In the Decanter World Wine Awards, Israeli Syrahs or Shiraz’s were put under the microscope and came out well. It was only a decade ago that there was no Syrah in Israel and it seemed nothing would stand in the way of Cabernet Sauvignon being regarded as the best variety for quality wines in Israel. However, many winemakers are being converted to Mediterranean rather than Bordeaux varieties, and Syrah, or Shiraz, is becoming more prominent with Israel’s quality wineries. The […]

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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 […]

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It sparked a revolution in Israel’s winemaking industry. Now the Golan Heights Winery is celebrating three decades of award-winning wine. The founding of the Golan Winery in 1983 was a major factor in the transformation of Israel’s wine industry from sweet, insipid wines to award winning. Check out ISRAEL21c’s video about the Golan Heights Winery.

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I often refer to wine as “consumable organic art.” A good winemaker needs to be part viticulturist and biochemist to make sure nothing goes wrong with a wine, first with the grapes in the vineyard then with the juice fermenting into wine at the winery. As well, a winemaker needs to be part artist to use their sense of aesthetics and their craftsmanship to deliver something special from the grapes they have available the same way a sculptor might bring […]

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(This originally appeared on Wines Israel) By: Adam Montefiore Lets destroy some popular misconceptions: Not all kosher wine is made in Israel and not all Israeli wine is kosher! Nowadays nearly every wine producing country in the world produces kosher wine and in Israel, just to be confusing, many of the newer, smaller wineries make non-kosher wine. However it is true to say that the majority of wine made in Israel is kosher. This should not be regarded as unusual. […]

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The Wine Spectator, the world’s most famous wine magazine, has again tasted Israeli wines. The results were featured in the magazine and on the website. The better scores are listed below. It is noticeable that Israel’s Mediterranean varieties such as Syrah/ Shiraz, Carignan and Petite Sirah seem to be featuring more and more strongly in tastings of Israeli wines. A few years ago tastings would only feature Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlot and Bordeaux style blends. There was also a creditable scores […]

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Another day, another winery. It at least it feels that way sometimes. But not all of Israel’s hundreds of wineries are created equal. So its nice when there’s a new one on my radar for all of the right reasons. Producing 18,000 bottles of their own wine and being relatively new to the industry, the Maor Winery has been located along the western base of the Golan Heights along the shores of the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) since moving […]

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    When you work at a winery, you soon find out there’s no shortage of people who want your wine for free. Winemakers tend to be generous souls, from my experience, but there’s a limit to how many wine writers, dignitaries and charities you can bestow with samples or bottles for a charity gala and still afford to keep the doors of a winery open. So, as diplomatically as possible the staff of a winery must choose who to support and […]

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It’s summer time and that means it’s time to break out the white wines — which are great deals too! In this week’s Ha’aretz, Israel’s premier wine critic Daniel Rogov tries a few whites. By Daniel Rogov In Israel, as in California, nearly all the locally made white wines are made from grapes that have their origins in France – Chardonnay from Burgundy, Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux, Viognier from the northern Rhone Valley and Gewurtztraminer from Alsace. Not even the […]

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In this week’s Ha’aretz, Israeli wine critic Daniel Rogov tastes wines from the Alexander Winery, Gat Shomron Winery, and Tishbi winery. Wine and Spirits / Greats from Alexander By Daniel Rogov Located on Moshav Beit Yitzhak in the Sharon region, the Alexander winery, founded in 1996 by Yoram Shalom, receives grapes largely from contract vineyards it controls at Kerem Ben Zimra in the Upper Galilee. It has mainly produced Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and now coming on […]

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