Adam S. Montefiore – Wine Development Director, Carmel Winery, speaking about “Wines of Israel — Mediterranean Inspiration” at the launch of the ConnectIL website, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ‘New Israel Wine Guide’ has published its preview.
Interestingly, it lists ‘The Top Twenty Israeli Wines’, divided into red and white wines.
The best two whites on the list were from the same winery. Tzora Winery’s Shoresh, a Sauvignon Blanc, and the Neve Ilan, a Chardonnay, were in first and second place.
The best three red wines were Lewinsohn Garage de Papa, Flam Noble and Carmel Kayoumi Shiraz. One a Mediterranean blend, another a Bordeaux blend and the third a single vineyard wine.
Chardonnays in the top ten whites included those produced by Tzora, Lewinsohn, Clos de Gat and Odem Mountain. Sauvignon Blancs listed included Tzora, Dalton and Pelter. Dalton also had their new Semillon included.
Bordeaux blends in the top 10 reds list included: Flam Noble, Yatir Forest, Margalit Cabernet Franc, Castel Grand Vin and Carmel Limited Edition. Mediterranean blends included Lewinsohn Garage de Papa (a garagiste, really situated in a garage) and Montefiore Red (from a new winery only recently launched) and there were single vineyard Shiraz/Syrahs from Carmel Kayoumi and Yarden Avital.
The ‘New Israel Wine Guide’ is a wine guide for the electronic media, published by Yair Gath, the wine writer for the Israel Hayom Newspaper, and Gal Zohar, sommelier and wine consultant in both Israel and the UK.
To receive the full list of Israel’s top 20 wines (in Hebrew or English), the scores and tasting notes, please send a request to: [email protected]
You can follow the progress of the guide on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NewIsraeliWineGuide
When Daniel Rogov passed away there was a real void left in the Israeli wine world. Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wine was one of the most important books in the Israeli wine world, providing a comprehensive guide to hundreds of Israeli wines, including tasting notes and scores – notably in English (Rogov was raised in New York).
Several writers tried to take Rogov’s place and taste and score wine but none have succeeded.
A new contender, however, is trying to take a place. Yair Gath, a wine writer for the Yisrael HaYom daily newspaper, and Gal Zohar, a sommelier and IWC judge, are currently working on both an English and Hebrew version of the New Israel Wine Guide.
The New Israel Wine Guide features some of Israel’s top wines but, unlike most writing on Israeli wine, is intended for a global audience. Unlike Rogov, there is a specific focus on kosher wines and wines available outside of Israel. As the description notes:
We decided to focus on the best wineries, predominantly on the kosher wines that are also available outside Israel, without neglecting some of our favourite ones which we thought couldn’t be left out. All tastings were strictly blind, so what you get is our unbiased, independent recommendations. Clear and simple.
While not all wines are kosher, kosher wines are much more clearly identified than in other Guides to Israeli Wine. However, the best wines are included regardless of whether they are certified kosher or not. So, for example, in the list of top wines not only are the wines from Yatir, Carmel, Yarden, and Castel listed but also wineries such as Lewinsohn, Clos de Gat, Pelter, and others that have recent non-kosher vintages.
This focus on kosher wine is certainly one major difference from Rogov.
The wine guide is very comprehensive, listing the grapes that are included (if a blend), the region in Israel in which the winery is based, if it is unoaked or oaked, and how long it was oak-aged, whether kosher wine or non-kosher wine, as well as its alcohol content. In addition Gath and Zohar provide a tasting note, with a quirky summary (“Southern exposure,” “Classicism,” “Young and exciting” are just a few) as well as a tasting note and score (on a 100 point scale).
The preview edition is also well typeset with attractive imagery.
If you’re interested in the New Israel Wine Guide you can also find out about it on Facebook.
Since Rogov’s death such a guide has been missing. It remains to be seen whether this will fill the void but I, for one, really look forward to seeing the rest of the guide.
A new updated wine map has been produced in English, called The Israeli Wine Map.
It features a hundred of the best wineries of Israel from the northernmost Odem Mountain Winery, in the northern Golan Heights, all the way down to the Derech Eretz Winery, in the deepest Negev Desert. It runs from A to Z, or from ‘Adir to Zion’. It covers the wine routes of the Golan Heights, Upper & Lower Galilee, Mount Carmel, Sharon Plain, Judean Plain, Jerusalem Mountains and the Negev. The map makes it easy to plan wine tours in order of the nearest to furthest winery. On the reverse side of the map, is information about each winery, contact details and whether they are kosher or not.
The map is published by Cordinata in Tel Aviv, , who have also published the books ‘The Wine Route of Israel’ and ‘Wines of Israel.’ It has an original and attractive cover, familiar to those who know the two wine books. A series of green, flattened vine leaves, with the silhouette of a bottle superimposed on them.
It is an essential purchase for the serious wine tourist. The Wine Map of Israel retails for NIS 29. Details are available from Cordinata, telephone +972 50 569 3777. Email [email protected]
Debra Meilburg MW talks to Irit Box-Shank of Israel’s Barkan Winery
