Carmel Winery has just announced the launch of its award-winning premium brandy, the Carmel 100. This quality Israeli brandy was aged for at least eight years in oak barrels. This new release of the Carmel 100 brandy is in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Carmel Winery. Brandy Carmel 100 is made with Columbard (70%) with the addition of Chenin Blanc and Emerald Riesling. Most of the brandy (75%) was produced with double distillation (pot still) as is common in […]

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The latest Ha’aretz review from Israeli wine critic Daniel Rogov. This time, on what he calls good values in local wines. Note that all the prices are the Israeli local price and not abroad. Are the non-kosher wines available in the US beyond those carried by Israeli Wine Direct? Wine and Spirits / Best deals on local wines By Daniel Rogov Finding good bargains for local wines these days is becoming increasingly difficult, the very best wines being justifiably expensive […]

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In Daniel Rogov’s latest column in Ha’aretz, he tastes the interesting wine from Vitkin. This is a taste of Rogov’s thoughts: Assaf Paz, the winemaker at Vitkin Winery, is doing some pretty strange things. The winery, a family affair producing about 40,000 bottles annually, has refused so far to fit into the standard mold. Instead of producing wines from ultra-popular grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, it has chosen to focus on grapes with less of a local […]

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Ella Valley is another excellent terroir-driven winery that is making excellent wines in Israel. Ella Valley, founded in 1997 on Kibbutz Netiv Lamed Hay, produced around 150,000 bottles for the 2006 vintage. Run by French-trained winemaker Doron Rav Hon, the grapes all come from nearby vineyards and are harvested at night, to ensure high quality. The area of Ella Valley were harvesting wine for thousands of years. When they did excavations at the kibbutz and surrounding area, they found numerous […]

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A follow up to the below post. If you still can’t decide what sparkling wine to open tonight, here’s two tasting notes on the bubby from Daniel Rogov’s column in Ha’aretz:  Pelter, Blanc de Blanc Brut, n.v.: Although categorized as non-vintage, this wine was made with Chardonnay grapes entirely from the 2003 vintage. Gentle yeast and hints of nicely toasted white bread with sharp bubbles that go on and on. Fresh, aromatic, well-focused and intense, with grapefruit and lime fruits […]

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Yatir Winery is another great Israeli winery. All the Yatir wines that I have drunk have truly stood out as some of the best wine that I have ever drunk. Smooth, complex, and just tasty, Yatir is a winery in the Negev (the Negev! Desert!) formed with partnership with Carmel. There’s not much to say about Yatir. Rather, there’s much to experience as they make truly truly excellent wines for special occasions. Monday night I had the opportunity to taste […]

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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 […]

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I plan on posting more over the next week about the launch of Daniel Rogov’s Launch of the Guide to Israeli Wines 2010 and his new Guide to Kosher Wines (Disclosure: I received an invite to the launch party and copy from Toby Press, the publisher). In the meantime, however, here is a video from […] Daniel Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wine is coming out in a few weeks for 2010 (How did that happen?). He’s been publishing this annual […]

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I will be drinking the 2007 Yarden Gewurztraminer tonight with a Shabbat dinner of sushi. This light wine with a variety of foods and this unique varietal is grown in the Golan Heights’ volcanic soil. The 2007 Yarden Gewurztraminer displays an aromatic mix of characters:  juicy litchi, fresh flowers, green apple, orange blossom, persimmon and […] Check out this new article by Adam Montefiore on the history of Israel wine since independence. As Israel celebrates Yom Hatzma’ut – Independence Day […]

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Check out this clip about Israeli wine on CNN International (sorry I can’t embed it, and don’t let the initial talk of the falcons in the UAE confuse you, it just takes about a minute and a half for them to get to Israel). My only reaction: I want to be the Grape Man! UPDATE: […]

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