HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog

Psagot Winery is an interesting new winery located just outside of Jerusalem that is available in the United States. Daniel Rogov recently conducted his annual tasting of their wines and this is what he has to say about it: Located in the northern Jerusalem Mountains, overlooking Wadi Kelt (Nachal Prat), the winery was founded by Na’ama and Ya’akov Berg, who planted their first vineyards in 1998. In addition to a modern barrel cellar, some of the oak barriques are stored […]

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There are many winemakers and grape growers whose families have been involved in making Israeli wines for generations. The Margalits, the Sasloves, the TIshbis, the Shors and the Boxers are among many Israeli families that have passed their passion for wine making or cultivating from at least one generation to the next. Even though his family name isn’t synonymous with winemaking, Adam Montefiore is one of the most recognizable faces of Israeli wine and his family name is an iconic […]

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Adam Montefiore asked me to post his personal recollections on Daniel Rogov below. I print Adam’s thoughts with honor, as Adam and Daniel have been the Ambassadors of Israeli Wine abroad, and, on a personal note, I first met Adam due to Rogov. I first met Daniel Rogov in 1990 when he was still writing for the Jerusalem Post (the leading English language newspaper in Israel). In those days I considered him primarily a food writer rather than critic, and […]

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Boycott Israeli wine! No, really, start a boycott of Israeli wine! Have I gone nuts? Too much time in Israel has made me anti-Israel? No, rather, perhaps you should boycott Israeli wine because that will lead to more Israeli wine being bought! Does that make any sense? Well, yes, this is what happened last April when a group of Canadians called for a boycott of Israeli wine – the community went out and bought Israeli wine. Of course I don’t […]

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Good wine isn’t just in the center or Jerusalem. It’s also coming to Beersheva, with the fifth annual wine festival to be held on September 14-15. The 5th Annual Beer Sheva wine festival is scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, 14 and 15 September. Among the wineries scheduled to take part: Carmel, Bakan, Segal, Golan Heights Winery, Galil Mountain, Tzion, Teperberg, Lavie, Binyamina, Tishbi, Shiloh, Rota, Cfir, Netiv HaYain, Assif, Yaffo, Kahanov, Yaffo, Tsfat HaAttika, Tisbi, Saslove. The […]

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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 […]

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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 or two (2 days outside of Israel, 1 in Israel) of the week-long holiday, Jews have to drink four cups of wine at the seder […]

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The following is also from wines-israel, reprinted with permission Food & wine writer and critic, Daniel Rogov, passed away on the morning of September 7th 2011 at his home in Tel Aviv. We send our sincere condolences to his wife in Israel and family in the United States. Born in Brooklyn, New York, David Joroff discovered his love for wine and food when visiting Europe and particularly during lengthy stays in Switzerland and France. However he was better known by the name he used […]

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Keeping up with the Jones is tough.  Keeping up with the Mondavi’s is even harder.  Cabernets, Merlots, and even Zinfandels from California to France keep getting top headlines and top scores.  With the Israeli wine scene growing by the day, coming up with the right taste for an ever evolving pallet is the biggest challenge any winery has. So what’s an up and coming winery to do?  Blend, blend, and blend some more. Two such wineries, Agur and Tulip, have […]

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The following are words that I wrote in tribute of Daniel Rogov. I sent this to Rogov before he died. Rogov, you were a true mentor and will be missed. There are many people in the wine industry who have been greatly influenced by Daniel Rogov, who brought international standards to Israeli wine and brought the story of Israeli wine to the international audience. Daniel Rogov has been commended by many of the wine greats. At Rogov’s tribute evening, Howard […]

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