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 […]

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 […] Is this how to sell wine to the Millenials? Would you buy this wine? Why or why not? Sorry that this video is in […]

Read More »

Israel is the original “old world” wine region. The Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean was the cradle of the world’s wine culture thousands of years before the vine reached Europe. Wine has been produced in the Land of Israel since Biblical times. Whether you call it the Tanakh, Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, surely you are familiar with the story of the spies, Noah’s ark, or other Biblical stories that hark back to the first stories of Israeli wine. […]

Read More »

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)

Read More »

…says winemaker Golan Tishbi. “It’s a lot better than last year.” as he tends to his family’s estate vines in Zichron Ya’acov and who harvests grapes from all over Israel to produce about 1 million bottles every year at Israel’s 6th largest winery.  The Tishbi Winery has already harvested several kinds of grape varietals from their estate coastal vineyards including Sauvignon Blanc, French Colombard, & Emerald Riesling and expect their thicker skinned Cabernet Sauvignon from Judean Hill vineyards to be […]

Read More »

The BBC has a great profile of Domaine du Castel, a great winery that I discovered several years ago. When you think of the world’s great wine producers Israel is not a name that often crops up. But Eli Ben Zaken is trying to change that. What started as a hobby is now an international business, but as his success has grown so too has the competition in the hills around Jerusalem. So is there enough business to go around? […]

Read More »

(The following article first appeared on wines-israel and is reprinted w/ permission To order Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2011 please click here.) The new Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2011 has been published by Mitchell Beazley, London. This is the annual, mini-encyclopedia written by Englishman, Hugh Johnson. It is the world’s largest selling wine book and is translated into many languages and sold around the world. Hugh Johnson is the world’s most distinguished and prolific wine writer. The book is […]

Read More »

Recently, I attended a press release in Tel Aviv of Binyamina Reserve wines for 2012. First we tasted the 2011 Binyamina Reserve Gewurztraminer with a suggested retail price of 64 NIS.  With 12 grams of sugar/liter, this semi-dry wine is proof positive why Gewurztraminer is becoming one of the most popular premium white grapes in Israel, even though its currently limited to small vineyard plantings. Every winery that produces it seems to sell out of what they make very early […]

Read More »

David Rhodes talking about Beaujolais Nouveau style wines and traditions including Israeli versions including Tishbi Junior, Binyamina Baby, the Golan Heights recently discontinued Gamay Nouveau and Carmel’s original 20 year Nouveau wines from 1983-2003. The following is from David’s radio show on Rusty Mike Radio. Click here to download or right-click “save as”

Read More »

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 […] I do apologize that I am posting often about the same wineries – Recanati, Galil Mountain, Golan Heights, Yatir, etc. – and not paying […]

Read More »