Yossie's Corkboard

January 21st – January 27th

Sommeliers discuss how to find the best value on a restaurant’s wine list.

Steve Heimoff explores the sommelier’s evolving role.

David White explores Zinfandel’s uniquely American personality.

Tom Barras discusses the potential downside of [over-]aerating wines.

Eric Asimov breathes new life into the food & wine pairing universe.

1Wine Dude on four wine traditions that need to die.

Roy Williams has some interesting thoughts on what oak does to our perception of wine.

January 14th – January 20th

Eric Asimov attempts to “free” some oft misused wine words.

The always delightful Gamliel Kronemer chimes in with his best wines for 2012. As usual, non-Israeli wines make up the majority of his list.

For the satirical aspiring wine critics, check out this awesome (and oft hilarious) tasting note generator.

Will Lyons advocates ignoring preconceived notions, and tasting what’s actually IN the bottle.

As quickly as it began, some feel that Orange Wine was a fad, and its over. Jon Bonné concurs. Best (and maybe only) “kosher” version comes from Israel’s Midbar Winery.

Wine Folly introduces delightful Mourvedre and plugs it as a alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon. Israel’s Domaine Netofa is a big fan!

The WSJ’s Lettie Teague makes her case for Pinotage. A tough grape to control, Israel’s Barkan makes the only successful kosher versions and Debra Meiburg has a nice interview with one of Barkan’s winemakers – Irit Boxter-Shank.

January 7th – January 13th

The Wine Diarist comes out of hibernation & takes Parker to task for too many perfect scores.

Dave McIntyre unlocks the secrets of tasting wine.

Wine Spectator’s Matt Kramer explores whether aging wines makes sense any more. Ed McCarthy disagrees.

Wine Blogs take a lot of heat, but “Kill Joys”? 1WineDude muses.

The Hosemaster digs up the Sommelier’s “secret” manual.

After Penfold’s AUD£168,000 ampoules and £1.2m vertical, Andrew Jefford offers some deep thoughts on marketing to pretentious wine collectors.

Eric Asimov discovers a sense of restraint in recent Zinfandel vintages.

Publicly dissing France, the Rothschild family diversifies into Spain’s Rioja.

An associate economics professor from the University of Michigan published a visual and interactive rendering of the American Wine Industry’s lack of diversification. The Wine Economist has some intriguing analysis.

December 31st – January 6th

Talia Baiocchi chats with some top Sommeliers on their influences and how they got into wine.

A personal (and carefully curated) wine reading list from Randall Grahm.

For all the diversity of available wines, the industry is far less fragmented that you might think.

The folks over at Knowledge@Wharton put together a nice discussion the merits of terroir.

Wine Folly has 8 pretty good indicators for whether you are a wine geek.

Bloomberg’s Elin McCoy has the skinny on 2012’s Wackiest Wine Moments.

Despite massive technological improvements, Adam Montefiore outlines how little winemaking has changed over the last 3000 years.

In discussing “intriguing blemishes“, Steve Heimoff touches on the elusive concept of balance in a wine.

Over at Fermentation, Tom Warm lists the top wine stories of 2012.

The Hosemaster sums up his 2012 as only he can.

With New Years Eve on the horizon, meet the “Champagne Cop“.

Holiday Shopping – Parts I & II

As you probably already know, the weeks leading up to Pesach are the US kosher wine industry’s busiest, with more kosher wine sold during this period than the rest of the year combined.  As the popularity of quality kosher wine continues to increase, the quality and variety of wines available to the kosher wine consumer are truly astounding.  While obviously a blessing, the tremendous choice can make for a somewhat stressful shopping experience.  Also, and most unfortunately, there is still a substantial amount of drek being pushed as quality wine, with many stores and online purveyors are selling old and tired wines so far past their optimum drinking windows that it’s practically criminal.  Remember – in general (and there are exceptions), white wines shouldn’t be sold more than two years past their vintage and red wines three years (unless we are talking about the better and more expensive wines).  As with every industry, caveat emptor!

During this busy buying season retailers bring out the big sales, and almost every wine is on sale.  Further, given the increasing competition and online availability of most top-notch kosher wines, most merchants will match any published price, so always ask your favorite retailer to match the prices you have seen elsewhere and, if you aren’t happy with the price – ask for a discount.

As is my annual tradition, in order to assist with your holiday shopping, I am happy to present Part I of my Annual Pesach Kosher Wine Guide.  This week’s edition includes Part I of the guide, covering recommendations for wines in two price ranges: Under $16 and between $16-29.99.  Next week I will provide Part II of the Guide, which will include my recommendations for wines ranging between $30-50 and Moshiach Wines (those über-special wines I would proudly serve the Moshiach, should he ever grace my table).  While this annual guide does narrow down the buying choices from over 1,500 kosher options to a far more manageable 150 or so, I understand that some folks would like a smaller list.  To that end, in the next week or so I will also publish the “Cliff Notes” to the guide, with my top five wines in each category.

Prices tend to fluctuate and might not always fall squarely into the tiers I have listed below, and thus my categories should merely serve as a guide.  Also, note that the Moshiach wines in Part II may include older vintages that I have been storing for a while in my cellar or wines that are subject to otherwise limited availability, and which are not always readily available at your local retailer. Given the international nature of the newsletter’s readership, with close to 1/3 of readers coming from Israel, there are a few wines that are not sold in the United States (but are available directly from wine shops in Israel, nay of whom would be happy to ship them directly, including a few listed on my “Recommended Retailers” page.

It’s important to note that these lists are not exhaustive, but merely a selection of the better wines available in the different price ranges, each of which I recommend and believe are worthy of your Pesach table (or random wine glass). As would be expected, there are perennial repeaters on this list, showcasing the excellence and consistency of the applicable winemaker. One item of note is that many wines that made last year’s $30-50 list needed to get bumped to the Moshiach list due to price increases (or were left of the list entirely as being too expensive and unworthy to be called a Moshiach wine). As years go by and the quality and quantity of top-notch kosher wine grows, the number of potential wines for this list gets longer, and the difficulty in culling wines harder. As you know by now, despite 2008 being a tremendous vintage for almost all Israeli wines, it was Shmittah and therefore most wines were not exported out of Israel.  However, there are some 2008 Israeli wines being sold, including a number from the Golan Heights Winery, Galil Mountain and Odem Mountain.  As with most halachik issues, there are numerous opinions with respect to the different “types” of Shmittah wine produced, enjoying such wines outside of Israel (or at all) and one should consult their local Rabbi with any questions in this regard.

Although it is one of my favorite Jewish customs, the tradition to consume four full cups of wine at the Seder brings with it a host of dilemmas requiring careful thought and planning.  The main problem is that four cups of wine is a lot of wine to be consuming at one sitting (even at an up-to 5 hour meal such as a traditional Seder), especially given the fact that the first two cups are typically imbibed on an empty stomach.  Another issue is that for the Seder, many folks tend to use the silver goblets traditionally used for Kiddush.  During the year his does not usually pose a problem, since the potential negative effect the silver has on wine is easily remedied by immediately pouring the wine into a proper wine glass following Kiddush.  During the Seder however, the wine has far more contact with the silver as we go through the lengthy Hagadah.  Other potential issues arise from the common practice of only drinking red wine at the Seder and avoiding Mevushal wines.

Given ones desire to honor the Seder, people try to have the nicest and most expensive wines possible, typically full-bodied Bordeaux-blends or robust Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  These wines typically take time to open up and evolve (and are well-deserving on your time).  However, the empty stomach with which most people approach the first two cups, the requirement to consume nearly an entire cup of wine rather rapidly and the need to keep a roomful of hyper and over-tired children from re-enslaving us, combine to significantly impair one’s ability to fully enjoy and appreciate the complexities, nuances of flavor and aroma of these typically magnificent wines.

As a result, I suggest (and starting last year, do so myself), saving the bigger and more expensive wines for leisurely drinking during the actual Seder meal (and the subsequent meals over the holiday), and finding other good wines to use for the four cups.  Being a traditionalist, I stick with red wines for all four cups and choose my wines based on a few simple principles.  It is still Chag and one in which we celebrate our freedom so top quality wine is still a pre-requisite.  Therefore, I look for top quality, medium bodied and relatively simple wines.  Some favorites of mine include Recanati’s Petite-Sirah/Zinfandel, the Capcanes Peraj Petita or Domaine Netofa Red.  To the extent you are looking for well-priced whites, Yarden’s Gewurztraminer or Odem Chardonnay, Dalton’s Fume Blanc or Carmel’s Kayoumi Riesling are all good and affordable bets.

Annual Pessach Kosher Wine Buying Guide – Part I

Under $15.99

While this list includes many good, enjoyable wines, as a general rule, the wines in this price range are not complex, cellar worthy or sophisticated (with a few exceptions).  As oak barrels are a significant component of a wine’s cost, this list has plenty of white wines that typically spend little or no time in oak, resulting in lower prices.  As a general rule, any wine in this price range from Recanati, Galil Mountain or Dalton is going to be good, as long as it’s not too old.  Most of the wines on these lists qualify as YH Best Buys (wines I consider a particularly good way to spend your hard-earned cash).

(1)       Bartenura, Ovadia Estates, Rosso di Montepulciano, 2010
(2)       Binyamina, Bin, Syrah, 2011
(3)       Barkan, Classic, Pinotage, 2011
(4)       Baron Herzog, Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi, 2009
(5)       Binyamina, Reserve, Unoaked Chardonnay, 2011
(6)       Binyamina, Yogev, Cabernet Sauvignon-Petit Verdot, 2010
(7)       Capcanes, Peraj Petita, 2011
(8)       Carmel, Appellation, Cabernet Franc, 2009 (Petite Sirah & Carignan also good; in the next range)
(9)       Dalton, Rosé, 2012
(10)      Dalton, “D”, Fume Blanc, 2012 (the “regular” Sauvignon Blanc is also nice)
(11)      Elvi, Cava, Brut, n.v.
(12)      Elvi, InVita, 2011
(13)      Elvi, Mati, Rioja, 2010
(14)      Galil Mountain, Pinot Noir, 2010
(15)      Galil Mountain, Ella, 2010 (the Alon blend is also very nice)
(16)      Golan Heights Winery, Golan, Moscato, 2012
(17)      Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Gewürztraminer, 2012
(18)      Goose Bay, Fume Blanc, 2011
(19)      Lanzur, Sauvignon Blanc, Chile, 2012
(20)      Recanati, Diamond, Chardonnay, 2012 (the Yasmin White 2011 is another good choice)
(21)      Recanati, Rose, 2012
(22)      Teperberg, Terra, Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 (the Gewürztraminer and Viognier as well)
(23)      Vignobles David, Le Mourre de L’Isle, Cotes du Rhone, 2010
(24)      Weinstock, Cellar Select, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(25)      Weinstock, Cellar Select, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 (the Petite Sirah is also worthy)

$16-29.99

This price range is the sweet spot for me.  As the prices of kosher wine continues to rise to ridiculous levels, there are a number of wineries that maintain a tremendous level of quality without pushing prices out of the reach of most people.  While the majority of truly great Kosher wines unfortunately reside in the over $30 price range, there are plenty of great ones here.  In general, I find Ella Valley, Dalton, Carmel, Herzog Special Reserve and the Golan Heights Winery to be consistent players in this field of $30 and under(i.e. anything of theirs in this range is worth buying [unless it’s past its peak]), notwithstanding the fact that they all also have more expensive terrific wines as well).

(1)       1848, Generation 5, White Blend, 2011
(2)       1848, Generation 5, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(3)       Binyamina, Reserve, Carignan, 2010 (the reserve Shiraz and Zinfandel are also good deals)
(4)       Binyamina, Reserve, Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, 2010
(5)       Bravdo, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 (the Shiraz is also really good)
(6)       Carmel, Appellation, Carignan, 2009 (the Petite Sirah is also good)
(7)       Carmel, Kayoumi, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (the Shiraz is good as well)
(8)       Carmel Kayoumi, Riesling, 2011
(9)       Château de Parsac, Bordeaux, 2011
(10)      Covenant, Red C, Sauvignon Blanc, 2012
(11)      Dalton, Alma, Shiraz-Mourvèdre-Viognier, 2010 (Cab Sauvignon-Merlot-Cab Franc also delicious)
(12)      Dalton, Estate “D”, Petite Sirah, 2010
(13)      Dalton, Reserve, Shiraz, 2010 (the entry-level “D” Shiraz is a YH Best Buy)
(14)      Domaine Netofa, Domaine, Rosé, 2012
(15)      Domaine Netofa, Tinto, 2011
(16)      Ella Valley Vineyards, Cabernet Franc, 2009 (other than the Ever Red, I love everything they make)
(17)      Ella Valley Vineyards, Chardonnay, 2011
(18)      Ella Valley Vineyards, Merlot, 2009
(19)      Elvi, Adar, Red Blend, 2007
(20)      Flam, Blanc, 2011 (the Rosé is also excellent)
(21)      Flam, Classico, 2011 (another winery that I like everything they make so far)
(22)      Hagafen, Dry White Riesling, Coombsville, 2012
(23)      Hagafen, Roussanne, Lodi, 2011
(24)      Harkham, Shiraz, 2010
(25)      Herzog, Special Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon-Zinfandel-Syrah, 2009
(26)      Herzog, Special Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, 2009
(27)      Galil Mountain, Meron, 2010
(28)      Galil Mountain, Yiron, 2010
(29)      Golan Heights Winery, Gilgal, Syrah, 2010
(30)      Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Blanc de Blanc, 2007
(31)      Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(32)      Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Odem Organic Vineyard, Chardonnay, 2010
(33)      Gush Etzion, Lone Oak, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(34)      Porto Cordovero, Ruby Port, n.v.
(35)      Porto Quevedo, Ruby Port, n.v.
(36)      Psagot, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(37)      Psagot, Edom, 2010
(38)      Recanati, Reserve, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(39)      Recanati, Mediterranean Reserve, Petite Sirah-Zinfandel, 2010
(40)      Segal, Single Vineyard Dishon, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(41)      Shiloh, Mor, 2009
(42)      Ramon Cordova, Garnacha, 2011
(43)      Teperberg, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(44)      Teperberg, Terra, Malbec, 2010 (the Cabernet Sauvignon is also worth trying)
(45)      Tzora, Neve Ilan, 2011
(46)      Tzora, Shoresh, 2010
(47)      Vignobles David, Cotes du Villages, Reserve, 2010

Annual Pesach Kosher Wine Buying Guide – Part II

$30-50

While the $16-29.99 range is the real sweet spot, this range is also stocked with high-class wines.  Unfortunately, most of these really should be priced in the lower range but have crept up in price for no justifiable reason.  It’s nearly impossible to find a YH Best Buy on this list, even though they are all great wines.  As with most higher end wines, especially those with a year or more of barrel aging, they need time to open up.  While I personally don’t use a decanter (preferring the learning experience of watching the wine open and develop in my glass over time), it can be a very useful tool when opening the more recent versions of the better wines, allowing you to derive substantially more pleasure form your liquid treasures that you might if you simply opened the bottle and poured.

(1)             Agur, Layam, 2010
(2)             Barkan, Altitude, Cabernet Sauvignon +702, 2007
(3)             Bazelet HaGolan, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010
(4)             Binyamina, HaChoshen, Ruby, Syrah, 2009
(5)             Brobdingnagian, Petite Sirah, 2010 (the Grenache is excellent as well)
(6)             Carmel, Mediterranean, 2007
(7)             City Winery, Cabernet Franc, Alder Springs, 2010
(8)             City Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Obsidian Ridge, 2009
(9)             Castel, C Chardonnay, 2010
(10)            Château Tour Seran, Bordeaux, Haut Medoc, 2010
(11)            Covenant, Landsman, Pinot Noir, 2011
(12)            Covenant, Lavan, Chardonnay, 2010
(13)            Dalton, Reserve, Shiraz, 2009 (the Cabernet Sauvignon is well worth it as well).  YH Best Buy
(14)            Domaine du Castel, Petite Castel, 2010
(15)            Domaine Netofa, Ruby (Port-Style), 2010
(16)            Drappier, Carte D’Or Champagne, n.v.
(17)            Ella Valley Vineyards, Vineyards Choice, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007.  YH Best Buy
(18)            Elvi, Herenza Reserve, Rioja, 2009
(19)            Flam, Blanc, 2011 (the 2012 Rosé is also excellent)
(20)            Four Gates, Cabernet Franc, 2007
(21)            Four Gates, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(22)            Lueria, Grand Vital, 2008 (Shmittah)
(23)            Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Single Vineyard Yonatan, Syrah, 2007 (the Cabernet Sauvignon is also worthy)
(24)            Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Single Vineyard Elrom, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(25)            Gvaot, Gofna Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010
(26)            Gvaot, Gofna Reserve, Pinot Noir, 2010
(27)            Hagafen, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
(28)            Hagafen, Late Disgorged, Brut Cuvée, 2007.
(29)            Herzog, Single Vineyard, Mount Veeder, 2009
(30)            Kinor David, Shir HaMa’alot, KPort, 8 year, n.v.
(31)            Ramot Naftaly, Barbera, 2010
(32)            Recanati, Mediterranean Reserve, Syrah-Viognier, 2010
(33)            Recanati, Special Reserve-Red, 2009.  YH Best Buy
(34)            Saslove, Adom, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010
(35)            Shiloh, Legend, 2009
(36)            Shiloh, Secret Reserve, Merlot, 2009
(37)            Shirah, Bro-Duex, 2010
(38)            Shirah, Coalition, 2011
(39)            Teperberg, Nevel, Port-Style Wine, n.v.
(40)            Tulip, Mostly, Cabernet Franc, 2010
(41)            Tulip, Reserve, Shiraz, 2010
(42)            Yatir, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009

Moshiach Wines (for more Moshiach Wines, check out my Best Wines of 2012)

As prices rose over the last couple of years, a number of wines that previously fit into the $30-50 range crossed over into the over $50 range, which for this guide, requires something more than just being expensive.  Moshiach wines are those really special wines; typically wines that represent top-notch winemaking coupled with the need for a bit of patience as these wines typically only show their best after some years of additional aging in the bottle.  Unfortunately, in this world of instant gratification, the majority of wines are consumed relatively shortly after they are purchased which, for most of the highest-end wines, is a crying shame.  While many top tier wines are ready to drink upon release (especially from the “softer” recent 2009 and 2010 Israeli vintages), some years of aging allows the wines to better integrate and really become the beauties imagined by their talented winemakers.  In a slight change from prior years, I have listed the vintage for each wine that is the current release and added a parenthetical with the vintage I think is drinking best right now – making it a true Moshiach wine. As is the case with many of the best wines, many of these wines are Moshiach wines only after a few years of aging. As older vintages (that have been stored properly) are somewhat difficult to come by, the list includes the current release. In some instances I have added a parenthetical including (one of) the vintages I deem worthy of drinking now as a true Moshiach wine.

(1)             Binyamina, The Cave, Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (2007)
(2)             Capcanes, Peraj HaAbib, 2010 (2003)
(3)             Capcanes, Flor La Flor, Grenache, 2010 (2007)
(4)             Carmel, Limited Edition, 2007 (2005)
(5)             Covenant, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (2004)
(6)             Covenant, Solomon, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 (2008)
(7)             Ella Valley Vineyards, Personal, 2008 (Shmittah)
(8)             Elvi, Clos Mesorah, 2010
(9)             Château Guiraud, Sauternes 1er Cru, 2001
(10)            Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint Julien, 2005
(11)            Château Le Crock, Saint-Estèphe, 2005
(12)            Château Quinault, Saint-Émilion, 2005
(13)            Domaine du Castel, Grand Vin, 2009 (2006)
(14)            Domaine Roses Camille, Pomerol, 2005
(15)            Flam, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 (the Merlot and Syrah are worthy of being included as well)
(16)            Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Katzrin, 2008 (2004)
(17)            Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Rom, 2008 (2006)
(18)            Gvaot, Masada, 2010 (2008; Shmittah)
(19)            Hagafen, Prix, Mélange, 2006
(20)            Herzog, Generation VIII, Cabernet Sauvignon, To Kalon, 2006
(21)            Herzog, Special Edition, Chalk Hill, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (2008)
(22)            Psagot, Single Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (2007)
(23)            Segal, Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (2005)
(24)            Tzora, Misty Hills, 2009 (2006)
(25)            Yatir, Forest, 2009 (2006)

For a list of a few favorites of mine in each category, you can check out the “Best of the Bunch“

#240-241 – February 14-21, 2012

As a result of writing (approximately) one newsletter a week, usually focused on specific wineries, varietals or other vino-centric topics, I often write about a wine I tasted or winery I visited only many months after the actual visit or tasting occurred.  In an effort to provide a bit more timely information about some of the wines coming to market and at the request of a number of wineries, the following newsletter is a brief summary of my recent whirlwind trip to Israel, in which I visited 15 wineries over the course of four delightful days, and tasted over 100 different wines.  Fear not, the format of this newsletter is not changing to a blog, and coming newsletters will continue provide in-depth reviews of the wineries I visited in addition to detailed tasting notes on those wines I tasted and liked (as is my policy, wines tasted that I didn’t enjoy will simply not be mentioned).  Hopefully the summary that follows will provide some insight into the terrific wineries Israel has to offer and showcase some of the really great Israeli wines coming our way.  You can also check out my annotated map for full contact information, tasting notes and related articles on the more than 70 kosher Israeli wineries.

Given the fact that my family typically does not join me on these quickie tasting visits, I feel compelled to make the most of my time which explains why I packed four winery visits into each day of my trip.  Now, four visits may not sound like a lot, but when you are spending time chatting with the winery owner and/or winemaker, taking notes about the current and future plans for the winery, indulging in a bit of industry gossip and trying to taste anywhere between 5-30 wines during your visit, 2-3 visits a day is a lot.  Four is a little out there – but hey, someone has to do it.

Despite the relatively recent blossoming of the Judean Hills as one of Israel’s premier wine growing regions, it’s the northern regions that are most responsible for Israel’s rise to prominence as a well-regarded wine producing country, with the Golan and Upper Galilee containing some of Israel’s most prestigious and well known grape growing areas (including Kerem Ben Zimra, Manara and the near mythical vineyards of El-Rom and Kayoumi which have become synonymous with extremely high quality wine in recent years).  However, given the distance from the center of the country where I typically spend my time, I hadn’t visited the 30 odd wineries in the Northern regions of Israel in quite some time.  Needless to say, the time for a visit was well overdue and I was determined to make time for these über-important wineries on this trip.  Northern bound I was.

DAY ONE

Domaine Netofa

The first winery I visited – Domaine Netofa, is also the only winery to date about which I have written a full blown article based on my most recent visit.  After failing to make my well-intentioned (if ill-advised) early-morning breakfast meeting, I headed up North for my first visit, en-route to the Golan Heights.  While Domaine Netofa is working on the construction of a wine tasting and education center at the entrance to Moshav Netofa, there is no formal winery (the wines are being made in the Or Haganuz facility 45 minutes away).  I met Pierre Miodownick (the winemaker) and Yair Teboulle for a full tasting of the winery’s current wines and a number of advance tastings as well – 12 wines in all.  Among the wines I enjoyed were the 2012 Rosé, which is currently being released in both Israel and the United States, which was less austere and minerally than the 2011, with a touch more sweetness and a round palate that will be very much enjoyed once New York shakes off its current Arctic chill and goes back to the global warming induced balmy winter days we have become accustomed to (although all my six-year old wants is more ice and snow).  Another wine that improved from the last vintage was the innovative Tinto (a blend of Touriga Nacional, which is getting more love recently among kosher winemakers, and Tempranillo) that was both different and delicious.  The Ruby Port-styled wine was a treat and the Red Latour 2012, which should be released shortly, is a terrific wine worth purchasing.  Softer and less tannic than prior vintages; the wine will be super-enjoyable off the bat and would make a nice accompaniment to your Pessach table.  Check out newsletter #238 for a full report on the winemaker, winery & all the wines.

Golan Heights Winery

After bidding adieu to Pierre and Yair, I made my way to the Colossus of Israeli wineries – the Golan Heights Winery.  While the winery is only the third largest in the country after Barkan and Carmel, I find it to be the country’s best, taking into account the various factors.  Unlike many of the smaller wineries I visited, including the aforementioned Domaine Netofa, tasting all the wines made by this winery in one sitting would be a gargantuan undertaking and a virtual impossibility (ignoring the massive potential for vertical tastings of still-drinkable vintages dating back to the late 80s).  As such, I had to “settle” for a carefully curated tasting of 11 wines intended to showcase the many things the winery does well.  While I did manage to snag a barrel tasting of the 2011 El-Rom Cabernet Sauvignon (making for a total of 12 wines), I missed out on the sparkling Rosé which has been taunting me for a while and will hopefully be released at some point.  We started off with the 2007 Blanc de Blanc which is one of the greatest they have ever made (a bold statement considering how delightful the 2005 version was) – a definite maturing improvement over the 2005.  As Tammany Hall would have said, a wine to exercise the “buy early and buy often” advice with.  We also tasted the new 2011 Odem and Katzrin Chardonnay wines, which always make a terrific comparative tasting (together with the Gamla and “regular” Yarden Chardonnay wines), showcasing the crazy, different possibilities available with the same winemaker, grape and vintage but different oak aging and wine making techniques.  Another highlight was the Cabernet Sauvignon wine from the newly launched Gamla Reserve series, to which the Gamla Brut has been moved as well (remember, Gamla in Israel is the Golan Height Winery’s middle label which in the United States in now marketed under the “Gilgal” label).  It is richer and more complex than the “regular” Gamla Cabernet Sauvignon and, while the Yarden Cabernet has more depth and complexity to it, I think many folks will enjoy the Gamla Reserve more, with its lusher (controlled) fruit and lower tannins.  I am not sure whether the series will be sold in the US, but definitely look for it on your next trip to Israel.

Other highlights included the dry and sweet versions of the winery’s Touriga Nacional wines (the 2009 2T and 2008 T² respectively) as well as the recently released 2009 Elrom Cabernet Sauvignon.  While not as stupendous as the 2008 version, it remains after the Katzrin, one of the winery’s finest creations.  In addition to Tzvika Raish, I had the unbelievable luck of being joined for most of the tasting by Victor Schoenfeld, the winery’s head winemaker and one of the folks primary responsible for Israel’s wine revolution.  While tasting the wines was great, chatting about wine with Victor was unquestionably the highlight of my visit and one of the highlights of the entire trip!  Some of the tidbits included a 2000 Blanc de Blanc waiting for a “late disgorge” and the fact that the just-released 2007 Noble Semillon botrytised wine will be the last botrytis wine produced by the winery (at least for now).  Apparently the expense involved is simply too great and unfortunately for us aficionados, not too many people were buying the wine (cough, idiots, cough).  My 2004 and 2005 vintages are drinking amazingly, I plan on stocking up on 2006 and 2007 to tide me over and I recommend you do the same.  While there are plenty of top-notch late harvest kosher dessert wines on the market, other than the two kosher Sauternes (Piada and Guiraud) which were “true” botrytis (i.e. naturally occurring as opposed to induced in the winery), this was the only other widely available Botrytis kosher wine which will be sorely missed, at least by yours truly.  I really enjoyed the visit, and thanks again to Victor for his time and conversation!

Bazelet HaGolan

My next stop was the Bazelet HaGolan winery, conveniently located just a few minutes away.  While the Golan Heights Winery is a massive and industrial place (unfortunately Israeli regulations have deemed wineries “industrial” instead of “agricultural”, severely limiting the ability to create Estate Wineries located within the vineyards, which significantly enhances the romantic aspect of visiting a winery.  Bazelet HaGolan is a more intimate winery (making significantly less wine) and a completely different environment.  I unfortunately missed out on winemaker Yoav Levy, but was fortunate to be joined by the winery’s two Anglo “cellar rats”, Yechiel and Yaron.  With only four wines on the agenda and no barrel tastings, it was a quick and efficient visit.  While the winery is known predominately for their red wines, I was happy to discover and taste the extremely limited version of their 2011 Chardonnay, made from 100% Chardonnay grapes that spent nine months in oak.  Only 933 bottles were made so it might be tough to find.  While not an earth-shattering wine, it is always nice to “discover” something new, especially a nicely balanced Chardonnay.  We also tasted their 2010 Reserve Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, and the entry-level “regular” 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ramot Naftaly

Despite the fact that it was getting late at this point, I was determined to make my next visit – Ramot Naftaly.  I first tasted the delightful wines made by Yitzchak Cohen at the 2011 Sommelier Expo (the winery “went kosher” with the 2009 vintage) and was hooked.  Yitzchak focuses on varietals that are much less popular, and thus common, in Israel and his “best” wines are the Barbera, Petit Verdot and Malbec (fear not, he makes some Cabernet Sauvignon as well – he does have to make a living).  Starting with the 2011 vintage, Yitzchak has also assisted the newly kosher winery – Trio in making their wines, providing the necessary infrastructure to make kosher wines.  With only six wines to be tasted (the mashgiach was gone for the day and was unavailable to pull samples) we got through the tasting relatively quickly and had plenty of time to catch up.  I especially enjoyed the 2010 Petit Verdot and 2010 Barbera.  Trio acquired all of the 2010 Shiraz to be bottled under their label, so we will have to wait for the soon-to-be-released 2011 vintage to enjoy Yitzchak’s intriguing Shiraz (I really liked the 2009 version).  What may have been the best tidbit garnered my visit was the fact that the newly invigorated “Israel Wine Direct” company (under new ownership/management) will be importing some of Ramot Naftaly’s wines into the United States.  Some of the wines were submitted to the blind tasting conducted on behalf of the Jewish Week for their annual “Kosher Wine Guide” which will be published in a few weeks and should be available shortly (if they aren’t already).

I ended the day with a pretty awesome meal that included quail, pigeon and lamb at “Makom B’sejera”.

DAY TWO

Dalton

My first winery of the second day was an old favorite – Dalton.  The magnificent 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon remains a significant milestone in my oenophilic development and recent years have seen welcome qualitative improvements.  With owner Alex Haruni at the helm and Na’ama Sorkin as head winemaker, this winery continues to produce top-quality, delicious wines.  While Alex and Na’ama were gracious enough to provide 20 wines for an epic tasting, I was especially delighted to taste one in particular – the 2012 Viognier.  After depriving its many enthusiasts for two years (Dalton’s Viognier was utilized in its White Alma blend for the 2010 and 2011 vintages), Dalton once again made a varietal Viognier and it’s delicious.  Being bottled in March, it will hopefully grace our shores in time for prime summer white wine drinking season.  Similarly to Ella Valley, Dalton is a winery that I find gets overlooked sometimes.  While they make really nice wines, many of which are truly superb, they don’t seem to generate the same excitement as other wineries, a tremendously unfortunate situation for the consumer, who is missing out on great stuff (including some exciting wines like their Reserve Shiraz and “D” Petite Sirah).  In addition to the great winemaking going on at Dalton, they are a very reasonably priced winery, with a slew of YH Best Buy wines in their portfolio, including the aforementioned Viognier.  Some of the wines I enjoyed and am looking forward to include the 2012 Rosé, the 2011 “D” Petite Sirah – a perennial favorite of mine, the 2011 Alma Red wines (both the Bordeaux and Rhone blends), the 2010 Reserve Merlot (which is the first Reserve Merlot since the 2007 vintage and one that was worth waiting for) and two, new single vineyard wines – a Cabernet Sauvignon from Dalton’s famed Meron vineyard and a new Shiraz from a newly designated plot – Choshen vineyard (located in Safsufa).  All is all, a great visit and thanks to Alex and Na’ama for their time and gracious hospitality.

Adir Winery

My next visit was literally across the street from Dalton at Adir Winery, another winery I recently wrote about extensively (in newsletter #221).  While in comparison to Dalton, Adir is a relatively small winery; they recently crossed the 100,000 bottle-a-year threshold.  The winery is one of a number of business ventures maintained by the Rosenberg family and the beautiful visitor center showcases both the winery and the family’s dairy, providing wine with one of its most natural counterparts – cheese (not to mention the incredible soft serve goat milk ice-cream).  I have written about my affinity for their Blush Port on many occasions and had the opportunity to re-taste that wine along with the other seven wines produced by the winery.  Besides the Blush Port, the winery produces a “regular” port-style wine that is also worth trying and a decent fortified dessert wine that is well made (but not particularly special, although it did serve as a delicious sauce for the aforementioned ice cream).  Other than the winery’s flagship “Plato” which was from the 2009 vintage and the n.v. dessert wines, all the wines we tasted were from the 2010 vintage which is currently on the market.  The Chardonnay was nicely balanced with noticeable oaky butteriness and sufficient acidity and is worth trying.  The Plato is on the expensive side but with great aging potential and substantial development ahead of it, it makes for a good investment.  Other wines I really liked from Adir include their Shiraz which has great fruit without going overboard, good spice and a structure that bodes well for future development and my second favorite wine from the winery (after the Blush Port), the new “a” blend, which is situated below the Plato but above the “Kerem Ben Zimra” line of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Chardonnay.  Made from 60% Shiraz, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, it is a delicious wine that is sure to make my Annual Pessach Wine Buying Guide, which will be released in the next 2 weeks or so.  Most of the Adir wines are currently available in the United States and some of the wines will be available at the two coming tastings in Monsey this weekend and on March 3rd at City Winery – hope to see you there.

Lueria Winery

My next visit was to a small boutique winery whose wines I had first tasted at the 2011 Sommelier Expo and really enjoyed – Lueria.  I most recently wrote about their delightful Gewürztraminer, which made my “Most Interesting Wines of 2012” list.  For years the Sayada family of vintners grew high-quality grapes which were sold to many prestigious wineries until Gidi, the winemaker, decided that they should start making their own wines.  Since then, they have been significantly ramping up production from 20,000 bottles in 2010, 40,000 in 2011 and an expected 50,000 bottles for the 2012 vintage.  Despite this production, nearly 80% of the family’s grapes are sold to other wineries, although presumably Gidi gets first dibs on the best of the crop.  In addition to the bed and breakfast the family just completed (which houses the current tasting and wine education facility), Gidi is working on the construction of a massive visitor center to be situated on a small, man-made pond located just outside Safsufa, where the family (and the winery) reside.  The winery produces a number of wines, with their flagship wine being the 2008 Grand Vital, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Shiraz (20%) and Merlot (10%), a delicious wine which will continue to improve over the next few years.  In addition to their popular semi-dry Gewürztraminer, Lueria also produces a dry version which has been completely sold to a [non-kosher] restaurant in Yaffo.  I have not yet tasted the wine, but a bottle waits for my return to Jerusalem.  Other blends produced by the winery include a new, to be named, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz which spent 12 months in oak, “Inon” which is a blend of the same varietals in different proportions and spent six months in oak and the Rosso, which is a blend of Sangiovese (50%), Barbera (20%), Shiraz (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%).  We tasted both the 2010 (which is the current release) and the 2011 (currently in stainless steel tanks).  The winery also makes a Chardonnay I didn’t taste and an “ice-wine style” dessert wine made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Both Gewürztraminer and dessert wines are becoming increasingly popular in Israel and are being made in increasingly high quality and quantity (especially Gewurztraminer-based dessert wines).  While not quite returning to our sweet-tooth roots of Cream Malaga, the kosher consumer does have a sweet tooth.  For wineries, making a dessert wine provides both a wine with higher margins (as they are traditionally more expensive) and the ability to utilize lower quality grapes, as the sugar and added alcohol hides a lot of flaws (for a number of wineries, sugar and alcohol have replaced over-oaking as the way to mask flaws in both the grapes and the winemaking process).  I’d love to see more wineries utilize top-notch grapes and really put some effort into the wines.  However, it is a business and, to date, the consumer hasn’t shown a willingness to pay extra for the work and expense that goes into making high-quality, complex dessert wines.

As the following day’s visits were with wineries located in the acclaimed Judean Hills region, I needed to spend some time driving south and was only able to squeeze three visits into this day.  I ended the day enroute to Beit Shemesh with an unforgettable meal at a newly discovered restaurant in Herzlia Pituach that is easily one of the best I have ever been to – Vino Socco.  With amazing herb crusted lamb chops, tornado Rossini and incredible petit fours for dessert, this place is a must for any foodie (and everyone else as well).  Pricy but oh-so worth it.

After the spectacular meal at Vino Socco in Herzlia Pituach, the culmination of a fantastic two days in Israel’s Northernmost wine regions; I headed South to the Judean Hills of Israel, another tremendous wine-growing region that has been garnering increased visibility and acclaim over the last few years.  As I had covered a number of terrific wineries in the area on my previous visit (including Tzora, Ella Valley and Agur), I was determined to try some of the many local wineries I had not visited in recent years (despite tasting the wines repeatedly over that time).

DAY THREE

Flam Winery

Flam was part of the trifecta of near-mythical Israeli boutique wineries that “went kosher” with the 2010 vintage, together with Saslove and Tulip.  Since then, a number of Flam wines have become available, namely the Rosé, “Blanc” – a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and “Classico” – the winery’s entry level blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (with some Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc added in some years).  Despite the Classico being Flam’s entry level wine, it is far superior to most other “entry-level” wines in quality and its price reflects this.  In addition to these three wines, the winery has three varietal wines in its Reserve series and a Flagship wine called Noble, of which the 2008 (non-kosher version) vintage was recently released after two years of bottle aging (following two years in oak).  While I had the opportunity to taste the Reserve Syrah last year and it was subsequently released a few months ago, the Reserve Merlot and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon have only just been released; giving the kosher consumer more insight into what has made the Flam Winery the darling of Israeli wine aficionados for so many years.

Located just outside Beit Shemesh, when I arrived I was overjoyed to find that Yisrael Flam was there to greet me.  The patriarch of the Flam family, owners of one of Israel’s true “family wineries”, Yisrael spent over 35 years working at Carmel (including more than 15 as Carmel’s head winemaker) after obtaining professional training at UC Davis.  In 1998, Yisrael’s two sons (having grown up with a love and understanding of wine coursing through their veins), decided to open a boutique winery.  While Yisrael obviously provides some guidance and counseling, the show is run by the two boys, with Gilad functioning as CEO and Golan as winemaker.  These days production is about 100,000 bottles annually.  After chatting with Yisrael for a while, Golan and Gilad showed up and I was treated to a quick tour of the winery, where bottling was going on that day, and then we sat down for a tasting of the winery’s seven wines, including a sneak preview of the 2010 Noble, destined to be one of Israel’s greatest kosher wines.  I will say that the passion they convey for their profession and uncommon humility expressed by both Golan and Gilad is not only refreshing, but makes for a highly enjoyable tasting experience.  They love what they do, do it with a high level of skill and don’t allow their egos to balloon to mammoth proportions like some other folks in the industry.

We started with a comparison between the 2011 and 2012 Blanc wines (the 2012 was being bottled that day).  I enjoyed the 2011 version more, while the 2012 was fruitier and less acidic and thus more likely to appeal to a wider crowd.  That said, the 2012 was tasted straight from the bottling tank, so obviously a revisit is required.  While I intend to discuss recent vintages in depth in a coming newsletter, it was interesting that nearly every winemaker, regardless of region, had different thoughts on the quality of the last three, wildly different vintages – 2010, 2011 and 2012.  While we didn’t taste the 2012 Rosé on this visit, I had the opportunity to taste it at KFWE and before that during the judging for the aforementioned Jewish Week tasting panel.  It is a terrific Rosé, and one I would sip on a daily basis if not for the $30 price tag.  Of the three Reserve wines (Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon), while all are terrific wines, easily identifiable by their impeccable balance and European style with a hint of Israeli flair, surprisingly for me – an avid Syrah lover, the Cabernet Sauvignon was the best of the bunch and may very well be one of Israel’s best Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  Now, don’t get me wrong, the Syrah is an incredible expression of the grape and well worth purchasing, as is the Merlot.  To finish off my delightful visit, I got to taste the 2010 Noble, a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% each of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot, with the grapes utilized for the Noble being selected from the very best of the vineyards under Flam’s control.  Each of the components spent a year aging separately in oak before being blended together for another year in oak at which point the wine is bottled and spends another two years aging in the bottle before release.  Start saving up and making room in your cellar for this wine’s anticipated release in mid-2014 (as only 5,000 bottles were made).  The wine truly lives up to Yisrael’s moniker for it “the Prime of the Premium”!

Tzuba Winery

Despite it being my first winery of the three planned that day (with a hard stop later in the afternoon for my cousin’s wedding), I was already running behind schedule as I raced down the winding road to my next visit with Paul Dubb of Tzuba Winery.  Located on and owned by Kibbutz Tzuba, the winery is one of many businesses owned and operated by the Kibbutz, with others including the well-known game park “Kiftzuba” and its most profitable business – a factory that produces glass and is considered one of the top producers of bullet-proof and safety glass.  The Kibbutz owns a substantial number of vineyards, selling approximately 80% of its production to other wineries.  In addition to making 50,000 bottles of Tzuba labeled wine annually, Paul also makes a large amount of private label wines for other individuals and wineries.

Along with a few other changes, Tzuba is in the process of redoing its labels, with certain wines being sold in Israel using one label and under a different label in the US market.  As I was late, we only had time for a relatively quick tasting of seven wines; where Paul and I were joined by Eiton Green, the winery’s export manager.  I enjoyed the 2011 Tzuba Chardonnay and the wines of the Metzuda series (which includes a white blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and the best of the bunch – the 2010 varietal Syrah).  In addition to the Chardonnay, the Tzuba series includes a Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, red blend and a n.v. dessert wine, made from 100% Chardonnay, blended across a number of vintages.  In addition to the current release, we also tasted an older library wine, comprised of the 2006 and 2007 vintages and made by Tzuba’s prior winemaker – Arkady Papilion (who is currently the winemaker at the non-kosher Amphorae Winery.

Castel Winery

As my cousin’s wedding was that evening, I had only scheduled three winery visits for the day.  However, after driving past Ramat Raziel on my way from Flam to Tzuba, I once again passed by the Castel Winery and, despite the lack of time and more importantly – an appointment, I decided to swing by and say hello anyway.  My advice to all of you when planning to visit wineries – do as I say (call ahead and coordinate your visit for the best results) and not as I did (dropping in on the delightfully friendly Ilana Ben-Zaken without an appointment).  As a result, I got to chat with Ilana for 15 minutes and toured the beautiful cellar but didn’t taste any of the wines (all of which I had recently tasted and written about anyway).  Oh well – it is always nice to meet and chat with the great folks in the Israeli wine industry.

Teperberg Winery

Despite my brief detour at Castel, I somehow had a bit of extra time on my hands and started contemplating adding a visit to either Tzora or Mony after Teperberg (before racing back to a friend’s house to change for the wedding, thankfully located very close by).  Had I known the incredible tasting of 28 wines that Shiki Rauchberger and Olivier Fratty planned for me at Teperberg, I wouldn’t have bothered, as any extra time rapidly disappeared in their delightful company (as it is, we only managed to taste through 19 wines).

One of Israel’s older wineries, it is only recently that Teperberg became worthy of the attention of any self-respecting oenophile.  For years the winery produced tons of plonk and Kiddush wine, despite some attempts during the 1990s to produce better quality table wines.  Only after bringing California-trained Shiki on board in 2002 did the winery start its qualitative quantum leap forward to a better future, filled with high-quality grapes and wine.  With annual production at approximately 5 million bottles (including grape juice, kiddush wine, the aforementioned plonk and the quality table wine), the winery has slowly been progressing towards utilizing only table wine grapes and producing only quality wine (and grape juice – a real money maker).  The winery currently expects to hit this target with the 2015 vintage, and we will all be better off with more quality (and well-priced) Teperberg wine on the market.  The winery owns approximately 3,500 dunam of vineyards (~865 acres), spread across the country, from the Upper Galilee, through the Shomron and all the way down South to Makhtesh Ramon.  Teperberg’s production of table wine is currently spread across five different labels, with an additional top tier label possible, if some of the wines currently in the barrel maintain their current quality levels.  Starting from the top, the labels are Reserve, Terra, Silver (completely mevushal), Teperberg and Efrat.  Given the limited amount of time, we had to triage the wines Shiki and Oliver had selected, winnowing down the nearly 30 wines on the table to a (only slightly) more manageable 19.  Even so, I took the last three top notch barrel samples with me to try again later (thankfully Teperberg uses glass hip flasks for their samples, which made for a fun way to surreptitiously taste barrel samples of extracted wines at the wedding, where only mevushal wine was served).

Teperberg is in the planning stages of a visitor center next to the current massive facility housing the winery, but until then, visiting the winery isn’t so easy; we conducted our tasting in a trailer-based conference room.  We started with a quintet of white (and rosé) wines, including one of Israel’s nicest Sauvignon Blanc wines to date – the unoaked Terra 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from vineyards located near Shiloh in the Shomron and a wine made as it should be, with crisp, refreshing acidity backing up a nice array of fruit and citrus notes.  The Terra 2011 Viognier can claim its place among Israel’s better expressions of the grape.  We also tasted the Terra 2012 Gewürztraminer and the Silver 2012 Rosé, as well as the winery’s acclaimed Malbec from the 2010 and 2011 (barrel sample) side by side.  Both Malbec wines were delightful and continue to be among Israel’s finest expression of this ornery grape, but the 2011 had some real finesse and elegance taming the big wine that was amazing, making this a wine to put on your “To Do” list.  Other comparative tastings included the Terra 2009 and 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon wines, and a 2009 v. 2010 comparison of the three varietal Reserve wines – Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Generally speaking, I liked the 2009 Reserve wines better (the 2010 wines are not yet released), but this was partly due to the extra year of bottle aging on the winery’s top-tier and somewhat extracted wines (while maintaining good balance and moderate alcohol levels – a welcome difference from many other Israeli wineries).  Having tasted through the winery’s dessert wines recently, the final wines at the tasting where the 2010 and 2011 Cabernet Franc and the 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines, all barrel samples.  While all the wines showed promise, the 2010 Cabernet Franc was a real standout for me, coming from a small plot in the Shomron and showing clear [Israeli] Cabernet Franc characteristics, including delightful herbaceousness and tobacco leaf, all in good balance and without being overwhelming; another wine I am eagerly anticipating (and hoping it won’t be the first “expensive” Teperberg wine).  All in all, a terrific visit, a broad tasting and one that reaffirmed my belief that Teperberg will continue to be part of Israel’s ongoing quality wine revolution for years to come.

I finished up my day rushing to get ready and then enjoying my cousin’s wedding – Mazal Tov again to A&AS (and thank for providing the “excuse” for my visit)!

Hot on the heels of the Judean Hills emergence as a premier wine growing region comes Israel’s rocky Shomron region, which over the last few years has emerged as a real wine route with about ten wineries spread along Route 60 (excluding the 5-6 wineries South of Jerusalem).  I had made [apparently overly-ambitious] plans to visit five of these wineries, but ended up visiting four and tasting a slew of great wines as you will see below.

DAY FOUR

Psagot Winery

My first visit was to Psagot, a winery I have written about a lot over the years (even though my last full write up was over two years ago) – they even generously sponsored the house wine for a large Sensi6 event a few years back that benefited Leket Israel.  Founded by Ya’acov Berg in 2002 (with approximately 5,000 in their first commercial vintage of 2033), with Josh Hexter as resident winemaker and following an infusion of capital, the winery has expanded over the last few years, doubling its production from 2010 when it produced approximately 100,000 bottles to the 200,000 bottles currently anticipated for the 2012 vintage.  Most of the winery’s vineyards are located in the Shomron and Judean Hills, with some in the Upper Galilee located in the acclaimed Ben Zimra area.  After manhandling my GPS (recent construction in the area played havoc with directions even though the location on my map was spot on), I arrived at the winery for my tasting with Josh Hexter.  The famed natural cave that serves as the winery’s cellar and whose natural beauty is worthy of its own visit is located in Psagot proper and not on the winery grounds.  As such, I missed out on visiting this beauty but highly recommend making time for it on your next visit there.  After a quick tour of the facility (truth be told, there are only so many barrels and fermentation tanks one can look at), we sat down in the winery’s lovely tasting room (which overlooks the barrel room) for a tasting of 8 wines, including two barrel samples, comprising the wines currently available in the United States.

Having recently tasted the 2011 Chardonnay, we went straight to the red wines which are the primary focus of the winery (in addition to the Chardonnay, Psagot made a Viognier for a few vintages but no longer does).  The Cabernet Franc is a long-time favorite of mine and among the top Cabernet franc wines made in Israel (comprising a list that is constantly expanding) and the 2010 vintage is no exception – a delightful and recommended wine, worth stocking up on and enjoying over the next few years.  A fun comparative tasting was the “regular” Cabernet Sauvignon against the winery’s hit single vineyard version.  While it is often the case that the single vineyard versions are superior to varietal wines made from a blend of different plots and/or vineyards, the point of a single vineyard wine is to give the best expression to the terroir that can be coaxed out of the ground by the winemaker and not necessarily to make the best wine of the winery.  The single vineyard version is a much bigger wine with blacker fruit and without some of the green notes in the regular version.  Two other wines I really enjoyed were the Edom, which started out being a straight blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, with Cabernet Franc joining the mix in 2006 and Petit Verdot coming aboard as well in 2007-8.  In the 2010 vintage, Merlot comprises the lowest percentage at 12%.  A rich, deep and extracted wine in great balance and with a lingering finish, the wine was a treat.  Another powerhouse delight was the 2010 Shiraz.  In addition to the slew of available wines, Josh also generously pulled barrel samples of the 2011 Shiraz and Edom, both of which showed great promise, ensuring that we will continue to see great things from Psagot in the years to come.

I was lucky enough that the time I finished up with Josh coincided with lunchtime for the wine seminar Psagot was hosting that morning (coincidentally I met my cousin there who was lecturing on various grape growing items).  Focusing on wine making and a host of agricultural related subjects relating to grape growing, all of the winemakers I was scheduled to meet later that day were in attendance, in addition to Lewis Pasco (founding winemaker of Recanati and now back in Israel after a few years in California, making his own wines and consulting for a number of wineries).  As it was a wine seminar, lunch was accompanied by a wine tasting!  With over 40 wines to sample and a need to make my next appointment, I only had the chance to try a few wines I hadn’t had before including two from Ferency, a number of Tel Arza wines and an interesting Cabernet Sauvignon from the “Research Winery”, among a host of others.

Tanya Winery

Despite calling and planning ahead, Tanya’s character of a winemaker – Yoram missed our appointment, leaving me in the good company of his daughter.  However, with Yoram not around, barrel tastings weren’t going to happen and, having recently (at IsraWinExpo last February) tasted the majority of wines on the market, I only did a quick tasting of a few wines and was on my way to my next visit with Shiloh.  After recently taking on a new partner who provided some additional capital, the winery is more heavily in vesting in placing its wines in restaurants (which makes up a substantial percentage of sales for many of the wineries), including spending more money on labels and marketing.  The winery also recently launched an entry level label called “Ivri” which I tasted as IsraWinExpo and wrote about at the time.  A full article on Tanya should be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Shiloh Winery

After finishing up at Tanya I made my way North to Shiloh for a visit with Amichai Luria and a tasting of eight wines.  Before we started tasting the wines I was treated to a grand tour of the winery, accompanied by detailed explanations of the way the winery utilizes the different sized fermentation tanks, types of barrels and other wine making equipment to the greatest advantage (together with some great conversation about Israel’s wine industry in general).  As I wrote a detailed article about Shiloh only a few months ago, I won’t go into much detail about the winery here, other than to add some new cool facts.  As I have mentioned in the past, in addition to a massive increase in the quality of wines over the last 3 vintages or so, one of the things that makes Shiloh unique is its increasing production of mevushal wines, with little noticeable differences between the mevushal and non-mevushal versions.  With his prior experience as a contractor, Amichai took upon himself to build a mevushaling machine that would satisfy the strict requirements of the kosher certification along with his personal wine making standards.  Together with a machinery shop, he built a machine to these standards and isn’t sharing any of the details nor is the machine available for “viewing”.  The entire process, including the hotly debated time of pasteurization (generally speaking, the earlier in the winemaking process you do the pasteurization, the better ability you have to control the quality of the wine) is a winery secret and Amichai isn’t telling.

In addition to a burning desire to make the highest quality wine possible, many winemakers develop a philosophy behind their winemaking that guides both the winemaking process and the types of wines produced by the winery.  For some it is distaste for oak, other focus on creating Mediterranean blends and/or focusing on Mediterranean varietals.  Some winemakers are focused on making subtle and elegant wines while others love to make big, bold, oak and fruit wines – to each their own.  Amichai’s focus is blending.  While Shuki from Agur makes only blended wines, Amichai takes it a few steps further, with a laser focus on taking the best pieces from every plot, even within varietals, to make the best wine he can.  Other aspects of his blending experiments include utilizing different barrels (and toast levels), different sized fermentation tanks as well as different fermentation times.  All in all, there seems to be a lot of experimenting going on, in order to produce the wines.

Owned by Meir Chomer (who also functions as CEO), the winery’s first commercial vintage was in 2005 (with 2006 comprising the first “full-blown” vintage) and it expects to produce approximately 80,000 bottles from the 2012 vintage (only gradually increasing production of the last few years by approximately 5,000 bottles a year).  While the labels are pretty well organized, the fact that the winery makes mevushal and non-mevushal versions of many wines (and, in many occasions, both are available in the United States), it can be tough to track which version is the recommended one (additionally, not every wine is produced every year – it depends on the quantity and quality of the grapes).  The labels include the entry level blend “Mor” (produced in both mevushal and non-mevushal versions), followed by the varietal Cabernet Sauvignon (produced in both mevushal and non-mevushal versions), Merlot and Barbera wines in the “Shor” series (which also included some blends until the 2008 vintage).  The reserve series goes by the name “Sod Reserve” (a/k/a “Secret Reserve”) and is currently comprised of a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot (unfortunately the incredible 2007 Petite Sirah was a one-shot deal, with the Petite Sirah no going into the Mosaic and Legend).  Amichai considers Merlot to be Shiloh’s best grape and the Shomron is certainly producing some of Israel’s best Merlot wines, so he is certainly onto something there.  The Chardonnay and the winery’s “Mediterranean Blend” – Legend (produced in both mevushal and non-mevushal versions) are stand-alone wines and Amichai also produced a late-harvest Chardonnay dessert wine in the 2007 vintage, available only at the winery for about $65 (according to Amichai, there are ten kilos of grapes in each bottle, which spent two years in oak).  The flagship wine is the Mosaic, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot and Petite Sirah.  The 2006 is the current vintage on the market, with the 2007 released in Israel as well.  There was no Mosaic in 2008 or 2009 and the 2010 version is expected to be released in two years.

Of the varied wines we tasted, I especially enjoyed the delightfully deep, complex and well-rounded 2007 Mosaic which is definitely worth seeking out as a special wine.  Another terrific wine was the Sod Reserve Merlot, which should continue to improve and come together for a number of years.  While I could certainly detect the difference between the mevushal and non-mevushal versions of the 2010 Legend, both were enjoyable and the comparative tasting provided serious pleasure to this wine geek.  While it was great to taste the Late Harvest Chardonnay since I had never had it before, I didn’t find it great enough to justify the hefty price tag, but It was certainly an interesting wine (and would make a great comparative tasting with Hagafen’s 2006 Prix Late Harvest Chardonnay).  All in all, a great and very informative tasting and I am looking forward to doing barrel tastings on my next visit.

Gvaot Winery

With all the time spent at Shiloh, I was dramatically late for Gvaot (which also resulted in my cancelling my planned visit at Tura winery) as I had to rush back to Jerusalem to make my planned dinner at the King David’s delightful La Regence restaurant (f/k/a the Grill Room back in the days of my youth).  Thankfully winemaker Shivi Drori and marketing chief Eliav Miller were accommodating and welcomed me to the winery’s tasting room for a broad sampling of the winery’s good stuff, including some coming surprises.  As with Shiloh, I recently wrote about the winery (and have been trumpeting their great wines for years), so check out my recent article for more details and specific tasting notes).  We tasted eight wines including the 2012 Gewurztraminer and Rosé, both delightful wines whose release I am eagerly anticipating.  Other highlights include the 2011 Gofna Reserve Pinot Noir which seemed to be suffering from bottle shock and I expect to retaste soon and confirm whether it is as successful as the wildly popular (and extremely limited) 2010 inaugural version.  The 2010 Masada was definitely deserving of its status as the winery’s flagship wine and was the best wine of the tasting until Shivi pulled out a barrel sample of a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from “Plot 3” which may have been among the most intriguing versions of Cabernet Sauvignon I have recently tasted and a wine I am looking forward to retasting in a few months, after Shivi decides on the direction he will be taking with it.

#234 – December 20, 2012

This newsletter is the first of my annual end-of-the-year three-part series on the wonderful world of Israeli and kosher wines. As the Gregorian year comes to an end, I like to look back at the last 12 months and discuss the (hopefully mostly positive) changes that the delightful world of kosher wine underwent, with a natural focus on the Israeli wine industry (which still produces the majority of kosher wine). I also get to see if I was right with any of my predictions last year (for those interested in checking themselves, my end-of-year newsletters for 2011 included the “Best Wines of 2011”, a look back at the year that was and some predictions for 2012).

This week’s edition deals with some of the more material events and trends we experienced over the past year. The next two editions will include my list of the top wines of 2012 (and the most “interesting” wines that didn’t make the list but were (and remain) well-worthy of your attention) and a look forward to 2013, in which I peer into my crystal ball and try to predict what 2013 may look like (guess is more appropriate terminology, but predicts sounds better).

While the wine world experienced many upheavals and transitions over the past twelve months, from a personal perspective, the biggest event of the year was the birth of my fourth child – Ariella Naomi, six months ago yesterday. While wine is a delightfully enjoyable thing and a somewhat engulfing hobby that takes up far too much of my free time, family is paramount and nothing is more pleasurable than spending time with my kids. That said, I continue to work diligently on my children’s wine appreciation skills so I can combine the two…

With that mushy and personal reflection safely out of the way, I present some of the bigger events and trends in the kosher and Israeli wine world over the last 12 months – enjoy.

Robert Parker “Sells Out”
With the obligatory end-of-the-year postings looming for writers and bloggers, many jump the gun and publish such articles a bit too far in advance, risking having important events occur after the fact. A few very recent events (i.e. in the past week or so) are helpful reminders on why it pays to hold out on these as long as possible. The first item, while not directly tied to the Israeli or kosher world of wine, was easily one of the most important wine events of the year and has the potential to impact the world of Israeli and kosher wines as well.

Last week Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal broke the story that Robert Parker (easily the world’s most influential wine critic, despite a waning of influence over recent years) was selling a majority stake in the Wine Advocate for approximately $15 million to three investors from Singapore (the lead investor has been identified as Soo Hoo Khoon Peng, formerly of the wine importing company – Hermitage). To qualify such news as a bombshell would be an understatement, exacerbated by the fact that only a month ago Parker had professed publicly that he had no such intentions. As would be expected, the announcement created a huge brouhaha and much speculation and analysis. The uproar included an “amendment” to the initial article in the Wall Street Journal after Parker took to Twitter to “clarify” a number of points in the original article with which he curiously disagreed (after apparently providing the Wall Street Journal with the initial information). If you somehow missed all of this, I have included most of the relevant links here (and you obviously don’t yet follow me on Twitter).

While the Wine Advocate doesn’t review or score a lot of kosher or Israeli wines and Mark Squires (as opposed to Parker himself) is the writer tasked with covering Israel (in addition to Portugal, Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania) does the tastings (Parker himself covers primarily Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley); the unparalleled prestige of the Wine Advocate (mostly based on Parker’s reputation) provides unparalleled marketing opportunities (and hopefully corresponding sales growth) for those lucky wines viewed favorably by Mark Squires (a highly talented and respected wine writer in his own right who is starting to have a greater understanding of Israel’s unique terroir now that he has a number of years of tastings under his belt) and showcased in the Wine Advocate. While Parker’s influence has been waning for some time, these changes have the potential to further erode the relevance of the publication (decreasing the benefit of achieving high Wine Advocate scores). Additionally, having the epicenter of the publication potential shift to Asia makes me wonder how much effort and resources will continue to be diverted to Israel, a country with little of the prestige so important in many Asian wine-drinking countries, the current ‘darlings” of the high end wine industry.
One other potential impact could be the rise of other competing wine publications including Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast. Any such increase in prestige and exposure could benefit Israeli wines; given the increasing exposure such wines are receiving in both these publications.

Real World Recognition

While the potential upheaval at the Wine Advocate may have some negative impact on Israel’s recognition as a quality wine-producing region, so far so good and Israeli wineries are doing just fine, thank you very much. Leading the pack is Israel’s top winery – the Golan Heights Winery. After being the first Israeli winery to ever win a top award at the international Vinitaly 2011 Wine Competition in Verona as the World’s Best Wine Producer last year, they were awarded New World Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. While every reader of this newsletter already knows that Israel is capable of producing world class wines and that “kosher” is neither a region or varietal; the fact that Israeli wineries are competing head-to-head with “mainstream” wineries and coming out ahead puts a well needed (and deserving) spotlight on Israel’s wines, enabling them to be recognized outside their core market of the kosher consumer. While I don’t place much stock in awards, medals or competitions in providing meaningful information with respect to the wine’s quality, they are important from a marketing and sales perspective and create publicity, recognition and awareness, all sorely lacking for Israeli wines. With Israel’s limited domestic consumption (a problem all onto itself – see below) and rising production, export remains a crucial component for the success of the Israeli wine industry and enabling Israeli wines to be marketed and sold under an “Israel” label as opposed to a “kosher” one is paramount to these efforts.

Winds of [Mediterranean] Change

Continuing last year’s trend, (which I expect to continue and be exacerbated by the changed at the Wine Advocate discussed above) wineries continue to focus more on food-friendly wines, with less [over-]ripe fruit, higher acidity levels and less pronounced oak exposure. More and more Israeli wineries are experimenting with this style, with Recanati, Tzora, Carmel and others leading the charge. As most wine is enjoyed with food, this is certainly a welcome trend but one onto which the average Israeli wine has not yet latched. With the need to sell wine justifiably paramount over all other, many wineries continue to produce the big wines consumers love, many a times by over-oaking them. Others, the most prominent of which is the Golan Heights Winery, continue to make big, bold and fruit dominant wines (which, at least in the wines of the Golan Heights Winery, are tempered by elegance and impeccable structure and balance) that consumers want. While I believe the trend will continue, until the path of the Israeli wine consumer crystallizes (see below), this trend will continue to remain very much in flux.

The Fall of the Dominant Wine Critic

As discussed in both my 2011 year-end newsletters in depth, last year’s biggest event was the passing of Daniel Rogov, which I expected to have far-reaching implications for our little world of Israeli and kosher wines. I am not going to repeat that analysis and you can reread my thoughts on this here and here. While some of the changes will take a few years to permeate, I have noticed a few substantial trends over the past 12 months that can certainly, at least partially, be attributed to his passing.

• Rise of the Consumer: While slightly less prominent in the Israeli market due to the existence of other established wine writers, there was a definite correspondence between Rogov’s scoring of wines and sales volume. Especially with the expanded marketing of his book, wines that scored highly were sought after by many consumers and those that he panned were left to gather dust on the shelves and required heightened marketing efforts by retailers to push them onto consumers. With Rogov out of the picture, the consumer is left to fend for himself. While this impact also carries with it some negative aspects, the upside is that the consumer is no longer “forced” to drink wines enjoyed by one individual palate and is freer to make decisions about the wines they like or dislike without being tethered to wine scores. While this has resulted in increased sales of what some could call inferior wines, consumers are certainly drinking more of what they like as opposed to what people think they should like (see the most popular and top wine lists put out annually by kosherwine.com as a good example). While the need for wine writers and critics remains and there are other wine writers who cover Israeli and kosher wines in both English and Hebrew, none of them have anywhere near the gravitas that Rogov did, which frees consumers to drink what they like. One unfortunate downside is that the few kosher wine consumers who don’t yet subscribe to this newsletter are left at the sometimes ignorant (or worse – unscrupulous) hands of retailers who will push wines on them that are simply better left unmade, or at the very least on the shelves (or the $5 bin).

• Hidden Gems: Rogov made a serious attempt to visit nearly every “commercial” winery in Israel (or have a broad sampling of their wines) every year or two, at most. Given his standing, these tastings nearly always included barrel tastings and advance tastings of too-be-released wines, for which he published his detailed tasting notes (and scores) shortly after tasting (usually the same day). For those who participated in his forum, this was a great opportunity to get a sneak-peak at some of the great wines coming to market and pre-emptively reach out to your favorite source to secure some bottles. While there are many wine writers who cover Israeli wines (in English and Hebrew) and a few that also cover global kosher wines, nobody comes close to tasting as many wines as Rogov or making the same effort to actually visit all the wineries. Given the sheer number of wines produced annually by Israel’s more than 300 wineries and the fact that it is nearly impossible to survive solely as a wine writer (in Israel and globally), most writers primarily rely on samples, major tastings (such as the Sommelier Expo and IsraWinExpo I have attended and written about in the past which are akin to Royal’s coming Kosher Food and Wine Experience) or special press events when wines are “unveiled”. While these writers help the consumer ferret out some of the great wines coming to market, the sheer number of Israeli and kosher wines produced annually ensures that not every wine is going to be tasted and reported on – including many “worthy” wines (until they are randomly tasted and provide a Eureka moment to someone determined to let the world know). The upside is that these undiscovered wines tend to avoid the hype over-pricing (e.g. the Recanati, Mediterranean Reserve, Wild Carignan, 2009); the downside is that these wines remain undiscovered…

• No “Must-Have” Wines: As with the “Rise of the Consumer” discussed above, I view this as an extremely positive development. Despite my personal dislike of scores (evidenced by the fact that I don’t score wines – the issue has been discussed in depth multiple times on these pages), consumers’ love of scores is only surpassed by the affection bestowed upon wine scores by wine retailers, distributors and producers (i.e. wineries). While most other wine writers score wines, with Rogov gone, no other wine writer covering Israeli or kosher wines is a king maker – with the ability to bestow instant cult status on any particular wine (akin to what happened to the 2006 Yarden Rom from the Golan Heights Winery when Rogov ultimately gave it a 96 – the highest score he ever granted an Israeli wine). Such status results in making the wine a “must have” and selling out nearly instantly, subject to severe rationing by the winery and retailers (only to be resold by some wine stores at exorbitant markups, mostly preying on well-heeled but unsuspecting tourists). One example of this phenomenon is the release earlier this year of one of Israel’s greatest wines of all times – the Katzrin 2008 from the Golan Heights Winery. The wine is simply amazing and one of the best I have tasted with tons of development ahead and aging ability of 20 years. If Rogov were alive, I’d guess I would have scored a 94 at least, maybe even a 95 which would have resulted in it selling out right away. While the wine justifiably reigns as the best Israeli wine and sells out pretty easily every year, without a hyped up score from Rogov, the wine is still pretty easy to find at its release price of ~$100. While the fact that 2008 was a Shmittah vintage does put a slight damper on its “acceptability” for certain segments of the kosher oenophilic population, this has become less of an issue in recent years (the sarcastic part of me thinks it might have to do with the superiority of the 2008 vintage).

• Rise of the Amateur: Despite the expectations of many, no replacement Rogov has appeared and folks need to realize that there never will be such a replacement. Without taking anything away from his knowledge, incredible writing ability, palate and dedication, much of his dominance can be tied to being in the right place at the right time. He was basically the only quality game in town during the emergence of the Israeli wine industry and indispensable in its promotion. These days, Israeli wines win accolades around the world, the world’s best known publications (including the Wine Advocate , the Wine Enthusiast and the Wine Spectator) regularly cover Israeli wines and grant them good scores and a multitude of wine writers have sprung up to cover Israeli and global kosher wines. It is no longer the one-man show it was ten years ago and the sheer number of Israeli and kosher wines make it virtually impossible for one man to cover them all. As a result, many other wine writers and bloggers have gained more recognition, prominence and exposure, both in Israel and abroad. Additionally, many wine lovers who didn’t actively participate in public discussions on Israeli and kosher wines (primarily on Rogov’s wine forum), partially due to Rogov’s dominance, are now much freer with their opinions and tasting notes (usually with positive effect), leading to more democratic discussion and sharing of ideas and opinions which is always a good thing and a proliferation of publicly available comments on many wines. I expect this trend to continue to the benefit of all Israeli and kosher wine lovers.

Quality in Addition to Israel

While Israel still produces the majority of kosher wines, the numbers continue to shift rapidly with more and more quality offerings being produced in various countries across the globe. Over the past year I have tasted many new quality offerings hailing from diverse places as Argentina, France, Australia Spain, Italy and California. Many of the wines are not [yet] commercially available in the United States but this will hopefully change and, as the wheat is separated from the chaff, expect to see some high-end (and hopefully decently priced) offerings from currently unknown global producers.

All that said, after Israel, California continues to reign supreme as a producer of quality kosher wines and the various wineries out there continue to improve and innovate their offerings, with an understanding that in this rapidly changing and highly competitive world, staying still is no longer an option. Some recent California examples include Covenant’s new “Landsman” wine club which included a top-notch Pinot Noir, Herzog’s new vineyards and the addition of a Cabernet Franc, Brobdingnagian’s White Grenache (which I haven’t tasted yet) and Carignan and increased production by the Weiss Brothers at their Shirah Winery. Craig Winchell, formerly of Gan Eden, is also contemplating a return to the world of kosher wine and his individualistic winemaking skills are sure to provide new and creative wines for us to enjoy. All is all – things continue to improve for the kosher wine consumer.

Of course, while all this increased competition is music to our ears, winemakers need to work harder and have a somewhat new reality to deal. Wineries producing high-end (read expensive) wines, can no longer rest on their laurels and count on their legions of loyal fans to continue to buy all they offer at any price. As internet wine sales proliferate and antiquated related legal stumbling blocks continue to crumble, consumers have more choices at better prices than ever before and will spend their dollars where they get the most bank for the buck These days, if you can produce real QPR wines, you are golden and if not, you may be in trouble.

Odds and Ends

As always, people come and go and the past year was no exception with many comings and goings at a multitude of wineries. Among many other changes, Ella Valley’s longtime winemaker – Doron Rav Hon – was replaced at Ella Valley by Lin Gold, Tamir Arzy was replaced at Tulip Winery by David Bar-Ilan (under less than perfect circumstances) and Binyamina continued its management shakeup with longtime CEO Ilan Hasson leaving and senior winemaker Sasson Ben-Aharon being promoted to Executive Manager. Another welcome change was the return to Israel of Lewis Pasco, formerly of Recanati, who is in the process of starting up another winery. His innovative Petit-Sirah/Zinfandel blend was an early favorite of mine and I look forward to seeing what he does this time around.

Other changes are in the wind as the cooperative that owns Carmel Winery is looking to sell approximately 30% of the winery to outside investors, creating some drama among the cooperatives numerous grower owners. I have also heard from numerous wineries that are looking to raise substantial amounts of new capital for a multitude of planned improvements, with new and attractive visitor centers heading the wish list for many wineries.

While not something that is discussed much outside Israel’s borders, the Israeli wine industry and its varied proponents including wineries, wine writers and others, are grappling with the need to raise domestic consumption and awareness of Israeli wines. Despite a robust domestic production of high quality wines, Israel imports a substantial amount of foreign wines, which find many takers. I am not referring to the high end offerings from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Tuscany which are high-quality wines enjoyed around the world by sophisticated wine aficionados, which Israel has a plenty but rather about the cheap plonk that you can order by the glass at many restaurants or buy on sale in a supermarket, many a time for under $10. As we discussed a few weeks ago, this is a feat which is still somewhat difficult for Israeli wineries, whose wine doesn’t carry the still existing cache of being imported. With a growing production, a multitude of new vineyards coming online and a global economy still reeling, increasing domestic consumption of Israel’s wines is increasingly important for an industry still going through some growing pains.

Yossie’s Corkboard

The past year saw a number of changes for the newsletter including more than doubling the number of subscribers and adding a number of helpful pages to the website including an interactive map of Israel’s more than 70 kosher wineries with tasting notes, detailed information for most and links to related articles. Other added pages include wines only available in Israel (a list that continuously shrinks [and becomes more obscure] as more and more kosher wines are being imported into the United States), a list of Recommended Retailers with special discounts, ageable and cellar-worthy wines (a list that continues to grow as Israeli wines get better and better).

I have also become more active on Twitter, providing many links to interesting wine articles, tasting notes and other items of interest in the oenophilic world, all at only 140 characters a pop (the most concise medium in which you will ever read me). For those who don’t want to read each carefully curated “tweet”, I also summarize the best items from each week on Monday which can be found on the “Best of Twitter” page.

The past year also saw my first visit to the West Coast wineries. While I have been tasting and writing about the delightful Napa Valley kosher wines for years, this was the first time I actually got to visit the stunningly beautiful Napa Valley and surrounding areas. Spending quality time with the folks from Herzog, Hagafen, Brobdingnagian, Hagafen and Four Gates was great and stay tuned for detailed reports and tasting notes from the visits. For those who haven’t been, it is an incredibly highly recommended trip!

I have many new things planned for the website in 2013, much of which I will discuss in my 2013 Crystal Ball newsletter, coming in the next couple weeks – hope you enjoy and please continue to let me know of any ideas, suggestions or critiques you may have that help Yossie’s Wine Recommendations continue to improve!

So that is a quick summary of the wine related highlights for 2012. Hope you enjoyed as much as I did and I look forward to a bigger and even better 2013 (my predictions for which we will discuss in a coming [very] shortly newsletter). Given the length of this newsletter, no tasting notes this week but stay tuned for the Best Wines of 2012 coming next week!

#236 – January 3, 2013

This week’s newsletter should be viewed as a companion piece to newsletter #234 – “While Standing on One Foot” – which summarized the important events and trends the world of kosher and Israeli wine experienced throughout 2012. After last week’s interlude discussing the best and most exciting wines of 2012, we finish off my annual summation of the State of the [kosher and Israeli] Wine World In this week’s piece, I polish off my trusty crystal ball and discuss some of the trends and happenings I expect to see over the next 12 months within the wonderful and burgeoning world of kosher and Israeli wines.

As we start to creep up on the extremely busy pre-Pessach season, I suggest checking out my “Coming Events” page, which sets forth some of the more interesting and exciting wine related events coming our way, including a Recanati wine tasting with Gil Shatsberg and Royal Wine’s KFWE – easily one of the best kosher wine tasting events of the year and definitely the one with the best accompanying food! Hope to see you all there.

Given my consternation at culling from a truly spectacular field of great kosher wines from 2012, at the end of this newsletter I have included another 20 wines that missed making the list by the skin of their grapes – enjoy!

Wine Writing

As someone who writes about wine I am obviously interested in this topic. However, I am also an avid consumer of kosher and Israeli wines (henceforth referred to collectively as “IKOWs”) and enjoy reading about wine almost as much as I enjoy talking about, drinking and tasting wines. OK, that isn’t true – but I do enjoy reading about wine and the world of wine writing continues to undergo massive shifts, generally and specifically in our [much] narrower world of IKOWs. We have discussed the waning influence of Robert Parker in the past, the highly respected Andrew Jefford is of the view that “the wine writer is dead” and the proliferation of wine blogging all combine to diminish the relevance of one critic or another. In the world of IKOWs, Daniel Rogov z’l held sway and reigned supreme for years (discussed in depth in last year’s summaries, Part I and Part II) and with his passing, there is simply no Israeli wine writer (whether in English or in Hebrew) whose opinion carries anywhere near the influence he did. The era of demi-gods such as Robert Parker and Daniel Rogov z’l is over, never to return and no longer will one person’s voice, pen or palate hold sway over an entire industry. I believe this is a good thing and expect additional voices to come forth, each maybe focusing on different aspects of the relevant wine world. More opinions and information being provided is a good thing and, with the increasing sophistication and consumption of fine wines, highly desirable. Don’t misunderstand me – wine expertise is still needed and desired – simply not from any one person but rather there is much more of it to go around and more to choose from. Find a writer or critic with whose palate you mostly agree and use them as a benchmark.

Wine Scoring

Hand in hand with the decreasing importance of any individual wine writer is a substantial devaluation of wine scoring. While many consumers around the world still base their purchases on the scores any individual wine receives and wineries obviously tout the recent scores awarded to them by one publication or another, the public is slowly realizing that wine scores provide a false sense of precision and are usually substantially more subjective that they appear in their mathematical presentation. Another contributing factor to the increasing dissatisfaction with scoring is the steady inflation of scores we have seen over the years (rarely do you see wines getting really low scores and even previously passable scores such as an 87 [or its likely letter equivalent – B- or g-d forbid a C]). Saturation and inflation have set in: it now takes 94 points to move high-end wines; for 90 to make a ripple; scores of 89 or less have virtually disappeared from public view. Are there really no wines out there that make folks go yuck? While I believe this is a trend that will take longer to fully materialize (scoring is still relevant and, given its necessity and assistance in selling wine, will continue to be pushed by producers and retailers) – mark my words – its time is coming to an end.

Trending Varietals

While Cabernet Sauvignon continues to represent a significant percentage of total wine sold by many wineries, we are seeing more and more wineries experimenting with less popular varietals, sometimes with great success. I am no longer only referring to Syrah, the Southern Rhone varietal whose Israeli success I have been touting for years or my beloved Cabernet Franc, the Bordeaux blending varietal with which a number of Israeli wineries have [and continue to have] success over the years as single varietal wines, but rather the proliferation of other varietals such as Carignan, Mourvèdre, Barbera, Grenache, Gewürztraminer and even Touriga Nacional, all of which are being increasingly utilized in Israeli wines, sometimes with much success. Carignan seems to be doing especially well in Israel, perhaps due to its high acidity (and relatively indigenous nature), with top-notch examples being produced by Recanati, Binyamina, Yaffo, Carmel, Gat Shomron and others (many a time, the Carignan is the most impressive or interesting wine in the winery’s portfolio). Another varietal experiencing increasing quality and popularity is the delightful Gewürztraminer grape. While terrific Gewürztraminer has been available for a number of years, with the exception of the standard bearing Yarden version from the Golan Heights Winery, it was primarily in the form of late harvest dessert wines such as those delectable treats from Binyamina and Carmel, among others. In recent years a number of wineries have seen great success with dry (or semi-dry) Gewurztraminer wines, seemingly perfectly suited to Israel’s hotter climate (both from a grape growing perspective and a wine drinking perspective). Some great examples include those from Lueria and Gvaot, with Carmel, Tishbi and Binyamina also producing very nice examples.

In general, we are seeing a rise in the consumption of white wines and Rosé (which has also become very popular lately, with both dry and semi-dry versions experiencing resurgent popularity (stay tuned for a sparkling version from the Golan Heights Winery that should knock your socks off). As more and more quality white wines become available (including Elvi’s InVita, Sauvignon Blanc from Covenant, Ella Valley, Dalton and others, Viognier from Dalton and Galil Mountain and the slew of terrific white wines from Midbar winery (f/k/a Asif, which should finally obtain formal certification within a vintage or two)), I expect the kosher consumer’s consumption of these wines to continue to rise. Other interesting varietals with which a number of Israeli wineries are experimenting include the Portuguese varietals Tinta Cão (another varietal with high acidity – a big plus in Israeli wines) and Touriga Nacional (utilized in the T2 of the Golan Heights Winery and the Tinto of Domaine Netofa (whose coming 2011 vintage of this wine I enjoyed far more than the currently available 2010).

While IKOW producers have been producing sweet wines since the beginning of time (also here) and many wineries have historically thrown a hodgepodge of their grapes into a barrel to “develop” (i.e. rot) with the expected results, recent years have seen much care given to producing high quality dessert wines, including Adir’s Blush Port, Shiloh’s Late Harvest Chardonnay, Domaine Netofa’s Ruby Port, Gat Shomron’s Ice Wine styled wines and the Botrytis wine from Golan Heights (which unfortunately is no longer being made after the currently available 2007 vintage), a trend I expect to both continue and increase, especially given the premium pricing these wines can bring (resulting from the increased efforts required).

One fad of the wine world that has yet to catch on in the world of IKOWs is natural wines. With the traditional 5 year lag between mainstream and kosher wine trends, we may have missed the opportunity to see for ourselves what all the excitement was about. Maybe the movements most vocal local proponent – Alice Feiring – can help convince some kosher winemakers that we deserve some enlightened wine as well…]

As the [culinary and] oenophilic sophistication of the kosher consumer continues to grow, I refreshingly find many less consumers echoing the unfortunate “I only drink Cabernet Sauvignon” or “I don’t drink white wines” – a positive trend I expect to continue.

Less Alcohol / More Food-Friendly

The trend towards more Mediterranean-styled wines that are less ripe, lower in alcohol and thus more “food-friendly” that started a year or two ago primarily championed by Recanati and Carmel (and rapidly adopted by many other wineries) will continue. As people drink more often, the desire for leaner and more austere wines will grow.

More Export

A number of factors will contribute to the increased export of Israeli wines. Some of these include (i) the “too much wine” phenomenon we discussed last year, (ii) the incredible but Shmittah vintage of 2008 which couldn’t be exported to the US (but was heavily exported to other countries), (iii) increased production (also discussed in depth last year) and (iv ) minimal domestic consumption (a fact that causes great consternation amount Israeli wineries). (countered by the race to the bottom w/r/t pricing in the foreign markets)

Lower Pricing

Despite the general rising prices of foodstuffs and the increased expense in producing kosher wines which result in higher suggested retail prices for most kosher wines, the continued increase in online wine shopping will lead to even more competition between the various wine retailers, resulting in ultra-thin margins and incredible deals on many wines – you just need to know where (and when) to look. While this may be tough on wineries, importers and retailers, it is certainly a huge boon for the consumer, especially after years of nearly unstoppable price increases. As always, check the prices carefully and shop around – it’s a tough market out there and retailers continue to fight tooth and nail for every dollar.

Wineries Closing up Shop

As has been happening steadily for a few years, I expect many additional wineries to shut their doors. I note that when a winery closes up shop it isn’t something it typically advertises, but rather simply stops producing wines. Two primary reasons are that it is usually left with quantities of wine it must sell long after production has ceased and nobody wants to buy wine from a closed winery (other than at “fire sale” prices) and hope that it will be able to raise capital and reopen in a few years. In the interim, these wineries sell their grapes (or [nearly] finished wine to other wineries (in the event that they own their own vineyards). Over the past month I have heard about four wineries that have simply stopped making wine but continue to market their wines, some quite avidly with increased marketing and new labels and expect a number of additional wineries to join this list over the next 12 months.

Continuing Recognition on an International Scale

As Israeli wine continues to improve and exports continue to grow, I expect international recognition to grow and the slew of accolades for Israeli wines to continue. Despite the sale of the Wine Advocate the potential diminishing of its influence (including that of its Israeli correspondent – Mark Squires), I expect the major international wine publication’s to continue to review and score Israeli wines, leading to further penetration of the crucial foreign market. With respect to the Israeli wine industry’s Holy Grail – being marketed to consumers abroad as a region as opposed to kosher – still seems a little while off. In my opinion, until Israeli wines compete better on price and stand out for a varietal or style of wine, this will remain an elusive goal (albeit one in which the industry makes annual progress at a snail’s pace).

Yossie’s Corkboard

In the spirit of continuing improvement, 2013 will hopefully see some substantial additions and improvements to Yossie’s Corkboard. Some of these include the ability to comment directly on the articles, some additional interactive features to the kosher winery map, adding a “Blogroll” (links to some other top-notch wine blogs I enjoy and recommend) and a few other surprises. As always, I’d love to hear from you on any recommendations or suggestions for improvement.
As a reminder, in addition to the [more or less] weekly newsletter, I am also quite active on Twitter where I provide multiple links daily to the various new and exciting things happening in the wondrous world of wine – all in 140 characters or less (literally the most concise you will ever read me). You can follow me on Twitter here or, simply check out my weekly summaries of the best tweets of the week here.

20 WINES THAT “ALMOST” MADE THE “BEST” OR “MOST EXCITING” LIST
Adir, Blush Port, 2010
Adir, Plato, 2009
Bazelet HaGolan, Chardonnay, 2011
Binyamina, HaChoshen, Odem Syrah, 2009
Bravdo, Coupage, 2010
Brobdingnagian, Grenache, 2010
Carmel, Limited Edition, 2008
Carmel, Mediterranean, 2009
Carmel, Kayoumi, Riesling, 2011
Castel, Rosé, 2011
Château Le Crock, Saint-Estèphe, 2005
Château Léoville Poyferré, St. Julien, 2005
City Winery, Aldo Spring, Cabernet Franc, 2010
Dalton, “D”, Petit Sirah, 2010
Dalton, Reserve, Shiraz, 2009
Domaine Netofa, Tinto, 2011
Ella Valley, Vineyards Choice, Petit Sirah, 2008
Flam, Blanc, 2011
Flam, Reserve, Syrah, 2010
Four Gates, Merlot M.S.C., 2008
Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Single Vineyard – El-Rom, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Rom, 2008
Gvaot, Gewurztraminer, 2012
Gvaot, Masada, 2010 (and 2009 for that matter)
Hagafen, Roussanne, 2010
Hagafen, Prix, Oak Knoll Chardonnay, 2010
Hagafen, Prix, Cabernet Franc, 2008
Herzog, Special Edition, PS 2nd Edition, 2009
Herzog, Special Reserve, Chalk Hill, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008
Psagot, Single Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009
Ramot Naftaly, Petit Verdot, 2010
Recanati, Mediterranean Reserve, Syrah/Viognier, 2010
Shiloh, Mosaic, 2007
Tzora, Misty Hills, 2009
Yatir, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009

December 17th – December 30th

Looking back at 2012, some top wine writers sit down with Talia Baiocchi and comment on “What’s Hot & What’s Over“.

Pre-dating populist feminism, the “Iron Ladies of Champagne” really ruled the roost!

In another strong column, Matt Kramer discusses six important wine words, relevant for tasting.

In responsa to Andrew Jeffords, the HoseMaster pens his eulogy to the wine writer.

With the ink barely dry on the Parker story, Palate Press revealed some troubling facts about Natalie Maclean which grew with further investigation. Wine writers and bloggers piled on.

W. Blake Gray weaves an intriguing tale of Kings, Crusades, Eggs, Arbane and Champagne in the story of Drappier (with two newly kosher versions).

December 10th – December 16th

The ‘Unacknowledged Grape’ of Champagne, Pinot Meunier grape, gets its due.

DNA Testing leads to the “origin of winemaking” and the world’s first AVA…

Rolfe Hanson has a few choice words about over-used wine descriptors.

Over at the Intoxicology Report, Chris Kassel has an interesting piece on where the “other” 970 million bottles of French wine come from.

The Wine Curmudgeon has words of praise [and analysis] for the updated and revamped Cellar Tracker (a “free” website well deserving of your support).

A [only-somewhat] geeky post by Jamie Goode on whole-bunch fermentation was pretty interesting.

The biggest news of the week started out with the WSJ’s exclusive on Robert Parker’s sale of the Wine Advocate.

After Felix Salmon’s initial disbelief, commentary and analysis followed from Eric Asimov, Talia Baiocchi, @1WineDude, Jeff Leve, Tom Wark, the LA Times, @DrVino, Vinography, Jon Bonné and W. Blake Gray. The Baltimore Sun (Parker’s [and TWA’s] “Hometown” paper) had the story as well. After two days of reflection, the @winediarist returned with his own insightful analysis and the WSJ had some “clarifications” to the story.

December 3rd – December 9th

While Champagne remains the bomb, Eric Asimov waxes poetically about some great sparkling wine alternatives.

More hating on natural wine and here.

Are all those so-called Super-Tasters for real? The Academic Wino delves into science for the answer.

The Hosemaster gets his hands on the Sommelier’s Secret Wine Journal.

Matt Kramer at Wine Spectator has an excellant piece on three wine myths that need shattering. My own article on factually incorrect wine “tradition”.

@DrVino weighs in on a recent NY Times Op-Ed on the American President’s views of slavery which puts the “Jefferson Bottles” in a whole new light.

#235 – January 1, 2013

With the Gregorian calendar year of 2012 officially closed, it is time for my annual rating of the best wines I tasted in 2012. Building on last week’s concept, waiting until every single available wine-tasting day of 2012 had passed was certainly the way to go as it allowed me to include some wines and thoughts based on last week’s Israel trip. In addition to providing a window into some of the terrific wines we can expect to come our way in 2013 and 2014, last week’s whirlwind tour of 15 Israeli wineries in four days provided the opportunity to taste some of the year’s finest wines, some of which found their way onto the lists included below.

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 which give more pleasure than some of their “near-perfect” brethren who are included in the more prestigious list. The “Exciting/Interesting” list is also an indicator of the many new and exciting varietals with which (mostly) Israeli winemakers are experimenting to make success. As someone who tastes a fair number of wines every year, it is the ones that are truly different that stand out and make you pay attention – a desirable quality in a world of wine that can sometimes be palatably mono-vino-tistic…

While obviously not news to any reader of Yossie’s Wine Recommendations, after tasting over 700 different wines this year, I can safely say that the world of Israeli and kosher wine continues to improve and there are great things ahead for the industry. The kosher wine consumer continues to develop and evolve and is learning to appreciate good wine for what it is (check out kosherwine.com’s top wines for 2012 – the top five and 8 of the 12 are all “real” wines that are pretty darn good). While there remain many challenges and not all the existing wineries will be around for much longer (more on both these topics in my 2013 Crystal Ball newsletter next week), things are looking good. Tasting so many wines over the past year did make winnowing down the list of 2012’s best wines excruciatingly painful and nearly an exercise in futility. My dislike and disregard for scoring wines made the process even more difficult (and slightly more subjective) as scores would have enabled me to compile the list rapidly, simply choosing the highest scoring wines of the past year.

Before we delve into the best wines of 2012 and as would behoove any attorney worth his salt, a few appropriate qualifiers and explanations to the lists below. Given that my day job limits the amount of time I have to dedicate to wine and my limited wallet puts a damper on the number of wines I get to taste each year, despite my best intentions I don’t taste every one of the approximately 1,700 kosher wines released every year. The list includes only wines I tasted for the first time this year and excludes barrel tastings of not yet final wines (like the Yarden El-Rom 2009), advance tastings of wines not yet released (like the Covenant 2010 Solomon previously reviewed) and newly released wines I haven’t yet had a chance to taste (like the Yarden El-Rom 2009). Additionally and reflecting the international nature of this newsletter’s readership, a number of these wines may not be available in the United States and even tough to find in Israel, as the better wines are sometimes made in small quantities and sell out fast. As a result of these exclusions, there are plenty of terrific wines released that are not included on this list.

With the continued annual increase in top-notch quality wines and as the ratio of Israeli to non-Israeli continues to shrink year after year, I am pretty sure that next year there will be two separate lists – one for Israeli wines and one for all other kosher wines. There are simply too many awesome kosher wines coming from places like Napa Valley and Spain to lump all kosher wines into one list and force them to compete against each other.

Below is my list = I’d love to hear from you on your best and favorite wines of 2012.

Best Wines of 2012 (in alphabetical order)

Brobdingnagian, Petite Sirah, 2010: While Jonathan’s wines have certainly evolved over the years with marked improvement from year to year and certain wines undergo stylistic changes as well (see the Makom Carignan on the “Interesting” list below), quality has remained constant, as have the big nature of the wines, giving tribute to the Brobdingnagian moniker and the accompanying labels. Likely my favorite of the great crop of 2010 wines from Brobdingnagian (I am stoked to see what comes form the supposedly excellent 2012 Napa Valley vintage), this is a true giant of a wine. An explosive nose of black fruit with some blueberry nuances accompanying the rich blackberries and currants also shows plenty of smoky oak, smoked meat and a hint of herbaceousness. A full bodied palate with mouth searing tannins that need plenty of time to settle down but bode well for the future, is loaded with black fruits, plenty of spicy wood and hints of chocolate leading into a huge finish that lingers with more fruit, chocolate and some herbaceousness. The wine still needs time to settle down and I would wait another 12 months before opening and then enjoying through 2016, maybe longer.

Capcanes, Peraj Ha’abib, Flor de Primavera, Monsant, 2010: After a seemingly one-off more restrained profile (ala the La Flor) with the 2009 vintage (that had equal percentages of the three grapes, in a slight deviation from the 2008 and this vintage), the latest vintage of my favorite Spanish wine is once again big, bold and bombastic with its traditional extracted complexity and powerful elegance readily evident at first sip. A blend this year of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Grenache and 30% Carignan with 14.8% alcohol and aged in French oak for 12 months, this is a blockbuster of a wine that needs time but will shine in the years to come. A somewhat muted nose of black forest fruit, delightful spices, rich oak and tannin with Capcanes’ traditional roasted espresso and dark chocolate overtones that takes some time in the glass top open up and reveal its charms. A tight and dense palate of ripe fruits, more toasty oak and mouth coating tannins shows graceful balance behind its robust bite, all of which hint at the pleasure to come. A lingering and near-sweet finish rounds out this treat. This wine needs another 8 months before it will be ready for prime time after which is should cellar nicely through 2020, likely longer.

Covenant, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009: A traditional Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with nice aging ability (the first 2003 vintage is truly spectacular these days). Big and bold with great structure and balance between the ripe fruit, toasty oak and gripping tannins creates a wine that still needs some time to fully come together. A rich and layered nose of ripe and extracted blackberries, cherries, currants and crushed berries, minerals and spice leads into a full bodied palate with more ripe fruit, toasty and layered oak, gripping and brutish tannins and near-sweet cedar wood. An extremely long and lingering finish rounds out the wine. Enjoyable now, it would be a crime to open, as the wine will continue to evolve and improve in the bottle for years to come. Drink from 2014 through 2020.

Domaine du Castel, Grand Vin, 2009: In a manner quite different from past vintages, the wine is extremely approachable right out of the bottle with the traditional toasty oak taking somewhat of a backseat to the rich fruit and the tannins surprisingly well-integrated at this early stage. A traditional Bordeaux blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, fleshed out with 5% Petit Verdot, the wine is delicious. Exhibiting Castel’s trademark balance, the wood, fruit and acid component meld together harmoniously, creating a really elegant wine. Plenty of rich black fruit on the aromatic nose accompanied by tobacco leaf, a nice green streak of eucalyptus and mine and layered with good dark chocolate, spicy wood and supple tannins. As the wine is really drinking amazingly right now, the only reason to wait would be to enjoy its development over the next five or six years, as the wine will evolve a bit more.

Elvi, Clos Mesorah, 2009: A new “flagship” wine from the up and rapidly coming Spanish Elvi winery, joining the El 26 at the top of Elvi’s totem pole. A limited production of 3000 bottles was made of this blend of 90 year old Carignan (40%), Grenache (30%) and Syrah (30%). The wine spent 18 months in new French oak, which endowed the wine with plenty of spiciness and gripping tannins that are just now starting to integrate, but still needs time for the varied blend components to come together properly. An abundantly aromatic nose of blackberries, cherries, plum and lavender is accompanied by hints of blueberries, plenty of spiciness and a slight creaminess from the oak. Much of the same on the palate with rich and gripping tannins and smoked meat joining the layered notes of fruit, wood and oak that provide an elegant backdrop. A long finish with more spicy oak, dark rich chocolate and black fruit reminds you that it’s time to refill your glass. An elegant wine that should cellar nicely through 2017.

Four Gates, Cabernet Franc, 2007: One of my favorite Cabernet Franc wines and a scrumptious wine. As with many of the wines from Four Gates, the wine benefits from substantial aeration, either by allowing it to open in your glass (my preferred method) or by decanting, but once it does – Mama Mia! A rich nose of dense black fruit assails you with black plums, currants and cherries combined with toasty oak, cedar, tobacco, roasted herbs and rich baker’s chocolate with the characteristic green notes and slight bitter streak in the background. Most of the notes are present on the medium to full bodied palate that it layered and complex with expressive floral notes and mouth coating tannins together with the fruit, spice and judicious oak usage. A more elegant wine than the powerfully delightfully 2006 vintage while retaining the four Gates characteristic feel – a tremendous wine and one I am quite happy to have stocked up a bit on (stay tuned for the 2009 version). The recently released 2008 Merlot from Four Gates should also be on this list and just missed out to this wine, maybe as a result of my proclivity to all things Cabernet Franc.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Blanc de Blanc, 2007: The 2005 vintage of this wine was a monumental improvement of past great vintages and highly recommended by me. Insanely enough yet representative of the winery’s undisputed position as Israel’s best, the 2007 vintage rises above the amazing 2005 and improves (stay tuned for coming additional sparkling delights from the winery including a 2000 Yarden Blanc de Blanc late disgorged version and a sparkling rosé). Easily one of the best kosher sparkling wines and one that could compete even with some of the French Champagne wines available these days. Yeasty notes of brioche join plenty of rich citrus, tart apple and summer fruits. Tightly focused and delightfully concentrated bubbles live on and on and the bracing acidity helps keep all the fruit and toasty notes lively on the amazingly refreshing palate. A wine to stock up on and drink for years to come.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Katzrin, 2008: After almost 20 years at the top, Israel’s top wine doesn’t show any sign of slowing down or relinquishing its crown. Victor Schoenfeld worked his magic with a terrific vintage and providing us with liquid gold that embodies all a Moshiach Wine should be. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot from the winery’s best vineyards (including Ortal, El-Rom and Yonatan), I was eagerly anticipating given the accolades earned by the 2008 vintage. The blending components spent 18 months in new French oak before being blended together and returned to the barrels for another 6 months. While many of the Yarden wines tend to be a bite on the ripe and oaky side (while maintaining elegance and amazingness for the most part), this wine is deep, complex, layered and powerfully elegant with some much promise wrapped up in its lovely package of rich back and red fruit, cassis, oriental spices, black pepper, rich chocolate, gripping tannins, hints of orange peel, Mediterranean herbs, cedar, tobacco leaf and freshly brewed espresso that seems to go on forever with every 20 minutes bringing fresh notes and aromas. Surprisingly approachable now (although I’d open it half a day in advance if enjoying now), this wine shouldn’t be touched for at least two years and, retaining its place as Israel’s best aging wine, should cellar through 2028, maybe longer. Given the wine’s historical aging ability I am not planning on opening any of my bottles for at least five years. Despite a hefty cost, this wine is probably the best oenophilic investment available for the kosher wine consumer (especially in large-format bottles) [Shmittah].

Gvaot, Gofna, Pinot Noir, 2010: Following on the success of the extremely limited run of the 2009 Pinot Noir, Gvaot once again produced a magnificent wine, well worthy of your attention and certainly included in the incredibly short list of available quality kosher Pinot Noir. Blended with 10% Merlot and aged in French oak for 12 months, this medium bodied wine is simply delightful. 550 bottles were made in 2009 and 650 for the 2010 vintage, making it an extremely limited run that was terribly tough to lay your hands on. Given the 2010’s success, the 2011 vintage will comprise 1000 bottles, hopefully at least partially alleviating the scarceness of the wine. The wine has a rich nose loaded with wild flowers and ripe red fruit, plenty of controlled toasty oak and cedar. The delicious and mouth filling palate had plenty of raspberries, cherries and plums with hints of spice, espresso and cigar box all leading into a lingering finish of more fruit, forest floor and toasty oak. Drinking delightfully right now, the wine should cellar nicely through 2015.

Tzora, Or, 2008: In addition to all its other successes, Israel produces a significant amount of top-notch dessert wines including the Yarden Botrytis (which is unfortunately not being produced anymore – the 2007 is the last vintage), Late Harvest Gewurztraminer wines from Binyamina and Carmel, Ice Wine style wines from Gat Shomron (see below) and an increasing number of Port-Style wines. To this illustrious list, I can happily add this incredible treat from Tzora, one of Israel most significantly improving wineries. The 2006 Or was Eran’s first wine that was all “his” and the 2008 is a limited edition wine (1625 bottles) that is only sold at the winery and was made in the “icewine style” (for more of the process and other awesome Israeli dessert wines, please see this post). Made from 100% Gewurztraminer grapes from the Shoresh vineyard and with a surprisingly low 13% alcohol level, this medium bodied wine is loaded with rich notes of tropical fruit including pineapples, mango and guava with a nice note of pear, together with honey and heather, some lychee notes and a pleasing, characteristically-true, spiciness. The wine has enough acidity to keep the sweetness in check and light mineral undertones that add some additional complexity to this deliciously sweet treat. While the wine will continue to improve through 2018, it’s pretty hard to resist opening and enjoying right now [Shmittah].

Yatir, Forest, 2009: The flagship wine of one of Israel’s best wineries. ‘Nuff said. Despite 2009 not being the most amazing vintage year Israel ever experienced, as would be expected from the country’s better wine makers, this is a supremely elegant and delicious wine – an iron fist in velvet glove, powerful with years of cellaring improvement to come. A blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Petit Verdot and 10 Merlot, this wine lives up to the expectations one has from one of Israel’s top wineries. A rich and voluptuous nose of ripe black fruit with some red notes as well with plenty of toasty oak and rich gripping tannins that have already started to integrate and bode well for the future development of this wine and some spicy notes from the oak. Much of the same on the palate with the added benefit of plum, cassis, cigar box and some pungent notes accompanied by a bitter hint of green that pleases, all leading into a velvety and lingering finish, rich with fruit, oak and hints of dark chocolate. A really special wine that was recently tasted by Mark Squires and awarded 91 points from the Wine Advocate. Drink now through 2020.

Most Interesting & Exciting Wines of 2012 (in alphabetical order)

Adir, Blush Port-Style, 2010: One of three dessert wines made by the Adir Winery, the wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, with a clear and gorgeous salmon color, this wine is a bit lighter on the palate than the “regular” port-styled wine, with refreshing acidity keeping the jammy fruit, near delicate sweetness and 18.5% alcohol from becoming overpowering. Nice stewed fruit, raisins, warm spices and dark chocolate contribute to a uniquely delicious wine. Sold only in Israel and well worth your efforts to bring back a few bottles. Opened in honor of Ariella’s birth, the wine was consumed over a three-day period and actually improved each day.

Alexander, Alexander the Great, Amarolo, 2007: As more and more Israeli wineries experiment with varied forms of fortified wines (mostly sweet, Port-like concoctions, some of which are great, some substantially less so), Alexander took a slightly different route with this wine intending to emulate the famed dry Amarone wines of Veneto, Italy (Gat Shomron also has an “Amarone style” wine). Given that, to my knowledge no kosher Amarone wines exist, I cannot comment on whether this is true to its kind but simply that it is a delicious wine and a welcome addition to Israel’s growing and respectable portfolio of “experimental wines”. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to which Petit Verdot (7%), Cabernet Franc (6%), Shiraz (4%) and Grenache (3%) were added, this deeply extracted wine spent 40 months in a combination of new and used oak, earning its place within Alexander’s Alexander the great line, now garnished with an extremely distinctive gold and silver colored metal label. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were left to dry in the sun traditional manner, spending over two months on mats spread around the winery. An extremely full bodied and plush wine with a rich, near-sweet nose bursting with ripe blackberries, plum and cassis together with strong notes of raisins, plenty of rich oak, dates and prunes. Big and muscular tannins keep the nose in place and exercise their control on a palate loaded with much of the same ripe and dried fruit from the nose, together with more oak, cedar and tobacco leading into a long and concentrated finish that keeps you coming back for more. Drink now through 2015, maybe longer.

Barkan, Assemblage, Eitan, 2008: Named for the nearby Eitan Mountain, the grapes for this wine are grown at altitudes of 700 meters in the Southern Judean Hills near the aptly named Kiryat Anavim (literally “village of the grapes”). Despite their good intentions, this wine ended up being a single vineyard wine. A blend of 45% Syrah, 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, each aged separately in mostly used French oak for 12 months before being blended and bottled resulting in a 13.5% alcohol wine. A delicious and distinctly Mediterranean nose of tangy red fruit including cherries, plums, cassis, crushed thyme and other Mediterranean herbs, cigar box and tobacco leaf, chocolate and a hint of spicy oak. The medium to full bodied palate has a little less acidity than I would have liked (a common problem with wines from hot climates like Israel), well integrated tannins, red fruit, mocha, tobacco leaf, baker’s chocolate, more spicy oak, hints of smoked meat and some flinty minerals all culminating in a long and caressing finish with a pleasing bitterness rising on the finish. A pleasing and elegant wine that is eminently drinkable now and which should cellar comfortably through 2015 or even longer [Shmittah].

Brobdingnagian, Makom, Carignan, 2010: With Carignan rapidly ascending my list of favorite varietals, I was quite pleased with this rendition to be added to a growing list of successful attempts at elevating a previously underutilized grape, both in Israel and abroad. Currently labeled “Makom”, it remains to be seen whether it will be housed under the Brobdingnagian label or a new label. The wine is the result of collaboration between Hajdu and Yitzchok Bernstein (responsible for a recent extensive mouth-watering wine pairing meal I missed out on). A nice nose of black fruit, tart cranberry and raspberry, bramble and a delightful earthiness, reminiscent of wet forest floor, a hint of smoke and anise. A medium bodied palate has plenty of tannin and crushed berries with more pleasing dirt and minerals, accompanied by burnt espresso notes, some baker’s chocolate and some spicy wood. Give this one 12 months before enjoying for another couple of years.

Carmel, Single Vineyard, Kayoumi, Riesling, 2010: Riesling is one of those magical grapes that seems to have been made to enjoy with food and this wine, with a touch of residual sugar and plenty of balancing acidity is sure to please. The last release of this wine was back with the 2006 vintage but our parched palates can now be slaked again with this release. As with every other wine, Carmel’s winemaker Lior Lacser coaxes out of the magical Kayoumi vineyard, this wine is a nearly a perfectly-crafted wine, with a very aromatic nose, generous acidity. Ever so slightly off dry with plenty of peach, apricot, grapefruit, blooming flowers and hints of minerals on a crisply acidic background that lends itself to great food-pairing. A really delicious wine and definitely worth seeking out.

Covenant, Landsman, Pinot Noir, 2011: As Covenant continues to evolve beyond Cabernet Sauvignon, they recently launched their “Landsman” Wine Club” (get it?) which will include a Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel. A refined and delicate beauty of a wine, and from big bold Covenant no less. A lovely nose and palate of bright red cherries, red plums, nice herbs and delightful floral notes. On the medium bodied palate, well integrated and caressing tannins backing up the fruit and spices with judicious acidity ensuring proper balance and a structure that means business. Drinking beautifully right now, this wine should cellar comfortably through 2015, maybe longer.

Drappier, Carte D’Or, Champagne, n.v: A new true kosher Champagne imported by Royal wine, together with a Carte Blanc version (which I enjoyed less than this version). A very welcome addition to the kosher Champagne scene, especially since my all-time favorite Nicolas Feuillatte hasn’t been available for a while. Made from a blend of 80-90% Chardonnay, 5-15% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier (all traditional Champagne grapes, if not in this exact combination), the wine has a delightful nose of citrus, toasty brioche, some green apples and stone fruits with hints of flinty minerals. Much of the same follows on the palate with more yeasty notes, and good tight and focused bubbles that keep the flavors going on your palate and this wine was actually enjoyable the next day (under a Champagne stopper).

Elvi, InVita, 2011: Under the steady and talented hands of Moises, Elvi continues to improve and innovate and is well worthy of more attention that it currently garners. A new blend of the indigenous Pansa Blanca (65%) and Sauvignon Blanc (35%), this is a rich and mouth-filling wine but in a very different way than typically presented by Chardonnay or Viognier. Plenty of citrus and refreshing acidity provided by the Sauvignon Blanc providing refreshing and contrasting crispness to the heavier tropical notes provided by the Pansa Blanca. With pleasing mineral overtones and a bright nose of tropical fruit, lemon, pineapple, red grapefruit and zesty citrus notes, this is a rich and clean wine that refreshes and delights. A medium to full bodied palate has plenty more tropical fruit and citrus, accompanied by ripe pear, herbaceousness, tart apple and a pleasing dose of minerals on a round and mouth-filling palate. Well worth seeking out and enjoying over the next 12-18 months.

Falesco, Marciliano, Umbria, 2006: Despite great progress, I have been slightly less than enamored with the kosher Italian wine offerings (see newsletter #174) but had always heard that the Falesco wines were the best kosher wines Italy had to offer. Unfortunately they are pretty expensive and rarely offered at the varied tasting events I attend every year. As a result, it took some time before I had the time to try them but was very happy to have the opportunity to taste through a nice selection of the Falesco wines, including a few not available in Israel or the US (thanks again FT!). This wine is available in the US and a good thing that it is! A full-bodied wine with a vibrant nose of mostly black fruit loaded with rich oak tinged with green notes and a hint of rich dark chocolate. On the palate, laid back yet powerful tannins play nicely with the oak and fruit creating a round and mouth filling powerful wine with graceful elegance leading into an extremely long finish with wood, chocolate and tannin mingling beautifully. The wine is very well crafted and its gracefulness is immediately apparent which led me to splurge on a few bottles for special occasions (hey, it’s Zevi’s birth year). Drinking beautifully now this wine should cellar nicely through 2016, likely longer.

Gat Shomron, Viognier, Ice Wine Style, 2009: Gat Shomron is another small Israeli winery located in the winery-rich Shomron area (some of its more famous neighbors include Psagot, Shiloh and Gvaot), and one that is very rapidly improving – stay tuned for a complete write-up soon. Gat Shomron actually has two Icewine styled wines – the included Viognier-based ones and a spicier version that is based on the Gewürztraminer grape (a more traditional base for dessert wines) that is delicious as well. This full bodied wine has an explosive nose loaded with characteristically true Viognier notes of blooming flowers, tropical fruit and citrus and is joined by pungent honey and mineral notes. A rich and viscous palate is loaded with ripe tropical fruit, lemon and more honey and nicely tempered by sufficient acidity to keep the intense sweetness in check. Plenty of spice, oak and floral notes keep things interesting, leading into a lingering and intense finish of spice, honey and blooming flowers. A limited edition wine well worth seeking out (as is the Gewürztraminer version which makes for a great side-by-side comparison).

Lueria, Gewürztraminer, 2012: Officially released in Israel last week, the 2011 is also worthy of being on this list and was previously reviewed by me in newsletter #223. Recent years have seen a slight proliferation of dry (or semi-dry) versions of the grape with two notable versions being the 2011 offerings from Binyamina and Lueria – both enjoyable and worthy first attempts by both wineries. Following on the success of the 2011 vintage, the 2012 wine is a semi-dry medium bodied wine made from 100% free-run Gewürztraminer grapes with plenty of white peaches, some tropical fruit, traditional lychee, floral notes and a pleasing hint of spiciness along with a pleasing bitter citrus notes with much of the same of the same on the light to medium bodied palate loaded with bracing acidity with a nice touch of residual sugar and 12.5% alcohol. Highly recommended as a refreshing quencher and will come in handy as soon as the bitter cold New York is currently experiencing fades into distant memory and springs makes an appearance. Drink over the next 12 months or so.

Ramot Naftaly, Barbera, 2010: Ramot Naftaly’s winemaker – Yitzchak Cohen – considers his Barbera to be “hi baby” and rightly so. A tiny boutique winery (~10,000 bottles annually) that specializes in making less common varietals including Malbec, Petit Verdot and the Barbera (in addition to the Cabernet Sauvignon required for any winery and often representing nearly half a winery’s production). For the first time, the winery is exporting its wine to the US and we should expect to see some of the wines on our shores in the next few months. A rich and delicious wine that spent 10 months in French oak. Plenty of ripe fruit, bramble and black pepper on the nose and palate with a hint of baker’s chocolate and roasted herbs and plenty of restrained oak and a caressing finish of oak and spice that lingers. A tremendously pleasing wine, well worth seeking out. Drink now through 2015.

Shiloh, Legend, 2009: Following the trend popularized by Carmel with their eponymously named Mediterranean blend, Shiloh launched their own Israeli blend – Legend, with the 2009 vintage with much success. An interesting blend of 45% Shiraz, 40% Petit Sirah, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot, yields a delicious wine that is very enjoyable right now due to its smooth and well integrated tannins and will continue to provide enjoyment for some years to come. Each varietal was aged separately in French and American oak for eight months before being blended, and the blend spent an additional eight months in oak prior to bottling. A delightfully aromatic nose redolent of red, near sweet fruit, light chocolate notes, lavender and floral notes with some black plums, blackberries and currants edging in later on. A rich, round and mouth-coating medium bodied palate has more of the fruit, some nice spiciness, tanned leather, lead pencil and herbs that leads into a plenty long finish loaded with the wine’s essence including herbs, chocolate, nice minerals, tar, forest floor and tobacco leaf. Drink now through 2015. As with many of Shiloh’s recent wines, this was produced in mevushal (by way of the winery’s new and secret method) and non-mevushal versions, this tasting note is for the mevushal version.

Yaffo, Carignan, 2009: Another relatively newly kosher winery from the Judean Hills which makes very noteworthy wines. A rich a deep purple color as benefits the varietal, this medium bodied wine has a rich nose of blackberries, black cherries and purple plums together with some spiciness and rich tannin. More of the same dark fruit on the palate along with a hint of spicy oak, some cedar and warm crushed herbs lead into a medium finish that lingers nicely with some pleasing bitterness. Enjoyable now, the wine should cellar for another year or so.

#213 – April 26, 2012

As many of you know, today is Yom Ha’Atzmaut – Israel’s 64^th Independence Day – Happy Birthday of Israel  On a personal front, Yom Ha’Atzmaut caps the most emotionally tumultuous period of the year for me, other than the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur & Succot period which contains a similar dramatic shift between the serious, uplifting and joyous (though without the wrenching sadness).  During a period of time stretching just over a week long, we had Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and today’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut.  The dramatic shifts from the terrible sadness and promises of “Never Again” of Yom HaShoah to the honoring of those of gave their lives in defense of Israel on Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha’Atzmaut’s joyous happiness can be somewhat jarring, even to those who have spent their entire life experiencing this roller-coaster week of emotional occasions.  However, as with many other Israeli experiences, the extremity of our emotions is what helps make Israel and the Israelis that populate it, the incredible and unique country we all love.

In honor of Israel’s birthday and greatly inspired by Adam Montefiore’s delightful article in this week’s Jerusalem Post (link at the end of the email), I have listed a bunch of great Israeli wines that represent personal milestones for me in my very enjoyable journey along Israel’s wine revolution.  While the list may seem a bit long to some of you, it is nowhere close to encompassing all the incredible Israeli wines I have enjoyed over the 20-odd years I have been enjoying Israeli wine and been on hand to personally witness the resurgence of the Israeli wine industry which is gradually taking its rightful place among the great emerging wine-producing regions of the world.  I note that this list is truly personal and focuses on these wines that are meaningful to me for one reason or another as opposed to the wines that have won medals or brought international fame to them or the industry as a whole (although many of the wines listed accomplished that as well).  Most of these wines are so special that I remember them and their impact from years ago without the need for any notes whatsoever.  That said, as one would expect given the paucity of great Israeli wines in the earlier years, a number of these mirror those listed by Adam in his article.

Looking over the list I noticed that the Golan Heights Winery is a clear stand-out with multiple wines to its credit.  Given it’s position as Israel’s top winery, this isn’t surprising, especially due to its extreme success in producing the largest number of truly ageable wines.  Also, recent vintages represent a large chunk of this list, representing the massive increase in Israeli wine making innovation taking place over the last five years or so.

Given that sharing both wine and related experiences is probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a wine lover, I’d love to hear from you which bottles of Israeli wine represent your own personal Israeli wine milestones.

Carmel, Special Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 1976:  This was Israel’s first “real” wine and, for some folks, it lasted nearly two decades.  I had the pleasure of enjoying a bottle in 1990 and, while I didn’t have sufficient comparative wine tasting experience at that time to fully appreciate its greatness, it was a delicious and memorable bottle at the time it was enjoyed, only a few years after I started really “getting into wine (at the age of 16).  I still have the empty bottle!

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 1985:  The earliest vintage of Israel’s iconic and benchmark wine that I had the pleasure of tasting.  The first vintage was in 1984 (which was also the wine which won a number of important international awards and really first placed Israel on the international wine map (a process that we are still working on nearly 30 years later)).  For decades this wine, together with the Katzrin whose first vintage was 1990 – see below, was the only Israeli wine capable of long term aging and even today, it remains a reliable ageable wine and the benchmark against which most Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon wines are measured and priced (although, as discussed on multiple occasions, recent years have seen a new trend among Israeli winemakers away from it’s style).

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, 1988:  The only Israeli wine to ever be naturally effected by botrytis and a unique milestone in Israel’s incredible vinographic history.  I got to taste the wine only once, and was  equally overwhelmed by its historical importance and deliciously unique taste.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Katzrin, 1990:  Israel’s first “Super Israeli”, which instantly became Israel’s ‘best’ wine, a title it held for many years (and many would say, still holds today).  I recently had a bottle of this wine from the 1990 vintage and, as you can see, it was still drinking quite nicely boding quite well for the ageability of subsequent vintages (in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2007).

Chateau de Fesles, Bonnezeaux, 1997:  I didn’t “discover” this wine until I moved to NYC in 2004, but rapidly learned of it’s excellence and tried to stock up on it given its amazing reputation and ability for long-aging, despite its expensive cost (well-stored bottles likely still have a few years ahead of them).

Dalton, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 1997:  For a few years, this was my go-to high-end Cabernet Sauvignon, which provided many happy memories and delightful vinous experiences placing Dalton on a favored winery list.  Subsequently, the quality of Dalton deteriorated for a few years before coming back with a vengeance and transforming into the incredible winery we have today.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Blanc de Blanc, 1998:  Though the current 2005 release may be my favorite vintage of this wine, surpassing even the terrific 1999 version I loved so much (not only because it was my anniversary year wine), the 1998 was the first vintage sparkling wine I experienced and it held a special place in my heart for many years.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 1999:  Significant only on a personal level as 1999 is the year I got married and this wine is the only living Israeli wine from that vintage that Ayala and I enjoy every year on our anniversary.  While still drinking well, it is starting to get a little long in the tooth and it will soon be time to switch to one of the few other [French] kosher wines from that vintage that are still alive.

Tishbi, Special Reserve, Single Vineyard Ben Zimra, Cabernet Sauvignon, 1999:  Released together with two other single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the same vintage (from the Sde Boker and Kfar Yuval vineyards) proving an innovation of single vineyard releases and amazing comparative tasting experience together with some nice aging ability.

Bustan, Merlot, 2000:  Among my first experiences of a boutique-winery wine, enjoyed during the initial stages of the boutique craze that overtook Israel during the 1990s.  Despite being released in small quantities, Avi Ben always had a good stock and they turned me onto this winery early on, a passion that has continued to this day, despite the “failure” of the wines to take hold here in the United States.

Carmel. Single Vineyard Ramat Arad, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000:  Honestly, despite all empirical evidence to the contrary, this wine seemed to live forever and, for quite some time, was one of Israel’s best kosher wines for those in the know.  I got much pleasure from having enjoyed this on release, subsequently purchasing a number of bottles and enjoying its development over the years.

Galil Mountain, Yiron, 2000:  The first released vintage of this ubiquitous wine that reined as Israel’s primary QPR wine for years, easily providing the most wine for your shekels.  While it is no longer the only great wine at a decent price, it remains a contender even after a decade of potential competition.

Tabor, Meshcha, 2001:  A delicious wine that put Tabor on the quality wine making map and kept it there for a few years, unfortunately recently (in my opinion), falling from grace.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Noble Semillon, Botrytis, 2001:  I believe this was one of Israel’s first botrytis wines after the magnificently unique 1988 one noted above, albeit made from late harvested grapes manually exposed to botrytis in the winery as opposed to naturally occurring botrytis as in the 1988 version.  In any event, a delightful dessert wine that instantly became and remains a personal favorite, with the most recently released vintage being from 2006.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Single Vineyard Elrom, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001:  At release, and maybe even still today, the best Cabernet Sauvignon ever made in Israel and the beginning of Israel’s “Single Vineyard” craze (although Tishbi had already championed and produced such wines with the 1999 vintage) which continues to be lead today by the Golan Heights Winery (although too much leading may not necessarily a good thing) accompanied by Carmel, Segal (with their delightful Dishon vineyard releases) and a few other wineries.

Castel, Grand Vin, 2002:  The first kosher release from the winery, which had been garnering international acclaim since Serena Sutcliffe of Sotheby’s “discovered” it in 1992.  For 2002, Castel produced a kosher and non-kosher version (the first kosher Petite Castel and “C” chardonnay did not arrive until the 2003 vintage); thereafter going “completely kosher”, and the rest is history.

Yatir, Yatir Forest, 2002:  While the 2003 vintage of this wine was arguably a “better wine”, the 2002 was the first vintage I tasted (2001 was the first vintage, though I tasted it at a later date) and it was love at first sip – literally!  Deep, rich and complex, it was among my first “mind-blowing” wines and the start of a long lasting love affair with the exceptional Yatir Winery that continues to this day (although without a varietal Cabernet Franc there is a limit to my patience).

Ella Valley Vineyards, Vineyards Choice, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002:  Despite the so-called “curse” of the 2002 vintage (brought on be devastatingly hot (“sharav”) August temperatures), this wine excelled and stood out as a new and exciting addition to the Israeli wine scene (assisted by a huge [some say overdone] marketing push by the winery).  Championed to me by Avi Ben, I loaded up on the wine and enjoyed it for years, subsequently becoming a huge fan of the winery.

Binyamina, HaChoshen, Syrah, Odem, 2003:  A milestone wine for a number of reasons.  It was the first vintage for Binyamina’s upscale HaChoshen label, which, in some ways, represented their ascendance back to the top tier of Israeli wineries.  Interestingly enough, it was also one of the first Israeli Syrah wines to have some (2%) Viognier blended in, a practice now followed with many other top syrah wines including the delightful version from Recanati.

Carmel, Single Vineyard, Kayoumi, Shiraz, 2003:  The first vintage release from the magnificent Kayoumi vineyard (which ended up replacing for Carmel the previously immensely successful Ramat Arad one (that became part of Yatir) and the beginning of many great Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Riesling releases from the tremendously blessed parcel of earth.

Ella Valley Vineyards, Cabernet Franc, 2003:  The first release of what was destined to become my favorite Israeli expression of my favorite grape.  I just enjoyed the 2004 vintage of this wine last week – delightful!

Galil Mountain, Yiron, Syrah, 2003:  The first release of the Yiron companion and among the first times I realized that Syrah was going to be doing tremendous things on Israel’s unique terroir.

Tzora, Givat HaChalukim, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003:  Despite going kosher in 2002, almost no wines were released from this vintage and this wine was the first I tasted from a winery, whose reputation for producing true, terroir-driven wines (before it became fashionable) was well-known.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Viognier, 2004:  The first vintage of this wine was in 2003 but the 2004 vintage was the first one  I tasted.  Well crafted, exciting and new at the time, it really turned me on to Viognier, which became quite the “hot little grape” in Israel for a few years, culminating in the excellent Dalton Wild Yeast version I have loved so much.

Golan Heights Winery, Rom, 2006:  A new flagship wine for the Golan heights Winery, joining the Katzrin as one of Israel’s best and released to significant hype and fanfare substantially exacerbated by the late Daniel Rogov’s 96 point score – the highest ever for any Israeli wine and one of the top 3 scores for any kosher wine – ever by Daniel Rogov (or anyone else).  A collaboration between the Golan Heights Winery’s longtime winemaker Victor Schoenfeld and famed wine maker Zelma Long)

Carmel, Mediterranean, 2007:  Significant both by being a delicious wine that has aged really nicely and by its representation of Carmel’s leadership towards creating distinctly Israeli/Mediterranean wines that can represent Israeli on an international level as Israeli wines instead of the kosher label most Israeli wineries cannot seem to shake (even the non-kosher ones), although more and more wineries are seeing minor successes on this front, with Tzora being a prime example.

Recanati, Reserve, Wild Carignan, 2009:  While this wasn’t the first quality release of the Carignan grape that historically was produced in Israel’s in the largest quantities, it was certainly one of the most interesting and demonstrative of the new path Recanati is on, away from the California-styled wines championed by former winemaker Lewis Pasco, towards more subtle, refined and terroir-driven wines led by awesome wine making team, Gil & Ido.

Castel, Rosé, 2009:  The first Rose produced by one of Israel’s first Rose wines that had serious depth and complexity in addition to their crisp refreshingness.  I begged Eli Ben-Zaken to add Rose to his repertoire of wines and with the current 2011 release, I am hopeful it becomes a regular staple in their portfolio as it is quite the delicious wine and perfect for long, contemplative summer days and a great match for many foods.

Link to Adam Montefiore’s article in the Jerusalem Post