Posted at 18:32h in Wine industry, Wineries by Avi 0 Comments
The following article was reprinted with permission from wines-israel.com. See previous articles about Amphorae Winery here.
Rumors abound that Amphorae Winery will be renamed Maharal Winery. As it is situated at Kerem Maharal, just north of Zichron Ya’acov, it would certainly be an appropriate name.
Amphorae Vineyard was founded in 2000. The winery had a good start and the wines received good reviews, before business problems took over. A recent change of owners only increased the uncertainty and confusion.
Wines made at Keshet Winery, a start-up that never came to fruition, were sold under the Amphorae label. At one stage the Merwah label was used instead of Amphorae. A new premier label called Unica was launched, using previously made wines from 2006 and some very high prices were charged.
However the winery does have some very good things going for it, which no-one can take away. It is one of the most beautiful and most advanced, state-of-the-art wineries in Israel. It is set in a beautiful setting in the Mount Carmel region, south of Haifa, and north of Zichron. Futhermore, it is still the only Israeli winery to have secured the services of the legendary Michel Rolland, as a wine consultant.
Now, the winery is owned by Vladimir Dubov and Arkadi Papikian is the winemaker. A new name and new marketing strategy is an excellent idea.
Let’s hope the new owner winemaker partnership are able to get this special winery back on track.
