There’s a saying among winemakers, “it takes a lot of beer to make wine.” The point being that whether its toiling in the vineyards or moving barrels, pumps and cases of bottles at the winery, it’s easy to break a sweat making wine and a mug of ice cold brew sometimes is more in order to quench the thirst hard labor can invite than even the most seductive glass of wine even for a winemaker.
Tel Aviv’s Nokia Stadium, home of Beers 2013 Jan. 8th & 9th
In Israel, this can be evident at Israel’s only Beer Expo geared for industry insiders yet open to the public. To those in the know, you’d see some of Israel’s best winemakers in attendance at one of the few industry events where they can spend time in front of the booths sampling some of the over 200 local Israeli & imported beers expected to be available including dozens of Israeli microbrews in contrast to wine festivals where the winemakers and their staffs are doing all the pouring.
Alexander, one of the dozens of Israeli Microbrews pouring…
This year the Beer Expo returns to Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv, Tuesday & Wednesday January 8th & 9th, 2013. It will be open from 5PM to 11PM. Cost to the public is NIS 60 which includes a glass and tickets for five samples. Additional drink tickets will be available inside the stadium ( 5 tickets for NIS 30).
The event is open to food & beverage professionals who pre-register for unlimited tastings between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Pre-registration is available in Hebrew at http://www.beers.co.il/beer_news.asp?news=1&id=282
David Rhodes is a California trained wine educator and sommelier living in Israel. David has written hundreds of articles about Israeli wine and more & more often about Israeli beer, spirits and Israeli cuisine. David can be reached at [email protected]
Since 2007, there have been annual tastings of Israeli wines by the Wine Advocate, the mouthpiece of Robert Parker, the world’s most influential wine critic. Mark Squires, who is the specialist on Israeli wines in Parker’s wine tasting team, did the tasting as usual.
There were 80 wines from 21 different wineries. The highest scores were achieved by Yarden El Rom Cabernet Sauvignon, Yatir Forest and Tzora Or. A score of 90 points or more is a target for Israeli wineries. Yatir and Tzora each had three wines which achieved this, Golan Heights Winery and Ella Valley had two each. The following wines were most successful:
Carmel Mediterranean 2009 90 points
Clos de Gat Ayalon Valley 2004 90
Domaine du Castel Grand Vin 90
Ella Valley Vineyards 32 N 35 E 2008 90
Ella Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 90
Flam Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay 90
Golan Heights Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon EL Rom 2008 92
Golan Heights Yarden Merlot 2008 90
Shilo Merlot Secret Reserve Sod 2009 90
Tzora Vineyards Misty Hills 2010 90
Tzora Vineyards Neve Ilan 2011 90
Tzora Vineyards Or 2011 91
Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 90
Yatir Petit Verdot 2009 90
Yatir Forest 2009 91
Since the first tasting in December 2007, only 23 Israeli wines have succeeded to score 91 points or more. The highest score for an Israeli wine is still 93 points, an achievement shared by Clos de Gat, Castel, Margalit and Yatir. By far the most successful wineries over the five years have been Domaine du Castel and Yatir Winery. Castel has had no less than 13 wines being awarded 90 points or more, followed by Yatir with 11. The positions are reversed for wineries at 91 points or more with Yatir leading with 6 wines followed by Castel with 5. And the two most successful wines? Yatir Forest and Castel Grand Vin, the flagship wines of Yatir & Castel. Yatir Forest has received a score of 90 or more score from the Wine Advocate for seven successive vintages between 2003 and 2009. Castel’s Grand Vin has also received seven scores of 90 points or more.
In the absence of a dominant wine critic in Israel like Daniel Rogov, who sadly passed away in 2011, the scores provide an important barometer of the progress of Israeli wines in the court of international opinion.
Earlier this month, Adam Montefiore published a list of top wine resources in his Jerusalem Post column.
Looking for last-minute gifts, here are some recommendations:
as well as several websites. Notably, this site gets a shout out:
The main wine blog on Israeli wines is www.israeli-wine.org. This is created and maintained by Avi Hein, a canny marketer using social media. Here, you will find regular articles of interest.
Al-Manar has a translation of an article written by journalist Meni Peer in Ma’ariv. Read the full article
Wine is not just another bottled beverage — [the vineyard of origin is an important factor for differentiation] and when it comes to the wines made in Israel, their marketing meets with difficulties when the question of the vineyard location is raised. Nevertheless, the Golan Heights Winery is to be crowned “New World Winery of the Year” [for 2012].
| Summary : Israeli winemakers have managed to jump the hurdle of the ‘’kosher wine’’ label and are winning international prizes in spite of politics, writes Meni Peer.
Publisher: Maariv (Israel) Original Title: Great taste Author: Meni Peer posted on: Wed, Dec 26, 2012 Translated on: Sun, Dec 2, 2012 Translated by: Hanni Manor |
A few months ago Joe Gallo, one of the owners of the leading Californian E. & J. Gallo Winery, visited Israel. Touring the country he arrived in Katsrin [the capital of Israel’s Golan Heights region]. Tasting the wines of the Golan Heights Winery, he told his hosts: “I was not aware that such high quality wines are made in Israel. I have no doubt that you are going to achieve international acclaim.”
In January, Gallo is to be announced the “Wine Person of the Year” [for 2012] by the [American] Wine Enthusiast Magazine in the framework of the annual Wine Star competition organized by the magazine. He thus will not be surprised when he sees next to him on stage at the Wine Star Award winners announcing event his hosts from the Golan Heights Winery, which is to be crowned “New World Winery of the Year” [for 2012]. He will most likely note, smiling: “See, I told you!”
On the eve of their 30th anniversary, Golan Heights Winery has won the coveted 2012 Wine Star Award from Wine Enthusiast Magazine in the New World Winery of the Year category. The award is a first for an Israeli winery and is an indicator of the tremendous growth in quality recognition of Israeli wineries led by Golan Heights Winery.
“We are so honored to win such a prestigious award,” said Anat Levi, CEO of Golan Heights Winery. “This recognition gives us added motivation to continue our efforts to fully exploit the vast potential of our wonderful winegrowing area. We are excited to be a leading player in the renewal of winegrowing in Israel, and to receive this award as a leading new world winery.”
Winemaker Victor Schoenfeld echoes those thoughts: “Our proudest achievement is our ongoing effort to work in tune with our natural elements, making high-quality wines that are a true reflection of our unique combination of latitude, high altitude and beautiful volcanic soils. We continue to realize what an amazing region we have, and how much the potential seems limitless.”
Founded in 1983, the Golan Heights Winery is based in the small town of Katzrin, Israel. The weather in the Golan region is ideal for growing grapes with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The topographic and climatic conditions in the Golan Heights are considered a rare asset by wine experts in Israel and abroad, contributing to a wide range of quality winemaking styles, overseen by Winemaker Victor Schoenfeld and marketed globally under the Golan Heights Winery and Yarden brand names.
The achievement caps off several exciting years as the winery continues to garner global awards and recognition. In 2008, Golan Heights Winery became the first winery from Israel to rank in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year. In March 2011, Golan Heights Winery was awarded the World Wine Cup from VinItaly, the first winery from Israel ever to be named the Best Wine Producer of the Year from the international organization, besting over 1,000 wine producers from 30 different countries, including France, Italy and Spain. In June 2011, Golan Heights also received a Special Prize of Distinction in Les Citadelles du Vin in Bordeaux, a blind tasting of over 1,000 wines from multiple countries.
Golan Heights Winery and the winners of the 2012 Wine Star Awards will be honored by leading members of the wine and spirits industry at a gala, black-tie awards ceremony at the New York Public Library in New York City on January 28, 2013.
Recently, I was fortunate to be among a small group of wine writers, sommeliers and restaurateurs invited to the 12 Rothschild restaurant in Tel Aviv where we were treated to a well paired lunch with an introduction of eight wines presented by Chateau Golan’s managing director Shuki Shai and widely respected winemaker Uri Hetz. Their 2012 Chateau Golan Geshem Pink (NIS 119) met us as 
we walked in and it was yet unfiltered so the several chilled bottles for our enjoyment were yet unlabeled and looked like red grapefruit juice and the flavor and aromas had an aptly citric thrust with crisp acidic finish complementing a full body. The base of their rosé is 90% Grenache and 10 % Syrah that was pressed together and left with their skins only about 3 to 4 hours. About 5% was added to that base of a Barbera based rosé from the Shvo winery and reciprocally a similar amount of the Grenache/Syrah went to Shvo. It seems to have paid off for Chateau Golan and I eagerly look forward to taste how it plays out for Shvo. Uri’s rosé was the first Israeli rosé I had tried years ago that convinced me that Israeli winemakers could and should make more premium rosé and since then I’ve been rewarded with many new examples from dozens of Israeli wineries. As well, each vintage Uri seems to tweak their rosé so it evolves to be better and better and a new twist on a familiar theme. Two white wines were also introduced, the 2011 Chateau Golan Sauvignon Blanc (NIS 142) and 2011 Chateau Golan Geshem White (NIS 175) With the rosé, this gives the winery three seasonal wines for Israel’s long warm summers and they tend to sell out quickly even though they’re expensive compared to Israeli competitors. Their 100% Sauvignon Blanc isn’t a traditional Sauvignon Blanc by Israeli standards. It leans to being more grassy, herbal and elegant than fruity with cut grass on the nose accented by hints of green pepper, white grapefruit, lemon custard and lime zest with a crisp finish that would make it an ideal match for the wide range of salads and Mediterranean bounty found in Israeli restaurants or family tables. The Geshem White is a southern Rhone style blend of 57% Roussanne, 26% Grenache Blanc and 17% Viognier grapes that offers a cornucopia of white peaches, golden delicious apples, lime, kiwi, melon, pineapple and bananas with a lighter finish than their Sauvignon Blanc that convinced me this might be a better match for poultry or pastas with a creamy sauce. The first red poured was the 2009 Chateau Golan Geshem Red (NIS 245), their flagship red, another southern Rhone blend of 67% Grenache and 33% Mourvedre grapes boasting a hearty 15.3% alcoholic content. This wine was light enough in the glass by color to pass as a Pinot Noir at first glance and its earthy savory foundation might steer someone to that perception but its notes of creamy black and red raspberries with hints of dark chocolate, espresso and tobacco would lead thoughts elsewhere. Like their other reds to follow, its complexity and depth would benefit from decanting 1/2 hour or an hour to open up and reveal all its sultry pleasures. Possible pairings that come to mind are holiday turkey, succulent duck or a delicate veal entree. A complement to Uri’s other Rhone inspired wines is his 2010 Chateau Golan Syrah (NIS 158), a 92% Syrah with an 8% dash of Carignan. Impenetrable in color, at first glance it promises to be a powerful wine and it delivers a pleasurable punch to the face of black berries, blueberry, black raspberry with notes of cedar and cinnamon, With 15.4% alcohol and dense layers of complexity, it’s not for the casual quaff but a big bold treat that begs for hearty fare like lamb chops, ribs or shoulder to accompany it. At 14.9 % alcohol, their 2010 Chateau Golan Cabernet Sauvignon (NIS 151) is not a light wine but it is lighter than some of their other reds with 6% Syrah and 1% Merlot delivering black currant, plums with oak notes of cigar box and coffee. A steak or a beef stew would give you something complimentary to chew as this wine’s well integrated yet prevalent tannins would favor a fatty and feisty feast. Another of their red mainstays is the 2010 Chateau Golan Eliad (NIS 195), a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon accented with 6% Syrah, 6% Merlot and 6 % Petit Verdot. With even 15.2% alcohol the wine still exhibits a discernible elegance and complexity of black fruits including cassis, black raspberries, dark cherries and forest berries. Last but not least were two wines yet to be released and for now remaining unpriced. The 2010 Chateau Golan Og, named after the gigantic biblical king from Bashan arrived with a modest 14% alcohol yet presented as a much denser wine with notes of red cherries, dark plums and strawberries framed by coffee and tobacco leaves. The affair was capped off by a serving of 2010 Chateau Golan Touriga Nacional, a sweet yet seductive dessert wine with 18% alcohol made with traditional Port grapes from Portugal although sourced from UC Davis vines which with 1 1/2 years aging in oak. Its cuvee of raisins, prunes, cola and vanilla flavors promise even a richer treasure for those patient enough to age this wine which will match well with potent cheeses or rich chocolate confections.
A dry Touriga Nacional will also be available from Chateau Golan’s current vintage although not necessarily as a single varietal and it will be interesting to sample what Uri crafts from this rarely used grape in Israel. From tasting these eight well crafted wines and examples from Uri’s previous vintages, it promises to be well worth waiting for and a possible trendsetter as Uri’s earlier and current use of Rhone varietals has foreshadowed their appearance in more and more pleasurable offerings from various Israeli winemakers.
So I had an idea for the holidays leading up to New Year’s Eve, how about tasting a wine range of Israeli sparkling wines and comparing them to European sparkling wines such as Champagnes from France, Cavas from Spain and Proseccos from Italy. Well, it might have just remained an idea if I hadn’t had the phone numbers for several importers and Israeli wineries. So with the help of my friends Rani Rogel and Chef Alon Gonen, we invited several wine insiders to compare and contrast and score nine Israeli sparkling wines with nine imported European sparkling wines accompanied by mouth watering treats from Alon’s Tel Aviv kitchen.
We started our effervescent marathon tasting the simplest wines climbing towards the most complex. We rated the wines on a scale of one to twenty judging the sparkling wines on eleven different criteria including the color and clarity, the flavor and aromas, the balance between sugar, acidity, body and astringency, finish and of course the bubbles. We broke the wines into flights of similarly priced wines or similar themes: demi-secs, Italian Proseccos, Spanish Cavas, a flight each of mid priced and higher priced Israeli sparkling wines and then three notable Champagnes.
Understanding sparkling wines can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated and even for more seasoned wine professionals. For that reason, there are wine insiders who specialize in just sparkling wines. Its a whole other breed of wine, someways more simple and in other ways more complicated. Surely, it’s a lot more labor intensive than making still wine which helps explain the additional price. Additionally, with conventional non-sparkling “table wines” or still wines there are four categories of sweetness: dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet. With sparkling wines there are six categories from driest to sweetest: Extra Brut and Brut (which aren’t perceived sweet) Extra Dry (slightly sweet), Sec (noticeably sweet), Demi-Sec (very sweet) and Doux (super sweet). These are the French terms which are often adopted elsewhere but may vary country to country. The most commonly made and available is Brut wines which pair well with most foods and its one reason why Champagne has been such a hit at grand events. Yet, sometimes it finds a bad match. Sweet dishes, for instance, such as wedding cake would pair better with a sweeter wine and if you insist on bubbles and why not, bubbles scream party; a Demi-sec wine (the next most popular sweetness level in Israel) would be a better choice or a sweeter “frizzante” (Italian for slightly sparkling) wine such as one of Israel’s growing number of Moscatos (or an imported Moscato d’Asti from Italy).
tasting at Chef Alon’ Gonen’s Tel Aviv’s abode
The first three wines were sweeter demi-sec imported wine which are popular with younger consumers and often served with spicy food or as an aperitif. Although tradition would have us try sweeter wines last, tradition also suggests one try simpler wines first and in order to give these wines a chance against more complex higher priced wines we started with these and would cleanse our palette with buttered bread before we would go on. Unless otherwise stated all of the sparkling wines were non-vintage blends.
The Bosca Acai Sparkletini Verdi (Kosher) NIS 32 was our first drink on a night we were forced to huddle inside during a rainy winter night in the “White City.” As the price might indicate the Bosca is not a serious wine and more of a wine cocktail popular on tables in Israel for shabbat and with college students and soldiers, sort of a bubbly Boone’s Farm for those familiar with the American confection, popular in convenience stores and supermarkets. It scored the lowest score of all the evening’s entries with 5.5 out of 20 points. Yet there’s an audience for this beverage just as there is for Barcadi mixers. At a comparable price but scoring significantly better at 8.5 points was the Cava Gota de Maravilla semi-seco (Kosher) NIS 35 which was a little more serious with a better balance with its sweetness and acidity. As our third wine from out starting flight was a private label, FCBarcelona Cava demi-sec (Kosher) NIS 40 it’s sort of a novelty yet it scored the best of all three with a decent score of 11 points better than some of the dryer bubbly we had to follow.
Anastasia enjoys one of the eighteen wines we tasted & judged
Our second flight consisted of two Italian proseccos and our first Israeli sparkling wine. From Israel’s largest winery we tasted the Carmel Selected Sparkling NIS 35 (Kosher) which scored a modest 8 points from our panel. Its probably the easiest to find of all the wines sampled. Only scoring slightly better were the Italian proseccos. The Prosecco Gran Torino NIS 50 scored 9 points with the Canti Prosecco NIS 50 scoring the highest from this flight with 10 points.
Following the proseccos we delved into a pair of Cavas. Cavas are known as typically good values in the world of sparkling wines. Cava Bruy Heretat El Padurell NIS 40 scored a 11 points while Cava Recoda Brut NIS 50 (Kosher), imported by Israel’s Binyamina Winery, scored 12.5 points, the highest for any of the Cavas tasted and the highest at its price point.
Our next two flights were all Israeli sparkling wines. First, we sampled Tabor Brut 562 white NIS 55 (Kosher) 12 points and Tabor Brut 562 red NIS 55 (Kosher) 10 points. The 562 refers to the altitude of the vineyards and even though the white scored higher there were those who voiced their approval for the only red sparkling wine of the night which meant because of the score there were those who really didn’t care for it as well. Striking a place in the middle was the Carmel Private Collection Brut Rosé NIS 55 (Kosher) at 10.5 points.
The second flight of all Israeli sparklers started with 2010 Teperberg Brut NIS 69 (Kosher) which scored only 6 points. It had strong yeasty flavors that might have seemed out of balance to any masked fruitiness. Possibly non-vintage blends in the future might remedy this or it will find an audience with those who prefer a doughy sparkling wine and those consumers do exist. Teperberg also makes popular sweet red and white Moscatos for about half the price. A new series of wines from the Golan Heights Winery offered the Gamla Hashmura Brut NIS 69 (Kosher) matching the highest score then for the evening at 12.5 points. It was also the only Israeli entry that is made from traditional Champagne white Chardonnay and red Pinot Noir grapes. Tishbi Brut NIS 85 (Kosher) made from 100% Colombard grapes scored a respectable 11.5 points. The highest ranking Israeli sparkling wine comes from the only Israeli boutique winery to invest into making this labor intensive endeavor. The Pelter Brut Blanc de Blanc NIS 199, made from 100% Chardonnay, scored a robust 15 points which was comparable to the premium Champagnes in our last flight at a much lower price. Of the Israeli wines, only the Gamla, Tishbi and Pelter were bottle fermented in the traditional Champagne method.
Our last flight, which was a flight of fancy were three well known Champagnes. Champagne Piper Hidesick Brut NIS 280 12 points, Champagne Bauget-Jouette NIS 280 14 points and Champagne Laurent Perrier Rosé NIS 495 (Kosher) with the highest score of the evening at 15.5 points. All of the Champagnes were good benchmarks for what heights Israeli sparkling wines can aspire towards which the Pelter seems like it may have already reached. All in all the Israeli wines scored well compared to European wines at about the same price. One notable absence from the tasting was Yarden Blanc de BlancNIS 125, also from the Golan Heights, as it’s in short supply, but winemaker Victor Schoenfeld has a Yarden sparkling rosé to be released in the near future which should be among Israel’s best sparkling wines, based on a sneak preview tasting Victor hosted over one year ago in Tel Aviv.
David Rhodes is a California trained sommelier & wine educator now living in Israel. David has written hundreds of articles about Israeli wines and been featured on Israeli, American, Mexican & Chinese TV & radio as a wine authority. David regularly hosts wine tastings & trips to his favorite wineries in Israel and can be reached at [email protected]
