The following is reprinted from wines-israel.com. I don’t have to mention that another great source of Israeli wine news is this blog, aggregating and publicizing in Israel in English the story of the Israeli wine scene.
The wine critic is someone who is wine knowledgeable. His job is to taste wine on our behalf and write about in a way that is informative and helpful. A critic will gain a guru-like following of people who follow every word. He quantifies his opinions exactly, often with a score out of 100 or twenty, depending on the points system used. His readers will know that the difference of one point in a score is a precise statement, and the score overrides any text or explanation about the wine.
The critic who tastes wine for a living should be distinguished from the wine writer. The writer is someone who is caught up with the magic of wine. He is more interested in all that surrounds a wine. He sees the romance in the people that made the wine, the place where it comes from, the particular year it was made and all this is before getting to the wine itself. Wine is a subject that lends itself to literature. It is a fact that people like to talk about wine and read about it, as well as drink it.
Wine critics and wine writers are both educators and translators. Their job is to absorb information, evaluate it and present it in a way that is useful to their readers.
The most powerful, famous and influential wine critic in the world, is an ex lawyer from Maryland, USA called Robert Parker. His judgments can make or break any winery. A score of 90+ points from Parker, and a wine will be sold out immediately, whereas an 89 may scarcely cause a ripple. He has made the scoring system out of 100 a new fashion in wine and here critics have copied him too. His Wine Buyer’s Guide No.7 is generous to Israel, giving Israeli wines no less than nine pages. His main medium for transmitting his message is the highly influential Wine Advocate Newsletter. The Wine Advocate publishes tastings of Israeli wines twice a year.
Hugh Johnson would see himself as a wine writer rather than a wine critic. He is from England and he has written many of the standard books of wine that are in every wine lover’s library. These include the World Atlas of Wine, The Story of Wine and The Wine Companion. His wonderful prose and sheer enthusiasm for wine has nurtured many new wine lovers over the years. Johnson does not believe in wine scores out of 100, believing that one does not give scores in art, music or gastronomy. He instead gives ratings to wineries. His Pocket Wine Book lists no less than thirty Israeli wineries.
Though the wine trade is a very masculine environment, many women are superior tasters to men. Jancis Robinson is a Master of Wine from England who ticks all the boxes. She has the ability to write for wine academics but also for the person who does not yet know how to open a bottle. Her pioneering television programs were classics in their own way. She writes for the Financial Times and has her own flourishing website. She is the editor of the The Oxford Companion To Wine, the most comprehensive encyclopedia on wine that there is, which features an explanation on Israel and kosher wines.
Howard Goldberg, from New York, is the leading international expert on kosher wine. For years he worked as the wine correspondent of the New York Times, and also writes for The Wine News and Decanter Magazines. He was the first international wine writer to detect the wine revolution in Israel nearly 30 years ago and has been a great supporter of Israeli wine since then.
Arguably the most up to date international expert on Israeli wines today, is American Mark Squires, who works in Robert Parker’s elite wine tasting team. He specializes in the wines of Portugal, Greece, Lebanon … and Israel. He does two major tastings of Israeli wines a year which are published in the Wine Advocate.
Apart from this, there are wine magazines like the Wine Spectator in the USA, Decanter from England and La Revue du Vin from France. These have published features on Israel. In Israel the main wine magazine is Wine, Gourmet & Alcohol, which is published by Adi Avissar and edited by the TV celebrity and wine lover, Meni Peer. They all offer scores and reviews and have earned credibility according to their reputations. ‘Al Hashulchan’ is basically a food magazine with a few pages on wine at the end. The wine part is written by Eldad Levy. Both Wine, Gourmet & Alcohol and Al Hashulchan are for Hebrew speakers only.
The main wine communicator in Israel is Daniel Rogov who writes an annual guide on both Israeli & kosher wines and there is much discussion in Rogov’s Wine Discussion Forum, which has an international following. He tastes more Israeli and kosher wines than anyone in a year. His books and data base are comprehensive. He is the nearest there is to an Israeli Robert Parker.
The wine writers for the main Israeli newspapers in Hebrew are Daniel Rogov in Haaretz, Guy Gissar in Yediot Aharonot, Yair Gat in Israel Hayom and Amit Yariv in Calcalist. For those that read in English, Daniel Rogov writes about wine in the English edition of Haaretz. Adam Montefiore writes a weekly column called ‘Wine Talk’ in the Jerusalem Post.
The main Israeli wine websites are www.israeliwines.co.il, created by Israel Preker and now owned by Tal Gal Cohen and www.wines-israel.co.il, created and managed by Israel Preker. The main Israeli wine website for English speakers is www.wines-israel.com. It was created and is maintained by Israel Preker, and it remains a good way to keep in touch with Israeli wine. Apart from this there are countless bloggers who are never shy about pushing forward their own opinions.
The main books on Israeli wine in English are: Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wine by Daniel Rogov, published by Toby Press. This is an annual wine guide, with scores and tasting notes on thousands of wines. The Wine Route of Israel published by Cordinata, is a book about wineries, rather than wines. Michael Ben Joseph’s Bible of Israeli Wines, published by Modan, offers good background on the Israeli wine scene. The Book of New Israeli Food published by Al Hashulchan has a chapter on wine, which is a comprehensive but concise introduction to the world of Israeli wine.
Some Israelis contribute to books written by some of the finest international wine writers. Daniel Rogov writes the chapter on Israeli wine for Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. Adam Montefiore writes the section on ‘Israel’ for Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion To Wine and the section entitled ‘Kosher’, jointly with Howard Goldberg. Michael Ben Joseph writes the part on Israel for Andre Domine’s ‘Wine’. Both Daniel Rogov and Adam Montefiore jointly contribute to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, amongst others.
Fortunately, though the bulk of the wine media in Israel is geared to the Hebrew speaker, there are a few outlets for those seeking information on Israeli wine in English.
