Notes & Favorites from Day One of the 2nd Annual Jerusalem Kosher WIne Festival Even though I just started this year to score wines after spending years writing hundreds of essays and articles, I hope to refrain from scoring wines at festivals since there’s so much additional stimuli to distract from focusing in on the wines. A quiet well lit room and ideally alone without anyone to influence me is the ideal venue to evaluate wines for scoring. That being […]

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Inside a candlelit room at a west Houston Italian restaurant, the Israeli government sought to change Israel’s international image with help from one of the world’s oldest industries: wine — glasses and glasses of wine. The government recently teamed up with its wine industry and U.S. importers to promote the beverages made from grapes grown on the land immortalized by biblical figures Noah, Samson, and David and Goliath. These days, Israel is known more for conflict and tension than for […]

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The following post was reprinted with permission by wines-israel.com The KFWE 2011 recently took place in Manhattan, NY. This refers to the Kosher Food & Wine Experience which was organized by the Royal Wine Corporation of Bayonne, New Jersey. Royal Wine are owners of Herzog Wine Cellars in California, Kedem Winery in Upstate New York and Kedem Food. It is the largest food & wine specializing in the kosher market in the world. They represent wines produced all over the […]

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Gary Vaynerchuk tastes Israeli and California kosher wines with Daniel Rogov on the latest episode of Wine Library TV.  I was pleased to see Daniel Rogov as a guest on Gary V’s WLTV, tasting kosher and Israeli wines, including: 2007 Yogev Cabernet Sauv & Petit Verdot 2006 Carmel Carignan 2005 Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Herzog Generation VIII Cabernet Sauvignon The link to WLTV and a higher quality embed is http://tv.winelibrary.com/2009/02/27/evaluating-kosher-wines-with-daniel-rogov-episode-632

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There are many winemakers and grape growers whose families have been involved in making Israeli wines for generations. The Margalits, the Sasloves, the TIshbis, the Shors and the Boxers are among many Israeli families that have passed their passion for wine making or cultivating from at least one generation to the next. Even though his family name isn’t synonymous with winemaking, Adam Montefiore is one of the most recognizable faces of Israeli wine and his family name is an iconic […]

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This article was reprinted with permission. By Joshua E. London Article published in the Kosher Wine Guide of the Jewish Week “Israeli wine is an amazing story,” says Adam Montefiore, the wine development director of the Carmel Winery, Israel’s largest wine producer. “Jews came to this land, made the desert bloom, started planting vineyards, making wine, and in doing so began reclaiming their heritage and reviving this ancient wine producing region.” This is, Montefiore notes, “partly the Zionist dream come […]

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This article is from wines-israel.com and printed with permission of the author It is proving to be a sad month for Israeli wine. A week ago Israel’s number one wine critic, Daniel Rogov, passed away. Now just a week later, on September 14th, the death of Dalia Penn-Lerner has been announced. Dalia Penn-Lerner, 75, was a famous actress, including starring in the Forsyte Saga, a famous BBC television series. She was most well-known in Israel as a food connoisseur and […]

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Golan Heights Winery, Heightswine, Yarden, 2005, Score 93 Golan Heights Winery, Katzrin, 2003, Score 91 Golan Heights Winery, Chardonnay, Odem Organic, 2005, Score 86 Golan Heights Winery, Viognier, Yarden, 2005 Score 86 Golan Heights Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarden, 2003 Score 86 Golan Heights Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, El Rom, Yarden, 2003 Score 88 Golan Heights Winery, Blanc de Blancs, Yarden 2000 Score 86 Yatir, Ya’ar Yatir, 2003 Score 93 Yatir, Cabernet-Merlot-Shiraz, 2003 Score 90 Castel, Grand Vin 2004 Score 92 Castel, […]

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Who are the top ten wineries in Israel? According to Daniel Rogov they are: Golan Heights Winery (Katzrin, Yarden, Gamla) Margalit Yatir Domaine du Castel Clos de Gat Flam Chateau Golan Carmel (Limited Edition, Single Vineyard, Appellation) Galil Mountain Pelter (This list is from Daniel Rogov’s 2009 Guide to Israeli Wine)

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Quick heads up that the Wine Advocate tastings on Israeli wines have just been released. The magazine was just mailed yesterday morning, so it should be arriving in subscriber’s mailboxes shortly and the article will be on the eRobert Parker site (only accessible to subscribers and subscriptions cost $99, so I don’t have one) around December 27. The early news is that several wines received scores of 90 or more and about 50 received 87 or higher. Some wineries will […]

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