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 […] I’ve written about Israeli wine from Biblical Times until the 1990s. Here’s Israeli wine from the last decade: Now is the time to look […]

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Reports are that Americans are cutting back on gifts for themselves, while the crisis in America has reached Israel. Yet, this holiday season doesn’t have to be an empty one for adults. Instead of buying wine for gifts, how about learning about a new wine region, discovering Israeli cuisine, and spreading the knowledge of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Perhaps a book about wine from the land where Jesus was born, food from the region where the Maccabees fought? Israeli wine […]

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Following is Daniel Rogov’s latest review in Ha’aretz. This week he reviews the Bustan Winery and Saslove. I admit that I haven’t had either, but I plan on tasting some at some upcoming wine festivals over the next month. Bustan is available in North America (imported by Royal) and Saslove is available in Canada, as […] Derekh haYayin (Wine Route) has put the June 30 Wine Spectator article on Israeli wine online. It’s here in PDF. However, if you haven’t […]

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Below are the scores for the Wine Advocate article on Israeli wines by Mark Squires. Robert Parker also sat in on the tastings, and tasted himself. IsraelWines.co.il also has the scores, in descending order. You can see the notes of the WA’s scoring system here However, note that tasting notes are very important. I saw […] From the IsraelWines.co.il site: The Wine Advocate’s first generic tasting of Israeli wines resulted in a resounding success, which will encourage the whole industry. […]

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Stephen Brook, who visited Israel for IsraWinExpo 2008, has written an update to Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion. The Wine Companion is one of the classic books, which is in the library of every wine lover. Over the years Stephen Brook has been a prolific author and his most famous book is his work on Bordeaux. […] Every year a new wine festival opens in Israel, from the southern tips of Eilat to the northern tips of the Golan Heights. But […]

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Jewish holidays are full of wine. On Shabbat, evening and morning, Jews say the kiddush (sanctification) blessing over wine. On Jewish holidays, we also say the blessings over wine. However, on one holiday, it really is all about wine — on Passover, in addition to the holiday meals during the day and the last day […] Reports are that Americans are cutting back on gifts for themselves, while the crisis in America has reached Israel. Yet, this holiday season doesn’t […]

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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 […]

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This article about Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book first appeared on wines-israel.com Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2010 is published already, even though it is only late August 2009. However early or not, it represents good news for Israel! No less than twenty six Israeli wineries have made this prestigious guide book, which is similar […] I received the following report from Neta Reef of Israeli Wine Company, about the recent Israeli wine festival hosted by Kehillah Jewish High School […]

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These wines are all available for purchase  in the United States via Israeli Wine Direct and in Israel at your local high class wine store! I have written previously about Israeli Wine Direct and the important work Richard Shaffer and his team are doing to bring small-quantity Israeli wine into the United States. IWD is making some of Israel’s best, small-production wine available to consumers in America. My only complaint is that it means less for me! Well, I have […]

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Few people have heard of Teperberg 1870 wine, and very little of it is available in the United States (although I did see some in Germany last year). Formerely Efrat Winery (but not located in the city of Efrat), Teperberg has been producing wine since 1870, originally from the Old City of Jerusalem and then […]

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