The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission. It represents the opinions of the author. Israeli wine has always had a special place in its surrounding society. It has had the same relevance and prominence from the days of Ancient Israel in Biblical times, through the Pre-State period at the end of the 19th century, to the now, more than 60 year old, State of Israel. In ancient times wine was a major industry and vines, grapes and wine […]

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Rosé is a tremendously underappreciated wine that goes well with an incredible array of food with the ability to provide welcome respite from the uncomfortable summer heat and humidity. With all due respect to Eric Asimov, while I do sometimes enjoy Rosé during the year Rosé is and always will be the perennial summer wine for me. As someone who revels in the continuous proliferation of great kosher options for the budding wine lover, I enjoy most varietals and many […]

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Recently, I participated in an unprecedented tasting of Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Tel Aviv in the garden of Chef Alon Gonen’s home. We had all been invited by wine writer Rani Rogel of Food & Beverage/Israel. Three panels of wine writers, enthusiasts and wine makers sampled 37 wines so each panel averaged about 12 wines with the wines divided into three price categories, under 70 NIS (under $20), 70 to 120 NIS   ( $20 to $35) and over 120 […]

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In the financial paper Calcalist, respected wine critic, Shlomo Papirblat, has named his top ten Israeli wines. They are as follows: 1. Yarden Katzrin 2004, Golan Heights Winery 2. Castel Grand Vin 2007, Domaine du Castel 3. Yatir Forest 2006, Yatir Winery 4. Sycra Merlot 2006, Clos de Gat 5. Carmel Limited Edition 2005, Carmel Winery 6. Recanati Special Reserve 2006, Recanati Winery 7. Eliad 2007, Chateau Golan 8. Flam Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006, Flam Winery 9. The Cave 2005 […]

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In case you missed it. Not like the real thing (no tasting on the video!) but more reason to visit Israel next year and drink Israeli wine — or if you are here this summer, check out the Jerusalem wine festival!

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So I returned Wednesday night from the first public night of the Israwinexpo 2008, Israel’s 2nd international wine trade show. While the two public days were mostly wine tastings attended by Israel’s growing oenophiles (and a few tourists, including my parents), the first day was only for professionals. Journalists from Wine Spectator, Decanter (one of Europe’s top wine magazines), several Asian wine journalists, and top wine critics (including Mark Squires, from the Wine Advocate, who recently wrote a piece on […]

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This article first appeared on wines-israel.com and is reprinted with permission of the author. On Israel’s 64th Independence Day, it is worthwhile to look back at some of Israel’s most influential wines, which have helped to advance Israel’s image as a wine producing country of international quality. These are some of the wines that charted the progress of Israel in the international court of public opinion. The coming list is a story of Israel through its wines – each one […]

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by Amos Ravid Amos Ravid is Wine Education Manager of Carmel Winery. This article first appeared in Wine, Gourmet & Alcohol and Wines Israel. Although Israel has a long history of winemaking, the country does not have its own indigenous grape varieties. The Ottomans, when in control of Palestine, virtually only permitted the planting of vineyards designated to produce food grapes, which brought winemaking to a halt for hundreds of years. It is likely that many local grape varieties disappeared […]

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The London 2012 Olympics are about to start. England is known for frenetic, physical football, unique pubs, flat beer, tea with milk, fish and chips and the Queen. it is also a city which is known for being the center of the wine trade and has been so for over 200 years. It was there where Port, Sherry, Champagne and Bordeaux were first brought to the world’s attention. Most of the world’s best wine writers, apart from Robert Parker, are […]

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The Eshkol Hazahav wine tasting competition, has taken place for the tenth consecutive year. The Gala Dinner was held at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv. The number of wines taking part were 282, from 63 wineries. The tastings, which took place over four days. The tastings were done by a group of selected wine professionals, wine journalists and wine lovers. In all there were 38 judges. Arguably Israel’s two most well-known wineries, Carmel Winery & Golan Heights Winery, […]

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