During the last five years, I’ve attended dozens of Israeli wine festivals. Now I even consult for a few festivals. Before I moved to Israel I helped start a wine festival for San Diego County’s wineries. After years of offering free advice, I found often that the only way to get people to listen to you is to charge for your advice. Sadly most people seem to put value on advice depending how much they pay. Some doctors and lawyers […]

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In 1884, a year before his death, Sir Moses Montefiore, then 100 years old, made his last donation to the new village of Rishon le Zion, birth place of the modern Israel wine industry. Over 100 years later a young Englishman with blue eyes made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel. The great, great grandson of Moses Montefiore’s heir had the same objective – to contribute to Israel and to advance Israeli wine. He began by specialising in the ‘on trade’ – hotels […]

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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 a journey as much as a destination. Most people make odd food and wine pairings if they were to be scrutinized by a wine professional. […]

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One Week of Festivities, One Great Winery If you have a chance, don’t miss the 30th Anniversary celebration for the Golan Heights Winery (Yarden, Gamla & Golan labels) being observed the next week at the port on the boardwalk in Tel Aviv. It’s free to just show up and mingle and hear the music as attendees get in the groove and it’s a reasonable price to try some of the thirty or so wines offered by Israel’s most lauded winery. […]

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Carmel Winery is well known to all of the readers of this site and anyone who knows anything about Israeli wine. Carmel Winery is one of Israel’s oldest wineries and the wineries in Rishon L’Tzion and Zichron Ya’akov are among Israel’s oldest buildings. In the past few years Carmel has made major investments in its Zichron Yaakov Winery. I had the opportunity to visit Zichron Ya’akov recently, after not being there for a few years, and discovered substantial new infrastructure […]

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When I moved to California from Massachusetts, I missed the embedded and concentrated layers of culture and history that New England had to offer over the American Southwest. Yet when moving to Israel, those hundreds of years of New England culture were overshadowed by thousands of years of civilizations that can be overwhelming to a resident as much as to a tourist exploring without a guide. I’ve half-kidded that with the right tour guide, you could easily walk every ten […]

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‘Wines of Israel’ is a new book published by Cordinata, which is being launched at Succot. It is really the little sister of the larger format coffee table book, The Wine Route of Israel. ‘Wines of Israel’ is in an attractive, compact, concise and practical guide giving an insight into the wines and wineries of Israel. It features 100 wineries ranging from the large well-known commercial wineries to the small little known garagistes. The text is brief but informative and […]

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On Friday March 2nd 2012 it snowed in Yatir Forest. Yatir Forest is Israel’s largest planted forest. The vineyards of Yatir Winery lie within the forest at an elevation of 600 to 900 meters above sea level. Yatir Forest is the meeting place between the Judean Hills, Judean Desert and Negev desert. It is this unique terroir which contributes to the award winning wines produced by Yatir Winery.

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Recanati Winery in Emeq Hefer (in the Industrial Park off Rt. 4) Plenty of food (dairy) and a wide selection of wine for 40 NIS at the winery. Friday June 1st 10am to 3pm. White Red Nights Festival 2012 June 4th-7th, 2012 This is an international festival, focusing on wine, music and cuisine. The festival is produced by the leading production and event management company, “Arnon Paz”, in cooperation with “Avi Ben” wine stores and “Shahar Wine Stores”, which has […]

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Ha’aretz Magazine has a profile about several of the farmers who are growing grapes for some of Israel’s best wineries. Check it out. Pleasure Hunting / In the shade of the vine By Ronit Vered A time to uproot Name: Eliezer Rushansky Place: Moshav Yonatan Vineyard: Yonatan Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Syrah Wine made from the vineyard”s grapes by Golan Heights Winery: Gamla Sauvignon 2005 Eliezer Rushansky holds the large clusters of Sangiovese grapes, from […]

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