Ha’aretz’s weekend magazine has a new series where they profile a parent and child. This weekend is Moti Teperberg, from Teperberg 1870, and his daughter Hila Lieber-Teperberg.
read the full article
A little history of Teperberg winery:
Moti is a fifth-generation Jerusalemite on his father Menachem’s side and 10th generation on his mother Rivka’s side. The foundations for the family’s wine business were laid by Avraham Teperberg, who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine from Austria in 1850, and two years later opened a store in Jerusalem that sold wine and other alcoholic beverages. His son, Ze’ev Zaide, caught the bug and in 1870 set up a winery called Efrat in the Old City, named for the ancient route of grapes that were transported from Bethlehem, also called Efrat in Genesis. The first winery in the country’s Jewish community, antedating Baron Rothschild’s venture by about 20 years, it was located in cellars beneath the Jewish Quarter. In 1925, the winery was relocated to the Romema neighborhood at the western edge of the new city. The business flourished and the Teperbergs sold bottles of sweet sacramental wine in large numbers. But then someone noticed that the winery’s logo, showing the two spies in Canaan with a cluster of grapes, had been copied by the big Carmel Mizrachi Winery. “There were legal proceedings with Carmel over the logo,” Moti recalls. “In the end there was a compromise, but the affair cost the family a lot of energy and money, and the business deteriorated.” Afterward, the Teperbergs were granted an exclusive franchise by the British Mandatory authorities to produce alcoholic beverages, and established a plant in Sarona, the community founded by the German Templars north of Jaffa. A few years later, the authorities allowed alcohol to be imported and the family went bankrupt.
After Israel’s establishment, Moti’s father and his brother went back to the wine business. The new winery, located in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda produce market – in the backyard of Rachmo’s famous hummus place – manufactured some 80,000 bottles of sacramental wine. “That was the only kind of wine people in Israel drank at the time,” Moti says. “There was barely any dry red wine. Afterward, the Romanians and the Hungarians brought in the spritz trick: You put wine in a Sypholux soda-maker and create Champagne. I remember the Mahane Yehuda winery from my childhood. On holidays, during the harvest, I poured grapes into a machine and stomped on grapes with special boots.” In 1964, the winery moved to Motza, outside Jerusalem.
Moti has managed the winery since 1984. For the past six years it has been located near Kibbutz Tzora, on the slopes of the Judean Hills wine country, which evokes Tuscany. Moti joined the new wave of local winemakers who discovered the marvels of terroir (a fusion of terrain and climate ), and the ability of skilled local vintners to put out high-quality products. In an attempt to shake off the image of the sweet Efrat wines, Moti called his line Teperberg 1870; his is today the fourth biggest winery in the country. Hila works in the business as a market coordinator and is in charge of establishing a visitors’ center.
Check out my good friend and mentor Adam Montefiore (and a true mentsh!) talk about one of Israel’s best wineries – Yatir Forest.
Discover the Psagot Winery
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.
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In the past decade Israel’s wine making has transformed from a hobby into a major industry. Today, there are some 200 boutique wineries in Israel, each one doing their best to make quality wines.
Buy The Ultimate Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines
The following is printed with permission of the author
The ultimate, and final, Rogov Guide has been published. It contains nearly 687 pages. Last years version had a mere 603 pages! This year there is no International kosher wine Guide, nor a version in Hebrew. The book is published by Toby Press, the publisher, which has provided a wonderful service to Israeli wine over the years. Rogov’s Guide was first published in 2005 and the last in the series will be the 2012 edition.
It will be the final edition because of the untimely death of the author, Daniel Rogov, z”l, just over a month ago. Daniel Rogov for thirty years had been Israel’s most famous wine critic and the voice of the Israel wine renaissance. His mouthpiece was firstly the Jerusalem Post, then Haaretz and Rogov’s Wine Discussion Forum. However it was the annual Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines, which really made Rogov a household name.
The book contains 175 Israeli wineries. For this reason alone it is worth purchasing, because it is the most comprehensive list of Israeli wineries available anywhere, and that includes Israeli wine websites and even the country’s official wine bodies! So it is a valuable source of information. It also contains a data base of wine tasting notes and scores for older wines making it a complete source of information.
The eagerly awaited winery rankings by Rogov were increased this year from the usual ‘Top 10’, to a Baker’s Dozen, allowing the addition of three more wines to the standard list. The top wineries were:
- Golan Heights Winery (Katzrin, Rom, Yarden, Gamla)
- Margalit
- Yatir
- Castel
- Clos de Gat
- Flam
- Chateau Golan
- Pelter
- Carmel (Limited Edition, Mediterranean, Single Vineyard, Appellation)
- Sea Horse
- Recanati
- Tzora
- Vitkin
The top wines released in the last 12 months were:
- Golan Heights Rom Yarden 2007 95 points
- Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve 2009 95
- Yatir Forest 2008 95
Tom Stevenson, the author of the Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia and editor of The Wine Report, wrote: “……thankfully sommeliers and consumers of Israeli wines everywhere can turn to Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines. The Guide ranks with Platter’s Guide in South Africa as head-and-shoulders above every other national wine guide.” A compliment indeed from one of the world’s most respected wine writers. The The Ultimate Rogov’s Guide is the biggest and best ever. It remains a fitting final memorial to Daniel Rogov’s giant contribution to Israeli wine. His memory is a blessing.
Monday November 7 and Tuesday November 8 at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Center.
Will you be there?
For more information about Sommelier or to register. (Free for the industry – registration requires – otherwise 150 shekels and well worth it!)
