marketing managers to sommeliers and office staff who have had occasion to host Daniel over the years also came to show their reverence for both the man and the industry he covered in his critiques. Several of Israel’s most famous chef’s and foodies were also in tow including Alon Gonen as well as many of Daniel’s peers in wine media, from print, radio and the internet including the tribute’s celebrity host Meni Peer.
Rogov, as he likes to call himself, was visibly moved by the turnout, the kind words and anecdotes offered and spoke briefly but poignantly at the end of the tribute with many of those attending staying late to commune with Daniel as the event came to a close. Even though over the years, those in attendance haven’t always agreed with each and every one of Daniel’s reviews, all agree on his influence and impact in an industry that they hold dear and many acknowledge the role he played in their wines or cooking gaining popularity. As you might imagine, those who he had consistently panned over the years were less visible in the audience. A case of sour grapes I guess which is after all what Rogov was trying to help us avoid all these years he’s been writing.
The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission
El Al, Israel’s national airline, submitted wines to the annual wine tasting organized by the Global Traveler, along with 28 other international airlines. The competition was for wines served to First Class & Business Class passengers.
To the surprise of those present, an Israeli wine was declared the winner of the category for ‘International First Class White Wines’, finishing ahead of German, French and Californian wines. The winning wine was Carmel Winery’s Appellation Gewurztraminer 2009. It was described as “the outstanding white wine.” The Global Traveller reports: “It was a wine heaped with praise as spicy, expressive, and thinking it was from the grape’s homeland, ‘Alsace at its best.’“
The Appellation Gewurztraminer 2009 was made 100% from Gewurztraminer grapes grown in the Upper Galilee. The wine was harvested early and cold fermented to preserve the unique Gewurztraminer aromas. The wine is off dry and aromatic, with an aroma of lychee, rose petal and a touch of sweetness, but also has a good, refreshing acidity.
Carmel’s Appellation label is for regional wines, which offer an expression of varietal flavors from specific sub regions. The wines are distinguished by their attractive labels featuring a variety of fauna from Biblical Israel, in hand drawn cartoon style. The Gewurztraminer may be recognized by a desert fox on the label. Carmel Winery, founded in 1882 by the Rothschild family, is the historic winery of Israel offering wines which range from the prestigious Carmel Limited Edition, one of Israel’s finest wines, to Selected, Israel’s largest selling brand.
The competition, which is organized annually, is called: ‘Wines on the Wing’. A panel of no less than 31 judges tasted and rated the wines served by international airlines.
Apart from El Al, the airlines taking part included: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Alitalia, Delta, IIberian Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, Virgin etc. The tasting was held at the Academia di Vino on Third Avenue in Manhattan, New York.
Congratulations to El Al and Carmel Winery!
In going from winery to winery, wine event to wine event and talking to winemakers, employees and wine customers in Israel, one of the names that frequently comes up in conversation about wine is food and wine critic Daniel Rogov. His critiques in Israel pick apart the idiosyncracies of a restaurant’s food, service and atmosphere with high praise, mixed feelings or maybe just desserts for the restaurants efforts or offenses. His wine reviews analyze the complexity, balance and expressiveness of a wine (or the lack there of) and describe a profile of flavors one might expect if they bother to take the time to savor and not gulp down their next glass or two. Every Wednesday, readers of the English version of the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz (Tuesday in the Hebrew edition) can read his wine reviews. Every Thursday, they can read a restaurant review. Since Haaretz is the Israeli affiliate of the New York Times (the International Herald Tribune), these articles can have widespread impact.
As Israeli wines and even its restaurant scene have improved dramatically it’s only natural that his reputation and stature have improved as well. It’s almost as if you were selling people on Yugo’s and Yugo’s all of a sudden (or over 25 years) started to make a product that competed with BMW and Infiniti, they’re bound to take someone more seriously or even just take more notice of the guy who was speaking about the potential of Yugo’s all along. Not that his reputation has depended strictly on the performance of Israeli wines, he also has a small apartment in Paris and Florence that allows him to travel and write about European wines for other publications. As much as he’s tied to Israel, he grew up speaking Russian, English and Yiddish, three languages not too uncommon for a kid being raised in the 40’s in Brooklyn, New York.
Daniel Rogov at a cafe on Basel Street in Tel Aviv
Having moved to Israel, Christmas Day, 1976 he got to Israel well before the wine revolution started in Israel. He started to write about food and wine in Europe before starting to write in Israel in 1982 (just as vintages were being picked would find their way into game changing Golan Heights wines and soon after Tishbi wines). These two wineries started the dry wine revolution against kiddush wine and insipid bulk wine that then dominated the Israeli wine marketplace.
So, he has much perspective about Israeli wines as almost anyone having tasted each of these wineries evolve, older wineries revamp and newer wineries emerge. Yet, he’s a very controversal figure in Israeli wine. Why, well to start he’s a critic and critics give their opinions and the better the critic the more opinionated they might be.
Now opinions are subjective in nature even if some criticisms are more fact based than others. But additionally, the taste of food and wine is subjective as well, and rating the service or atmosphere of a restaurant maybe even more so. Having expressed his opinion thousands of times over almost three decades he’s had the opportunity to engender praise and gratitude for positive reviews as well as scorn and antipathy for negative reviews. After 27 years he might even have several generations of families who love him or hate him but if you’re in either the restaurant or wine business it’s difficult to ignore his influence.
That being said, I have had the recent opportunity to debate Daniel Rogov on a few issues on another site about various issues about Israeli wines. It shouldn’t have come to my surprise that he, like me, has a background in philosophy. Criticism is actually, like logic, a common theme in philosophy and our arguments online were poignant yet often dialectic. I can’t say if either of us ever convinced the other of our views but we drew a lot of other parties into the discussions and at least brokered some debates that were interesting to follow and participate in (one was about the quality and perceived quality of mevushal wines and another was about whether a site promoting Israeli wines or Israeli wine writers should review Lebanese wines since they’ve been at a continuous state of war with Israel since 1948). I won’t say who was on what side and how the discussion played out (so as not to rekindle the same debate) but the views others brought to it and their reasons were as much as interest to me as of Rogov’s and mine but it’s his participation in debating the merits of food and wine issues that gives a certain gravitas and magnitude to these discussions for his articles in newsprint cause people to stand up and take notice. Agree with him or not, I don’t think Robert Parker is spending the time online engaging his readers the way Rogov does.
With my only contact at this point with Rogov (as he often signs his correspondence) being online, it was a result of a cancelled meeting one day in Tel Aviv recently that I followed up on an opportunity to meet this iconic figure in Israeli food and wine. We met at a local coffee shop on Basel Street (or Bazel Street… Tel Aviv maps and street signs are infamous for having multiple inconsistent English spellings of the same street on different street signs… I think Ibn Givrol might be the worst offender). Of course he preferred sitting outside, he’s a reknowned smoker (more about that later) though it was a dripping hot sticky humid summer day. We sat for about an hour with Rogov interviewing me at first as much as I interviewed him.
Daniel Rogov and David Rhodes at a coffee shop in Tel Aviv: Where’s the wine at?
Although he is incredibly active on various internet sites, he says it’s disturbing how anonymous some people remain in discussion forums and how cowardly it is to attack others who post their real identity while the attackers often hide behind screen names. So I guess, the fact that I not only posted my name and my contact information and that in our online discussions/debates my opinions may have seemed less based on conjecture than others, he agreed it would be good to put a face to who we were talking to online.
Now that being said, I was innately curious about how the meeting might progress. I had mentioned to him about how I had wanted to interview him for this site but I thought by our discussion on the phone it might be a pre-interview introduction more than anything else. Yet, the casual get together quickly gave way to the give and take of an interview and he was very careful to say what was on the record and what was not for publication. He often would interject with personal anecdotes that made for a quicker sense of familiarity than otherwise might have happened at our first meeting and made for a less stuffy start to my afternoon.
Rogov has a certain charm about him that is disarming even though he can’t seem or doesn’t care to censor his comments for effect on how it might offend others. For instance, when I made contact with him and I asked him where he lived, he responded with “the Holy City”, (then a pregnant pause) Tel Aviv. Now I thought it was funny but he didn’t know me and I could see how it could offend others the wrong way and maybe as someone who’s been a critic for decades his work and habits of expressing comments and opinions have given him a poetic license to always say what’s on his mind. Friends of mine may say that I might exhibit a similar trait but maybe that’s why writers need editors. In fact, some of his most vocal critics seem to be religious Jews living in Israel who wished he would refrain from reviewing non-kosher wines and non-kosher restaurants.Maybe his new book about strictly, the best kosher wines in the world will be seen as an act of contrition to the kosher consumer. With over 1300 kosher wineries in the world (there’s only about 2-300 Israeli wineries many of them which are non-kosher) writing about world-wide kosher wineries might be even a more daunting task than writing exclusively about Israeli wines and Rogov does propose that he has probably tasted more kosher wines than anyone else in the world.
Now with only an hour or so for our first meeting (and I hope one day I’ll be able to sit and actually drink wine with him instead of meeting over coffee) there was a lot of questions left unasked for another day but Rogov was good at cutting to the chase. In explaining what he saw as the role of the critic, he asserted that a critic should write “what you perceive as the truth.” This opened up to the disclaimer that “…critics are not always right. We make mistakes. We’re human”. Yet, he proclaimed his “only boss is the readers” of what he writes.
This article was first written on Travelujah and reprinted with permission.
The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission
Hugh Johnson on Israeli Wine 16.08.2011
The newest edition of the Pocket Wine Book, the 2012 version, has arrived. It is published by Mitchell Beazley, part of the Octopus Publishing Group. This is the annual, mini-encyclopedia written by Englishman, Hugh Johnson. It is the world’s largest selling wine book and is translated into many languages and sold around the world. Hugh Johnson is the world’s most distinguished and prolific wine writer.
The book is like a Michelin guide in that it gives a rating to Israeli wineries. It was first published in 1977 and since then has been published annually. Hugh Johnson is helped by an editorial team, some of whom are famous wine journalists in their own right. Israel may be found in an Eastern Mediterranean section that also includes Cyprus, Lebanon and Turkey.
In this new edition, there are no less than thirty two Israeli wineries listed, which is a record number for Israel in this particular book. The wineries added this time are: Gvaot, Lewinsohn, Psagot, Yaffo and Shvo (as yet without a rating.)
Both Domaine du Castel and Yatir Winery have held on to their four star rating. This puts them amongst some of the finest wineries in the world. Four stars is the maximum a winery is able to receive.
Wineries that have advanced since last year are: Tzora, Chillag and Dalton. Each of these wineries has improved their rating.
Barkan-Segal, Carmel, Galil Mountain and Tabor receive recognition for having good value wines at all price points.
The Margalit Special Reserve receives a personal endorsement for being particularly enjoyed by Hugh Johnson, himself.
In his introduction to the Israel section, Johnson writes that Israel is a country with a chronic shortage of water, a lack of rain and a hot climate. Yet, he goes on to say that the country is making the best wine produced in Israel for 2,000 years. He notes the up to the minute viticulturists, the winery technology and dynamic winemakers. He reports that the red wines, especially Bordeaux blends, Shiraz, old vine Carignans and Petite Sirahs seem to be improving each year.
On the Eastern Mediterranean, Johnson writes: “Lebanon…and Israel are taking giant steps forward.” He also comments that the eastern and southern Mediterranean is an old vine paradise. “The new desire to make quality wines from low-yielding, old-bush vines is throwing up some interesting surprises.” He recommends: “Look out for old-vine Carignans from Israel and Tunisia, Cinsault from Lebanon and Grenache and Syrah from Morocco.”
In last year’s edition, Hugh Johnson summarized his view on scores. “This book doesn’t do wine-by-wine judgments. No scores. The one-to-four star code is my take on the winery…as a presence in the market.” He therefore differentiates his world view from the American style of scores out of 100, as represented by Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator.
Hugh Johnson is well-known for his books: ‘The Story of Wine’ (on history), ‘The World Wine Atlas’, which he now writes with Jancis Robinson MW; ‘The Wine Companion’, which was recently been updated by Stephen Brook; and ‘The Art and Science of Wine’, about winemaking and viticulture, which he authored with James Halliday. Each of these are classics, which form the basis of any wine lover’s library. He has also written his autobiography ‘Wine – A Life Uncorked.’ Hugh Johnson visited Israel in the late 1980’s for his TV series on the ‘The Story of Wine.’
In the last 12 months alone, Israeli wine has enjoyed some remarkable successes. Firstly Carmel Shiraz won the International Trophy at The Decanter World Wine Awards. This was followed by the Golan Heights Winery receiving the Gran Vinitaly Special Award as the best producer. These were unprecedented awards for Israeli wine, in two of the world’s most stringent wine competitions.
Then, Castel Grand Vin, Clos du Gat Sycra Muscat and Margalit Special Reserve each in turn received scores of 93 points in the Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. These equaled the previous achievement of Yatir Forest. Ninety three points remains the best ever scores for Israeli wines in the newsletter of the world’s most famous wine critic. Finally, Castel’s four stars and Yatir’s three to four stars, were re-confirmed in Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book.
These, all taken together, represent serious and sustained third party recognition at the very highest level for Israeli wines and wineries.
The ratings of Israeli wines in Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2012 are:
FOUR STARS ****
Domaine du Castel
THREE TO FOUR STARS ***>****
Yatir Winery
THREE STARS ***
Clos de Gat, Margalit, Yarden (Golan Heights)
TWO TO THREE STARS **>***
Carmel, Chateau Golan, Flam, Pelter, Tzora
TWO STARS **
Barkan-Segal, Chillag, Dalton, Ella Valley, Gvaot, Lewinsohn, Recanati, Saslove, Tulip, Vitkin
ONE TO TWO STARS *>**
Agur, Avidan, Binyamina, Galil Mountain, Psagot, Sea Horse, Tabor, Yaffo
ONE STAR *
Alexander, Tishbi, Teperberg,
NO STARS ALLOCATED:
Shvo
I will write a full tribute to Daniel Rogov later but I wanted to let everyone know of an upcoming tribute to Israel’s foremost wine critic. I owe my start and my knowledge of Israeli wine in large part to Rogov and so I will definitely be in attendance in gratitude and tribute to this culinary and wine connoisseur.
The event will be held on Monday, August 29 at the Tel Aviv Dan Panorama Hotel beginning at 19:00.
The below information is from Wines Israel
The world of wine and culinary world will show their appreciation to Daniel Rogov, in a special evening organized for the celebrated wine & food writer and critic.
The event will take place at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, on August 29th 2011 and will start at 19.00 hours.
This will be followed by a panel of friends chaired by wine expert and TV personality, Meni Peer.
The cost of the evening will be NIS 100, with payment at the entrance.
To register by email, please contact.
Good wine isn’t just in the center or Jerusalem. It’s also coming to Beersheva, with the fifth annual wine festival to be held on September 14-15.
Here is the details from Daniel Rogov’s forum:
The 5th Annual Beer Sheva wine festival is scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, 14 and 15 September. Among the wineries scheduled to take part: Carmel, Bakan, Segal, Golan Heights Winery, Galil Mountain, Tzion, Teperberg, Lavie, Binyamina, Tishbi, Shiloh, Rota, Cfir, Netiv HaYain, Assif, Yaffo, Kahanov, Yaffo, Tsfat HaAttika, Tisbi, Saslove.
The festival will take place at the Negev Museum, both indoors and out. Also to be shown, chocolates, cheeses, baked goods ….
The festival will open each night at 18:30. Admission, including a tasting glass will be NIS 50 each. In general, a quite civil and civilized event, well worth attending for those in the region.
The following article appeared on wines-israel.com and is reprinted with permission
The Golan Heights Winery has launched a new wine called Yarden 2T (Two T) from the 2008 vintage. The wine is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional and 50% Tinta Cao, both of which are Portuguese grapes, now being grown on the Golan Heights in the Yonatan vineyard at an elevation of 700 meters. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. It is full bodied with aromas of cherries, plums with a slightly flowery backdrop mingling with the vanilla from oak aging. The name is taken from the first letters of the two varieties.
The Golan Heights Winery, ever the pioneer of new grape varieties in Israel, has now introduced these Portuguese varieties to Israel. They first considered these varieties in the late nineties, and finally planted them in the mid 2000’s. Gamay Noir, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Viognier, and White Riesling were other varieties first introduced to Israel by the Golan Heights Winery.
Touriga Nacional is the national variety of Portugal. It used in Ports and also for table wines in the Douro and Dao regions. It is a variety which produces full bodied wines of structure, with strong tannins and aromas of black fruit. Tinta Cao is both lesser known and less fashionable. It is also used in Port blends. Victor Schoenfeld, winemaker of the Golan Heights Winery, refers to it as more like Pinot Noir. It is certainly lighter, fruitier and more aromatic. Together they make an interesting and unique blend.
The Israeli wine revolution has been built on Bordeaux varieties, and in particular Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In the last ten years, Shiraz has been introduced in a big way. Now there is interest in returning to the existing Mediterranean varieties like old vine Carignan and Petite Sirah and introducing new clones of Grenache and Mourvedre. However it was not laid down that the new varieties suitable for a Mediterranean climate had to come from France! This Portuguese initiative will be of enormous interest to Israeli wine connoisseurs and other wineries will be watching closely.
The Jerusalem Wine Festival starts next week.
In this episode of Rusty Mike Radio, David Rhodes gives a preview of the 2011 Jerusalem Wine Festival in the Israel Museum.
Listen here: David Rhodes discusses the Jerusalem Wine Festival on Rusty Mike Radio
Debra Meiburg interviews Barry Saslove of Saslove Winery
It’s that time again – the Jerusalem Wine Festival is coming up again.
Sunday 15 August through Thursday 18 August.
The festival costs 70NIS and will be held 19:00-23:00.
For tickets: www.imj.org.il or 02-6259703
If you go, please send us your review to [email protected] and post pictures on Facebook
