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
