Richard, a nice American blogger who also shows the love to Israeli wine, interviewed Mark Squires on his blog Israel Wine Direct (the only other Israeli wine blog, but missing out on a ton since Richard’s in America – but he’s scheduled to bring great Israeli wine to American direct consumers). The interview is worth paying attention to for what’s needed to improve Israeli wine. Read the whole piece for more, but I have to admit mixed feelings. Israel has […]

Read More »

Richard Shaffer of Israeli Wine Direct has an absolutely excellent video post about how “kosher is not a country” and how many of the everyday foods that are in your refrigerator, pantry, and throughout your house may be kosher – no matter your religion. Coca Cola, Cheerios, Heinz ketchup, fruits and vegetables and many more […]

Read More »

The following story originally appeared in “the honey,” an English e-newsletter about life and culture in Israel:  WINE PURO VINO If this purist bent suits the current fancy, take it a step further and go organic in your wines. The much acclaimed Sea Horse Winery on Moshav Bar Giora, just southwest of Jerusalem, has been growing organic syrah and zinfandel grapes in its vineyard since 2000. The vines are carefully nurtured during their growing season – exposed to the Mediterranean […]

Read More »

Will this be good news for Diaspora wine drinkers? Teperberg 1870, Israel’s 4th largest winery (but yet barely known outside of Israel, especially in North America, where so few is imported) has just appointed a new chief marketing manager. From the Jerusalem Post: ONE OF Israel’s veteran wineries, Teperberg 1870, has appointed Benny Cohen-Weinberg, 39, as marketing manager. Cohen-Weinberg has wide-ranging experience in branding, marketing and advertising. Previously known as Efrat, the winery, founded in 1870 by the Teperberg family […]

Read More »

Israeli winemaking has undergone a transformation over the last couple of decades that now is being recognized widely overseas. Published: 09/10/2008 RAMAT RAZIEL, Israel (JTA) — It’s harvest time at the Domaine Du Castel winery and crates full of small, plump grapes the color of blueberries are being loaded into a machine that removes them from their stems and pumps them through plastic piping into a towering, silver-colored vat. This is how the two-year process of wine making begins in […]

Read More »

The Montefiore family, Adam, David & Rachel, were photographed at a private meal at the Ritz Carlton, with bottles of Carmel, Tabor and Montefiore wines on the table. Adam works for Carmel, David for Tabor and Rachel for Montefiore wineries. One family, three wineries. The father , Adam Montefiore, has worked for many years in the wine industry, for Bass Charrington in England, and for the last twenty five years in Israel, for both the Golan Heights Winery and Carmel […]

Read More »

The Wine Enthusiast has had a major tasting of Israeli wines. The two leading wines were Carmel Limited Edition 2007and Yatir Forest 2009 with 92 points. This is a very good score for an Israeli wine. The Wine Enthusiast, owned by Adam Strum, is one of America’s two most famous wine magazines. Carmel Winery and its subsidiary, Yatir Winery, have done extremely well in recent Wine Enthusiast tastings. In the recent tastings, they have achieved the following scores. 92      Carmel  […]

Read More »

I just discovered 1337wine via Twitter and it appears that he just discovered Israeli wine. In his video wine show (episode 101 and counting), Mark Fusco is introduced to Israeli wines with tastings of the: Barkan Chardonnay Galil Mountain Yiron Ella Valley Syrah As someone very knowledgeable about Israeli wine (and Israel, in general, having lived here for over 6 years), it’s very interesting to watch people who are not knowledgeable about either taste Israeli wine. Some of our preconceived […]

Read More »

While researching an article about which dry wines are suggested to match best with local fare like hummus and falafel (Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé and Pinot Noir wines by the way), I had a thought about trying something that wasn’t suggested by other sommeliers or chefs. One thing about food and wine pairings is that its […]

Read More »

For many years kosher and Israeli wine (which were essentially equivalent until the past 1-2 decades, as Israeli wine was all kosher until the boutique revolution of the 1990s) had a justifiably bad name as sweet, sickly drink more suited for cost syrup but was suffered on Shabbat and holidays (especially Passover! To this day there are people who buy quality wine but must have that bottle of Manishewitz Concord Grape on Passover!) since it was needed for ritual purposes. […]

Read More »