‘Wines of Israel’ is a new book published by Cordinata, which is being launched at Succot. It is really the little sister of the larger format coffee table book, The Wine Route of Israel.
‘Wines of Israel’ is in an attractive, compact, concise and practical guide giving an insight into the wines and wineries of Israel. It features 100 wineries ranging from the large well-known commercial wineries to the small little known garagistes. The text is brief but informative and is supported by large scale photos of wines, one for each winery. The winery pages were edited by Eliezer Sacks, owner of the publisher, Cordinata. He also publishes ‘Shvill Hayayin’ and ‘Yayin Israeli’, which are similarly, a large format book and a smaller condensed version. Apart from his wine books that date back many years, Sacks has also published books on honey, the seven blessed species and olive oil.
The book begins with a helpful introductory section giving some background to Israeli wine. These include historical milestones, an explanation of the wine scene today, and international recognition received by wines and wineries. There also explanations of the wine regions, grape varieties, tasting tips and an introduction to kosher wine. These pages were largely written by Adam Montefiore, wine industry veteran, once with the Golan Heights Winery, now with Carmel Winery, who has a weekly column called ‘Wine Talk’ in the Jerusalem Post.
Wines of Israel by Eliezer Sacks and Adam Montefiore is published by Cordinata, Tel Aviv, Israel. It will be sold at winery visitors’ centers and in Steimatzky for NIS 99.
The newest edition of The Wine Route of Israel by Eliezer Sacka, Yaron Goldfisher & Adam Montefiore was also published by Cordinata in 2012. It costs NIS 149.
[Press Release]
A great opportunity for those who want to learn more about wine is coming to Israel in October. The International Sommelier Guild will be starting classes in Tel Aviv at the Bin 281 Wine Shop and Bar at 281 Dizengoff Street at the intersection of Ben Yehuda.
The first course, Wine Appreciation 1, will be offered Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7pm until 10 PM for 4 weeks for a total of eight evenings and 24 hours starting October 5th. This one month program is a great path towards becoming a wine connoisseur or begin qualifying for a career in wine in a short amount of time.
Six wines will be tasted and studied in each class covering different major wine grapes, regions and styles so that students will be able to pick up a wine magazine or a wine list and never feel lost again. The different flavors and aromas of major grape varietals will be studied so, for instance, you will able to tell the difference between a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc or between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot.
In contrast to other international wine programs, International Sommelier Guild classes aim to educate students and to pass those who commit themselves. Other programs boast about how many students fail as a way of promoting exclusivity. ISG promotes passing to provide tools for success and a thirst for more knowledge about wine. In the United States, it’s the only wine program certified by several state boards of education including the large wine producing states of California, Washington, Oregon and New York. Since 1982, thousands of students have taken ISG classes as a launching point towards entering the wine industry or just to better appreciate wine.
The importance of attending and learning an internationally certified wine program is that potential employers will instantly recognize your level of expertise and level of commitment. Classes will focus on what you need to know and not just one instructor’s preferences. Take advantage of the first time an internationally certified wine program will offered in Israel.
Wayne Gotts, the Vice President of the International Sommelier Guild will be instructing the program. Wayne has taught ISG wine classes all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and China and has years of experience as the sommelier at several award winning restaurants whose wine lists have been recognized by Wine Spectator magazine,
An in depth 8 week follow up Wine Appreciation 2 will offered after the completion of Wine Appreciation 1. So whether you want to just get your feet wet or you want to dive right in, ISG this fall will have the wine program for you. Classes will be taught in English so that students can apply this knowledge in Israel or to working at opportunities overseas.
Level 1 for 24 class hours is 3000 NIS and Level 2 for 48 class hours is 5000 NIS.
An online version of Wine Appreciation 1 is available for students who want to study at their own pace and schedule.
Future classes in Hebrew and online versions of other classes are also being planned.
For further information or to sign up for classes contact the ISG’s Israeli Liaison David Rhodes at [email protected] or call 052-702-WINE (9463).
For my 5773 list of suggested wines for the High Holidays, I decided on some changes on how I picked my wines from previous years. First, I decided to try to mix up the price points a little so there were some affordable wines for everyone to choose from and I decided to suggest some Israeli non-certified wines (NK). By non-certified I mean that the wines haven’t any kosher supervision but they were made by Jews, just not sabbath observant Orthodox Jews and that these wineries to the best of my knowledge don’t do anything in their winemaking that different from kosher wineries that would make a wine non-kosher except for who handles the wine and what days the winery is open. Since these wines have an audience with Jews in Israel and overseas, I don’t want to make believe they don’t exist although for Passover I might still suggest only kosher for Passover wines since even non-religious Jews seem to get more restrictive on their diet during that holiday.
Also, I wanted to suggest some wines I’ve tasted most recently so readers may bring in the New Year with wines they may not have tried before. Whichever of these wines you choose, I’m confident they can impress your guests or host as part of your festivities.
Whites:
Chilled whites are a nice way to greet guests as they enter or as you start your meal. If you’re not serving beef or lamb, you might even serve white throughout the meal.
2011 Vortman Shfeya Valley 75 NIS (NK) Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon
A classic blend of white Bordeaux grapes. Crisp acidity is great match for poultry, pasta, fish or salads . Also check out a similar version by Tzuba (K) or Asif (K).
2011 Saslove Lavan 84 NIS (K) Viognier, Gewurztraminer & Sauvignon Blanc
White blends are getting more popular as premium wines instead of just less inexpensive blends. Also check out Dalton’s White Alma & Recanati’s White Special Reserve.
2011 Tzuba Chardonnay 89 NIS (K)
A fruity “non-malo” Chardonnay, a style becoming more popular in Israel in contrast to more buttery Chards. Also check out Lewinsohn (NK) & Odem Mountain’s (K) examples.
Red
It’s more traditional to serve red wines during holiday meals but this year try something different other than a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot to bring in the the New Year.
2010 Flam Syrah Reserve 125 NIS (K)
Flam’s first release of a kosher reserve wine shows the potential of Syrah in Israel. Also try Carmel’s award winning 2008 Kayoumi Shiraz (K) (Shiraz & Syrah are the same grape) or 2010 Saslove Aviv Shiraz (K).
2006 Somek Carignan 90 NIS (NK)
“Old Vine” Carignan’s are becoming popular as hearty reds that are great matches for beef and lamb. Vitken ,Smadar (NK), Recanati, Binyamina & Carmel (K) are good examples.
2010 Alona Cabernet Franc 75 NIS (NK)
Acidic & fragrant Cab Franc’s are a great food friendly red for the dinner table. Ella Valley, Psagot, Carmel and Recanati (K) or Vitkin & Margalit (NK) offer a range of good choices.
Rosé
Nice way to start a meal or a segue from whites to reds. There was so much bad Israeli rosé 20 years ago, many winemakers stayed away. Plenty of good ones now available.
2011 Recanati Rosé 65 NIS (K)
Dry rosé as tasty as the bottle is pretty. Consistently one of Israel’s best.
2011 Castel Rosé du Castel (K) 90 NIS
When one of Israel’s best boutique wineries makes a quality dry rosé, serve it proudly
Try Flam’s (K) or Chateau Golan’s Rosé (NK) for other premium dry rosé examples.
2011 Tishbi Blush 35 NIS (K)
An inexpensive semi-dry rosé nice for lunch, with salads or gazpacho. Dalton, Barkan & Binyamina also have inexpensive rosés in their portfolio.
Sparkling Wines
The acidity of sparkling wines can make for one of the most food friendly styles of wine but avoid the common wedding mistake of pairing dry sparkling wine with desserts.
NV Tishbi Brut 85 NIS (K) 100% Colombard Bottle Fermented
Sparkling wines can be a great wine to serve throughout a meal especially with salty fare.
NV Gamla Brut 69 NIS (K)Bottle Fermented featuring Pinot Noir & Chardonnay.
Israel’s most authentic “Champagne-style” sparking wine.
2011 Teperberg Moscato (K) 39 NIS sweet moscato’s are a nice aperitif or dessert wine or a match with spicy fare. Dalton, Golan & Carmel also have affordable (K) versions.
Dessert wines
When serving wine with dessert try to serve a wine sweeter than the dessert or the wine will taste muted. Red based dessert wines match red & black fruit based desserts as those with chocolate, pecans or walnuts. White dessert wines pair well with white or tropical based fruit desserts or cheese plates or almonds, cashews and peanuts.
2007 Avidan Gran Soliel 99 NIS (NK) Late Harvest Chardonnay 500ml
A Late Harvest Chardonnay more reminiscent of an aromatic white than a Chardonnay.
A nice match with almond, citric or honey based desserts. Tzuba has a (K) offering.
2008 Yarden T2 Touriga Nacional & Tinta Cao 190 NIS (K).
Fortified red wines in the style of Port are becoming more popular. Odem Mountian, Tzuba & Tishbi have other (K) examples all from different red grape varieties.
2011 Odem Mountain “Cherry Wine” Sweet & Sour Cherries 60 NIS (K) 500 ml.
Although many wine snobs don’t consider “fruit wine” to be wine. There are more & more “fruit wines” being released every year in Israel. Rimon, Rimonim, Boutique & Gardenia all make interesting Pomegranate dessert fruit wines.
Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, received a nice surprise when he recently visited the Windmill at 
Mishkenot Shaananim & Yemin Moshe in Jerusalem. He was presented with a bottle of Carmel Limited Edition 2007 in a special gift box, by Adam Montefiore of Carmel Winery. The Mayor of Jerusalem and Ambassador of Holland looked on.
They were standing inside the Montefiore Windmill, built by Moses Montefiore, which Mr. Netanyahu reopened after extensive renovations. It is now in working order so it can grind flour. The project was funded by the Jerusalem Foundation and the Dutch Christians for Israel. Adam Montefiore, who is the Wine Development Director of Carmel Winery, was invited to represent the Montefiore family, along with his brother, the historian, Simon Sebag Montefiore (author of the book ‘Jerusalem’.)
Others present included The Minister of Tourism, Chairman & Managing Director of the Jerusalem Foundation, and the Chief Rabbi of Israel.
Carmel Limited Edition 2007 is the flagship wine of Carmel Winery. It is a blend of the five main Bordeaux grapes grown in Upper Galilee vineyards.
The 2007 received 93 points from the late Daniel Rogov and 91 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Carmel Limited Edition has received 90 points or more from the Wine Advocate in three of its last four vintages.
