The Five-towns are getting their own wine festival as Hadera hosts the 2013 Sea Village Wine Festival Wednesday & Thursday June 19th & 20th starting each evening at 18:30 (6:30 pm) until 11PM at the Sea Village Spa, Benjamin Bay, Hadera.
2013 Sea Village Wine Festival in Hadera
entry is NIS 85 including a wine glass for an unlimited choice of tasting from the dozens of Israeli wineries pouring. Those attending must be 18 or over with ID.
call 074-703-7063 for tickets
stay tuned for further details
The 2013 Tel Aviv Wine Festival will take place on May 28th to 30th at the Eretz Israel Museum (Haaretz Museum) 7-11PM featuring different musical acts each evening. Guests of the festival will enjoy tasting any of the 160 types of wine from 40 wineries around the world including a large selection of Israeli wines. The price of an entrance (NIS 99) to the festival will give guests access to all the live shows and a glass with unlimited tasting of all the wines exhibited at the festival. The festival will also contain gourmet food stands presenting chocolate, cheeses, olive oils, jams for tasting and for sale.
Tickets can be obtained at the door or by calling 03-617-2012 (in Hebrew)
Among the Israeli wineries expected to be pouring are:
Kosher Kadesh Barnea Benhaim Mony Shiloh Teperberg 1870 Dalton Binyamina Lueria Barkan Har Bracha & (non-certified) Amphorae Avidan
Shoshana
the Sde Boker has some certified and non-certified wine
there will be kosher food (with varying certification) for purchase divided into meat and dairy sections with the meat offering sausages, burgers, kebabs and the dairy offering coffee, cheese plates and desserts
The Mant Quartet
A Jazz band centered around a quartet playing traditional jazz and klezmer with modern influences. Band founder guitarist Jonathan Aspril has worked with a long list of award winning artists.
The Bloomers
Irish band comprising of Uri Schliefer, Phillip Kharifkov and Daniel Manor. The Bloomers present new covers of Irish folk tunes and songs, in addition to their original tunes with Irish influences.
La Basta Balkan
Originally from Jerusalem, this fusion band is colorful and versatile combining Irish beats with Balkan tunes infused with familiar sounds from the Middle East.
The Country Side Beatles
A tribute to the Beatles with a hint of influence from alternative bands such as Dave Mathews. Surprising acoustic covers to the original beloved Beatles classics.
Adam Gerber & the Humans
After years of playing with The Roots band and performing with artists like Tony Ray, Emanuel Yarday, Eliran Tavori and The Duck Soap band, Adam Gerber is going back to his roots with original Folk & Reggae, in Hebrew and in English, while including his covers of great Reggae hits.
Sawyer
A band playing original country songs.
Thursday
Bosa Trio
Brazilian Band. Bosa trio offers a variety of Latin Brazilian music, from the biggest hits of Mati Caspi to Bosa Nova and Jazz, from Samba to Pop music. The band was founded by Jiva Perlman (singer and guitar), Joares Dos Santos (Singer, drums and percussion instruments) and Nielson DE Olivera (Singer and Saxophone).
If taking a bus from either Tel Aviv or Herzaliya get off near the corner of Haim Levanon and Derech Namir. The Museum is located at 2 Haim Levanon (on the east side of Derech Namir across from Shai Agnon).
The 501 and 502 (check Egged for times but the buses go as late as midnight) Both come from the central bus station past the central train station and Azrieli Mall from the south and start at Summit Ra’anana in the north going through Ra’anana down Ahuza and going by the Herzliya Central Bus station and also within walking distance of the Herzaliya train station. Shuttles that also go to and from Netanya pass by the musuem. There are other buses that go by the Museum as well. Check Egged and Dan websites for full listings.
The following post was written by Franco Zilliani, an Italian wine writer. He writes and is member of the editorial board of ‘The World of Fine Wine’ (www.finewinemag.com) and blogs in Italian at A Thousand Bubbles, where this post first appeared. It first appeared in English on the lifestyle website Webflakes, where the full article appears.
At the end of 2012 I mentioned in this blog that Israel too had been infected by bubbles mania. I cited the well-known Israeli journalist Adam Montefiore, who claimed, in an article – “Israelis love sparkling wine” – published in the Jerusalem Post, that “Israelis of every age love nothing better than uncorking bottles of bubbly.” And that “there are several excellent Israeli sparkling wines that measure up to the foreign ones with an excellent range of prices and variety.”
Since he maintained that “The main Israeli sparkling wines of today do not suffer by comparison with all the imported sparkling wines”, I tried to find out more about them. I haven’t flown to Israel for a tasting yet, but I remembered that some of these wines were available in Italy, distributed by an importer of enological delights, Gaja Distribuzione from Barbaresco (near Turin).
Thanks to them I tasted the Gamla Galilee Brut, non vintage, from the Golan Heights Winery, which features four labels with different standing and positioning. Their top brand is Yarden, renowned for its Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah (it also produces Pinot Noir, Viognier, Gewürztraminer, besides a vintage of sparkling blanc de blancs), then there are Hermon and Golan (that produces also a Muscatel wine I’d pay to try) and the Gamla brand, which, besides the classic Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon, Syrah and Pinot Noir, also produces a Riesling and even, as if we were in Montalcino, a 100% Sangiovese).
Gamla (in Hebrew: גמלא, Gamla or Gamala) was the main city in the Golan between 87 BC and 67 AD, when it was destroyed by the Romans during the first Judaic war. Its ruins can still be visited on the Golan Heights. The name derives from the Hebrew word “gamal”, meaning “camel”, as it’s located on a hill looking like a camel hump.
The Gamla Brut is a non-vintage wine, usually produced from grapes from two different harvests, made with an even mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and refined, I daresay for at least a year, on yeasts. The grapes selection is very careful: they come from 28 vineyards located across 600 hectares, split into 400 parcels, ranging in altitude from 400m (1.312 ft) to 1,000m (3.281 ft).
Read the rest at Webflakes
The 3rd Annual Ra’anana Wine Festival is this week, Wednesday & Thursday at the scenic Park Ra’anana adjacent to the tranquil pond on the western end of the park.The Festivino group is hosting this year. Last year, the event attracted about 1,500 guests over two nights. This year the festival is taking a twist and featuring ALL KOSHER WINE & FOOD this year.
This year to pay respect to the people of Ra’anana’s preferences this event will ONLY feature KOSHER food and wine. This makes sense for a town where almost all the restaurants and markets are kosher and everyplace closes on Shabbat, don’t you think? Please turn out and show the organizers that they made the right choice.
Entrance to the event will go from 6PM lasting to 11PM although people can lounge about until midnight. It’s best to arrive early (before 730PM) if you want to ask a lot of questions. As the crowds arrive later winemakers and staff can be too busy pouring to answer every question. As a wine writer, believe me I know. Wines will be for sale so what you taste you can take home. In fact, one lucky guest will win a 12 bottle wine fridge stocked with wines from the festival as each ticket is also a raffle ticket.
There is plenty of free parking and its very easy to get by bus. Some options are 29 and 39 from Herzliya Marina. 29, 39, 531, 501, 502,47,247 from downtown Herzliya. 501, 502, 47 and 247 from Tel Aviv and 29, 47 , 247 from Kfar Saba and all those buses also come from Summit Ra’anana and down Ahuza (downtown Ra’anana) if you’re coming from Jerusalem or Haifa. For other buses check Egged and Metropolitan webs sites.
There will be scores of wines to taste from a wide range of Israeli wineries large and small from all over the country including:
Commercial wineries: Carmel, Barkan, Golan Heights, Teperberg, Segal,Tishbi, Recanati, Or Haganuz and boutiques and garagistas: Agada, Netofa, Bat Shlomo, Gush Etzion, Zchut,Eiftachel, Kinor David, Kfir, Safat, Kadesh Barnea, Rota, Shmiyim,Shiloh,Sassi and Tanya. In attendance as well as other kosher Israeli treats such as hard cider, passionflora liquor, arak, boutique gourmet cheeses, dim sum, olive oils and ice creams.
As far as I know this will be the only all kosher Israeli wine event in Israel this year outside of Jerusalem.
I’m also involved to make it the most English speaking friendly event as well.
Tickets at the door or online will be 70 NIS but call me for possible limited amounts of discounted tickets.
It’s a good deal for all you can taste and a glass to take home and a chance to win a stocked wine fridge. I know some people who are canceling their party plans for birthdays and anniversaries and moving their party to the festival. If you can’t bring the Mountain to Moses bring Moses to the Mountain as it were.
Feel free to contact me with any questions
David “the Israeli Wine Guy” Rhodes
052-702-WINE (9463)
[email protected]
or call the organizers 052-486-7373/054-496-8568 or check out their website www.Festivino.co.il
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 one of the most scenic venues of any wine festival in Israel. While people all over the world like to vacation at Club Med, this is the “real Club Med” at a marina where you can watch the sun set over the Mediterranean and enjoy a wide array of wines and gourmet treats for a whole evening starting at NIS 65 (about $19) for all you can taste (and more than even a wine professional like me could taste in an evening and I did get within a few of tasting them all…what can I say I did socialize a little with some of my readers, other wine writers and winemakers).
If you want to try my top ten wines (which for some is a full evening but for me is just getting started then let’s take a stab at it). I hope my choices might convert you to white wines if you weren’t before or to believe that Israel (better known for its reds) has some amazing whites, rosés and sparkling wines as well.
The first wines I tasted were some of the best Israeli wines showcased. The Midbar Winery from Arad, is about 35 minutes from the better known Yatir Winery in Tel Arad in the northeastern Negev. Their whites could be an inspiration for more boutiques to try making white wines (while most stick to reds).
My Top Ten Israeli White, Rosé and Sparkling Wines from the 2013 White Festival
1) 2010 Midbar Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (12.5 % alcohol NIS 100)
a classic Bordeaux style white blend uncommon in Israel but maybe well suited as this example (and another 2011 Tzuba blend have demonstrated)
2) 2010 Midbar White 44 (13% alcohol NIS 100)
a well crafted semi-dry blend of Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay and Semillon
The Tabor Winery has increased their production dramatically over the last few years and this Roussanne, Israel’s first single varietal example should encourage others to grow and produce wines from this seemingly well suited Rhone varietal. They have a wide selection of interesting whites and sparkling wines to taste.
3) 2012 Tabor Roussanne (14% NIS 69) previously scored 91 points
Green apples, grapefruit, wild flowers, green hay, fresh herbs and almonds makes this one of my favorite Israeli white wines.
Ella Valley is one of the most consistently good producers of both white and red wines in Israel. Their three wines at the White festival make their booth one of the busiest tasting spots.
4) 2012 Ella Valley Sauvignon Blanc (12.5 % Alcohol NIS 74)
classic Sauv Blanc notes more subtle than many other Israeli examples
5) 2011 Ella Valley Chardonnay (NIS 89 13% alcohol)
50% of the wine was oak aged for 13 months in oak barrels while the other 50% ages in stainless steel provides for a marriage of the stainless steel retained fruitiness and the oak enhnaced complexity and texture
6) 2011 Ella Valley EverRed Rosé (NIS 74 13% alcohol)
an interestingly unique and delightful blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Syrah
The 1848 Winery, one of the three Jerusalem Shor family wineries, is getting better each vintage and these two wines are a good example how religious winemakers can make
7) 2011 1848 “5th Generation” White (14 % alcohol NIS 79)
70% Chardonnay/ 24% Chenin Blanc/6% Semillon2011 1848 2nd Generation Rosé 70% Barbera & 30% Syrah 14% Alcohol NIS 59
8) 2011 1848 “2nd Generation” Rosé (14% alcohol NIS 59)
70% Barbera and 30% Syrah blend is a good example why the fruity and acidic Italian Barbera grape is becoming a key player in more and more Israeli rosés.
The Recanati Winery had some its wines hidden at the Derech Hayin (“Wine Route”) booth and since they weren’t serving their Reserve whites which are all stars their Rosé took center stage as its consistently considered one of Israel’s best rosés year in and year out.
9) 2012 Recanati Rosé (12.5% alcohol NIS 65)
This benchmark Israeli rosé is a blend of 85% Barbera and 15% Merlot and demonstrates how many of the best Israeli rosés are a blend of two or more grapes to add complexity and allow for the characteristics of each grape to complement each other and enhance the overall finished wine.
The Teperberg Winery had with Tabor one of the largest selections of wines to taste from and every wine is a good value for the price. One of
10) 2012 Teperberg Moscato – alcohol 10% NIS 40 or 3/100 on sale) included for its value.
A fun sweet frizzante (slightly sparkling) white with enough sweetness to be a dessert wine but effervescent enough to be paired with spicy Asian cuisine such as Thai or Szechuan dishes or to beat the heat of wasabi with sushi. Moscato can be like alcoholic soda pop. If you would have a soda you can grab a Moscato to match the same dishes and get a buzz along the way.
A Mention about Imported Wines The Hakerem and Derech Hayine/ Wine Route booths had a wide selection of benchmark imported wines to compare Israeli wines to but its important to note where almost all of the Israeli wines present were kosher almost all of the imported wines were not. That’s Ok that’s why many Jews moved here to have a wider selection of kosher culinary choices than are available in the diaspora and for those non-Jews or non-religious Jews the imported wines provide perspective on what the rest of the world is doing and how Israeli wines both differ and hold up. So French, Italian, Californian,Australian, South African and New Zealand wines for example provided wines that many Israeli wines emulate intentionally or incidentally by the choice of grape or blend of grapes
Two of my favorites were the 2011 Corvo Insolia from Sicily and only NIS 57. This was one of the first quality wines I could afford back when I first studied Geography of Wine at Worcester State College in 1985 so it’s a sentimental favorite and I’m excited its available in Israel as well as the 2010 Sancerre Les Jeunes Vignes Henri Bourgeois NIS 100, a classic Sauvignon Blanc dominated wine that is a poster child for anyone who likes the grassiness that Sauvingnon Blanc is known for.
There’s lots of local treats to try as well including Arak, Passionfruit liquor, gourmet Israeli cheeses, amazing home-crafted popsicles and creamsicles and dozens of restaurants and pubs nearby for a sit down meal.
Don’t miss the last night of this event if you want some ideas on stocking your fridge to beat the heat of a long Israeli summer or to pair with dishes over dairy-centric which starts next week.
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 the Binyamina Winery, Israel’s 5th largest winery, typically producing about 2.8 million bottles of year.
The two white wines that will get me tuned up for the upcoming annual White Festival in Herzliya Marina, the week before Shavuot, are the 2012 Binyamina Yogev Aromatic Blend & the 2012 Binyamina Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay. The Yogev series is a mid-series of wines at Binyamina (the 3rd tier in 5 tiers) featuring wines that highlight the grower/farmer (“Yogev” in Hebrew) and the vineyard or vineyards from which each wine is sourced and has been become a popular series featured at Israeli restaurants and for quality to price ratio (QPR) value minded consumers. Attaching the name of the grower to the wine is the one way to use pride as a way of motivating a grower to nurture the best grapes possible for the wines those grapes are intended.
2012 Binyamina Yogev Sauvingon Blanc/Chardonnay NIS 52 ($15) 86 points
The 2012 Binyamina Yogev Sauvignon Blanc/ Chardonnay is a dry white wine which is typical of these wines when made as single varietals. The Sauvignon Blanc which makes up 70% of this blend is sourced from the vineyard of grower Aharon Fadida and his vineyards at Moshav Kerem Ben Zimra ( a well known and respected appellation in the Upper Galilee) and Chardonnay (30%) sourced from the vineyard of Avshalom Karniel in another well known appellation, Kfar Tabor (in the Lower Galilee). The citric character of this predominantly Sauv Blanc dominate this wine offering lemon and grapefruit with a hint of tropical pineapple yet is accented with Chardonnay flavors of Golden Delicious apples and Bartlett pears. The wine delivers a generous amount of alcohol for a white with 13% from well ripened fruit which were fully fermented. Throughout the year I would consider matching this wine with a range of fish including sushi such as albacore sashimi, lightly breaded sole or local sea bream or Denise or St. Peter’s, roasted chicken and garlic as well as a wide range of salads or pastas with cram based sauces and during Shavuot where meat is curtailed in favor of dairy centric fare I’d match with Feta, Cream Cheese or soft Gouda. (86 points)
2012 Binyamina Yogev Aromatic Blend NIS 52 ($15) 88 points
The 2012 Binyamina Yogev Aromatic Blend is a semi-dry (which is slightly sweet) white wine blended from French Colombard (45%), Gewurztraminer (40%) and Muscat of Alexandria (15%). The French Colombard and Muscat Alexandria grapes are sourced from grower Dror Eliraz’s vineyards at Moshav Lachish in the Samson region. The Gewurztraminer is from grower Alon Cohen’s vineyards (once again from Kfar Tabor). This “aromatic” wine features grapes known for their floral and fruity aromas in the glass and on the nose. Crisply fresh Granny Smith apples, Lychee, white peaches and dried apricots with hints of honey and melon. This wine has slightly lower sugar than the SB/Chard since its fermentation was halted to allow for some residual sugar to remain unfermented and give the wine its semi-dry status and slightly sweet nature. As a semi-dry wine expect it pair well with spicier fare such as ceviche (with jalapenos), sushi such as spicy tuna or any selection with a healthy hit of wasabi, Thai curry, spicy chile chicken wings or during Shavuot with saltier cheeses such as Spanish manchego. (88 points)
Each wine goes for about a reasonable NIS 52 or about $15 at the time of tasting. Inexpensive enough to have with some leftovers on a Saturday or along with a weekend brunch yet interesting and nuanced enough to make a dinner
David Rhodes’ Wine Score Key
97-100 A+ 5 * Best of the Best, or One of the Best in Recent Memory (-0.5% of wines)
The kind of wine that opening creates a special occasion.
93-96 A 4 1/2 * Extraordinary, Great Example of What Israel does Right (-1%) A Wine Worth Remembering & Drinking Again and Again
The kind of wine that’s great for special occasions.
89-92 A- 4 * Very Good, Highly Recommended: Interesting and Expressive (-3-5%) This is the kind of wine that doesn’t just complement a meal or an evening but
can elevate it.
85-88 B+ 3 1/2 * Good, Recommended as a wine that shows some merit (-5-10%) A good guest brings a B+ or above wine unless a host doesn’t appreciate
wine & you know no one else at the meal does either or just bring cake.
81-84 B 3 * Fair, Not Recommended to Elevate a Meal or an Evening (50%+) I won’t try to publish these scores, there’s too many better wines to focus on or that merit more attention & praise but MOST wines in Israel that sell 4 or 5/
NIS 100 fall into this category (or below) with a few exceptions reaching B+.
80 or less 2 1/2 * or less Not Recommended, Published or Worth Commenting About
Not too long ago you may recall some rave reviews by me about some Recanati wines. Generally speaking I think they are consistently one of the best commercial wineries in Israel so when I heard they were releasing a new wine I was excited for the opportunity to taste what they crafted and when I found out it was a new single varietal to the Israeli wine portfolio, the red Marselan, to Israel and a varietal I wasn’t too familiar with as a wine geek I was easily persuaded to visit the winery in the Emeq Hefer industrial park adjacent to route 4 in Israel.
The French commune of Marselan where the wine grape of the same name was developed in 1961
The Marselan wine I tasted was from a barrel tasting of 2012 so its too young to score fairly (for both the winery and consumer’s sake) since its not in its final blend of what will be released from how all the barrels will be combined yet the wine now shows great potential especially when I tasted it along with barrel tastings of their 2012 Carignan and 2012 Syrah/Viognier. The 2010 are the current releases of those two stalwarts in their portfolio. When tasted soon after the Syrah blend it too reminded me of Rhone wine blends with reds more aromatic and savory than Bordeaux or Burgundy varietals. In contrast to the 2012 Carignan which is way too young and still marrying with its oak the Marselan’s fruity and floral bouquet was apparent even at this stage and I think it will be a hit once it released as one of their Reserve series wines. 4000 bottles are expected from their 20 dunams of planted vines.
Marselan had only been previously and currently used by the Barkan Winery in their Assemblage series Tzafit wines (only 53%) but since no one had tasted Israeli single varietal Marselan wines outside of their winery it was impossible to know what role it was playing in contrast to their other supporting grapes of Caladoc, Pinotage and Carignan and did little to advance the brand of Marselan in Israel.
Head winemaker Gil Shatsberg stands behind his new 2012 Recanati Marselan Reserve
Winemakers Gil Shatsberg and Ido Lewinsohn talked briefly with me about it and I hope to revisit the discussion sooner rather than later. I give them credit for keeping it under their hat for the last 5 years as the grapes were maturing in the vineyards (it takes at least 4 years before grapes from new vines are allowed for kosher wines…not that a non-kosher winemaker might want to try to make a quality wine earlier anyways from less mature vines) so Gil and Ido were eager and curious themselves to see what kind of wines these grapes would deliver. They seem proud of the results so far (enough so they expect it to be released as a Reserve wine and I think their confidence is justified Marselan is traditionally planted in Southern Rhone and Languedoc regions of France and Recanati wines have been veering towards more elegant and aromatic and less bombastic wines and this varietal seems well suited to complement the winery’s new style evolving since 2008 when Gil took the lead winemaking role at the winery.
David Rhodes tasting 2012 Recanati Marselan Reserve (barrel tasting) photo courtesy of David Silverman
Marselan is not only new to Israel, it’s new to the world. It’s a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache and is named after the French town it was developed in 1961. It’s fairly rare compared other red French grapes (which I was relieved to find out when even I had never heard about it) and it was only 2007 that it was recognized in the United States as a grape varietal that could appear on bottle labels.
If the tasting I had was an indication, Marselan is a varietal that Israel could gain some recognition with internationally and if not Israel the already well recognized Recanati Winery.
David Rhodes can be reached at [email protected] or 052-702-WINE (9463) in Israel
