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 […]
The 2013 winners of the annual Eshkol Hazahav Awards were announced at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, June 3rd to a good turnout of many of Israel’s best winemakers & an array of wine insiders. It’s the only annual wine awards focusing entirely on Israeli wines (supplemented a Best Value Awards) organized by […]
Notes & Favorites from Day One of the 2nd Annual Jerusalem Kosher WIne Festival Even though I just started this year to score wines after spending years writing hundreds of essays and articles, I hope to refrain from scoring wines at festivals since there’s so much additional stimuli to distract from focusing in on the […]
This post includes the best Israeli wines I tasted in 2012 (for a more comprehensive list, including non-Israeli wines, check out my website). As with prior years, in addition to the “best” wines of 2012, I have also included a list of the most interesting and exciting wines I tasted this year – many of […]
Since 2007, there have been annual tastings of Israeli wines by the Wine Advocate, the mouthpiece of Robert Parker, the world’s most influential wine critic. Mark Squires, who is the specialist on Israeli wines in Parker’s wine tasting team, did the tasting as usual. There were 80 wines from 21 different wineries. The highest scores […]
This article first appeared on wines-israel.com and is reprinted with permission of the author. On Israel’s 64th Independence Day, it is worthwhile to look back at some of Israel’s most influential wines, which have helped to advance Israel’s image as a wine producing country of international quality. These are some of the wines that charted […]
Recently, I participated in an unprecedented tasting of Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Tel Aviv in the garden of Chef Alon Gonen’s home. We had all been invited by wine writer Rani Rogel of Food & Beverage/Israel. Three panels of wine writers, enthusiasts and wine makers sampled 37 wines so each panel averaged about 12 […]
When writing about Israel’s largest wineries, it’s fruitless to write about all their dozens of different wines in one article so its prudent to taste their wines throughout the year. At the Israwinexpo 2012 in February , the Golan Heights Winery featured several Chardonnays and Syrahs including their premium Single Vineyard selections. On March 16th, […]
This is a shortened list from a longer article for those who like lists rather than reading explanations. Some wines I consider the best of the expo, some sentimental favorites and some just intellectually stimulating and worth mentioning as being illustrative of emerging trends. A few special wines were all of the above 2009 Tishbi […]
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 […]
The following is a guest post from wines-israel and reprinted with permission Many Israeli wineries win awards, many win gold medals. There are even wineries which ‘collect’ awards, sending wines to any competition where medals are generously given. This is because to the general consumer, a gold medal looks the same whether it is a […]
In the financial paper Calcalist, respected wine critic, Shlomo Papirblat, has named his top ten Israeli wines. They are as follows: 1. Yarden Katzrin 2004, Golan Heights Winery 2. Castel Grand Vin 2007, Domaine du Castel 3. Yatir Forest 2006, Yatir Winery 4. Sycra Merlot 2006, Clos de Gat 5. Carmel Limited Edition 2005, Carmel […]
