Posted at 12:12h in Wineries, Wines by David Rhodes 1 Comment Wine has evolved over the millennium into an important part of celebrations for billions of people all around the world. Yet, for Jews in and outside of Israel it holds special significance. Every week’s Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch, it’s common to go through a bottle or two of wine with family, friends and guests while observing the Sabbath. Even less religious families frequently have family meals over […]

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During the two-week period preceding Rosh Hashanah, Israelis purchase 40 percent of all the wine that is sold during the entire year. It’s not that people go on drinking binges during this time of year, but fine wine is increasingly perceived as part of the cultured way of life, especially when consumed in moderation, during meals with friends and family. As recently as 20 years ago, the vast majority of wine consumed during the holiday season was red, sweet and […]

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Posted at 22:30h in Wine 101, Wine industry, Wines by Avi 1 Comment Segal Argaman 2007 from Dovev Vineyard in the Upper Galilee, has won the equivalent of a Gold Medal at ‘Les Citadelles du Vins’ Competition held in Bordeaux, France. Argaman is a cross between Carignan and Souzao, a Portuguese variety. Avi Feldstein, winemaker of Segal Wines, produced… Posted at 23:50h in Wine 101, Wine industry by Avi 3 Comments [I plan to write much more on this next […]

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Posted at 18:37h in Kosher by 0 Comments As a follow up to Friday’s post about how Shabbat provides an excellent opportunity for all – Jew, non Jew, religious, non-religious – to experience new wines and explore one’s personal tastes, I mentioned that I was serving the Galil Mountain 2006 Merlot. Just to prove my point more about how Shabbat is an excellent opportunity to explore wine, it’s worth noting that personally I usually finish one bottle per Shabbat (Friday […]

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Posted at 18:47h in Wines by Avi 0 Comments At the awards ceremony for the 2014 Eshkol Ha’Zahav wine tasting competition, there were a number of surprises. This year it was the smaller, newish, lesser known wineries that drew attention by winning some of the main prizes. Wineries such as Jezreel Valley, Kishor, Kerem Montefiore and Vortman took on and beat some of the more established and more famous wineries. The Jezreel Valley Carignan 2012, Kishor Savant 2012, Montefiore Red […]

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Posted at 17:38h in Wine industry by Avi 0 Comments The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission Hugh Johnson on Israeli Wine 16.08.2011  The newest edition of the Pocket Wine Book, the 2012 version, has arrived. It is published by Mitchell Beazley, part of the Octopus Publishing Group. 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 […]

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Posted at 16:02h in Wine industry by Avi 0 Comments Israeli wine was recently featured in several international wine publications: Wine Enthusiast featured Recanati Shiraz 2010 (90 points) in their Top 100 Best Buys for 2012. Decanter Magazine’s November 2012 issue features an article on Israeli wine. Sommelier Journal has an article on the Israeli wine industry

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In Israel, there’s an underused practice that could save you a lot of money when eating out and drinking wine. In the United States and in Europe, it’s very common to be able to bring your own wine to a restaurant. The price you pay a restaurant for the privilege of bringing your own bottle is commonly called “corkage”. It’s a great way of saving money as a diner and insuring that you have a wine you like with dinner. […]

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Posted at 20:32h in Wineries, Wines by Avi 0 Comments The following article appeared on wines-israel.com and is reprinted with permission The Golan Heights Winery has launched a new wine called Yarden 2T (Two T) from the 2008 vintage. The wine is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional and 50% Tinta Cao, both of which are Portuguese grapes, now being grown on the Golan Heights in the Yonatan vineyard at an elevation of 700 meters. The wine was aged in […]

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Posted at 22:06h in Wineries, Wines by Avi 0 Comments The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission The Golan Heights Winery has been awarded the “Wine World Cup” by the Vinitaly wine tasting competition. It is a very competitive, stringently run competition with only 71 awards given out of 3,720 wines entered from 30 countries. It is the first time ever that an Israeli winery has won the Gran Vinitaly Special Award. It is awarded to the winery […]

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