Yossie's Corkboard

#259 – November 14, 2013

I want to discuss the relevance of the vintage to the wine you are enjoying.  While there is a pretty common misconception in the general wine world (i.e. non-kosher) that vintage wine is better than non-vintage wine, you all know that vintage means nothing more than the year in which the grapes making up any particular wine were harvested.  As with most rules, there are exceptions to this, and many regions across the globe allow a wine to be listed as belonging to a certain vintage even if less than 100% of the grapes come from this vintage.  The United States tends to be the most rigorous in this arena, requiring 95% of the grapes to come from the stated year if the wine is from a designated AVA, such as California’s Napa Valley or New York’s Finger Lakes, or 85% for non AVA-designated wine.  The 85% threshold is also required by Israel, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand, while Chile and South Africa require only 75% of the grapes to come from the stated vintage.  While blending in small vintages from other years shouldn’t be an issue (and is typically done to create a better or more stylistically similar wine), for the kosher consumer there is one area where this can become a real issue – Shmitah.  A number of years ago, Barkan released the inaugural vintage of it Assemblage label with two of the wines coming from the 2008 vintage and one (Tzafit) from the 2009 vintage.  However, the Tzafit also had 5% of 2008 wine in it, rendering it a Shmittah wine and off-limits for many (including Royal Wine, Barkan’s US importer).  As with most things in life – caveat emptor!

Contributing to the misconception with respect to the meaning of vintage is the world of Champagne.  While the non-kosher (and mostly entry-level wine) world is chock full of non-vintage wines, other than a few outliers (mentioned below) within the world of kosher wine, Champagne (and other sparkling wines) is the only arena where non-vintage wine is commonly seen (although as more kosher Port starts to come to market, we are seeing more and more non-vintage Port (or port-styled) wines as well).  Vintage Champagne is superior to non-vintage as it is only produced in vintage years considered exceptional while non-vintage Champagne is made by combining wines of different years.  This process affords the Champagne “house” (producer) the ability to maintain a consistent style from year to year regardless of the year in which it was bottled).  Another difference is cellaring time.  Vintage Champagne is required to spend at least three years in the bottle before release (the vast majority of houses cellar their wines for far longer than that before release) and non-vintage Champagne has a 15-month requirement.  The vintage Yarden Blanc de Blanc is cellared for five years on average before release.  Unfortunately for the kosher consumer, while there is a nice selection of kosher Champagne wines available there is no (and I don’t believe ever has been a) kosher vintage Champagne.

Other than Champagne, non-vintage kosher wine is pretty uncommon.  Binyamin Cantz at Four Gates Winery makes some non-vintage wines from a number of varietals including Pinot Noir and Merlot.  Jonathan Hajdu at Hajdu Winery (f/k/a Brobdingnagian) has non-vintage Carignan and Besomim wines and there are random bottles here and there that are labeled without any vintage specification (mostly entry level wines from producers like Cantina Gabrielle and Borgo Reale), but otherwise non-vintage wine is pretty rare and a non-factor for the kosher wine consumer (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and is likely a result of lower quantities and a slight snob-marketing factor among the targeted consumer base). The majority of kosher wines you will come across will be labeled as belonging to a specific vintage.

Growing up as a wine lover in Israel, one was historically educated that, unlike the fickle climates of Bordeaux and Burgundy, New World, warm-weather regions such as Israel and California were a lot less susceptible to the variances of mother nature than their Old World compatriots, located to the North.  While rooted in reality, this slight misconception was such an integral part of Israel’s winemaking philosophy that the less than incredible 2002 vintage year was known as “cursed” for many years, despite the fact that a large number of great wines were conceived that year (including one of my then favorite wines, the Ella Valley Merlot).  Wine retailers, importers and distributors are guilty of continuing to push the concept of vintage year not mattering as they need to sell out one vintage of wine before they start putting the next one on the shelves, and convince the consumer that the 2009 Chardonnay on the shelf is just as good (if not better) that the one just released in Israel (hey, it’s aged!) – notice that many kosher wine retailers don’t list vintages on their published wine pricing lists (or worse, make unilateral vintage substitutions at whim).  This unfortunate reality of retailing often results in having the current available vintage being one or even two years behind the vintage currently released by the winery.  While there are some wines that aren’t negatively impacted by this procrastination (typically the better red wines), many whites and lessor red wines being sold are past their prime and don’t “show” as intended by the winery, negatively affecting the wine’s (and winery’s) perception in the eye of the consumer.

Over the years this perception has changed, driven to some extent by opposing trends.  On one hand, the sophistication of the Israeli wine industry has grown (both on the winemaking side and the global consumers of Israeli wine), leading to a greater understanding of the importance of a vintage year and the impact the weather can have on the wines from the specific year in question.  On the flip side, winemakers have a much greater understanding of viticulture these days than in the past, and technology has evolved granting winemakers such a degree of control over the grapes and winemaking process that twenty years ago a Château owner in St.-Estephe declared that there would be no more bad vintages.  Over a decade ago, the New York Times wine columnist – Frank Prial – declared the vintage chart dead.  So which is it, you may ask.  As with most things in life (especially for a lawyer) – the answer is “it depends”.  The advantages in technology have certainly substantially reduced the amount of technically flawed wine being produced, as winemakers these days have far more tools at their disposal to “fix” mistakes, bad fruit or flaws in the winemaking process.  The use of technology starts in the vineyard with ultra-sensitive monitoring devices that allow the winemaker a constant and up close view of what is going on with the vines on a daily basis, but vintage variation is certainly a big part of winemaking, due to the fickle nature of grapes and their development until harvest time.

Weather is one of the most important components in the overall quality of the grapes a winemaker has to work with.  While the concept of terroir literally means “land”, and is generally used to refer to the type of soil in which the grapes are grown, the concept actually encapsulates the grapes entire eco-system, in which the climate plays an integral and very important part (climate is measured in long-term averages, weather is the day to day environment – both are important to grape-growing).  While an in-depth, viticulturally-driven, discussion about the intricacies of photosynthesis, weather, ripeness levels and the timing of harvest is far beyond the scope of this newsletter (if you are interested, this book is great), in general – warm sun during the days helps to ensure that the grapes fully ripen (too hot and they will wither and die) and cool nights assist in making sure that appropriate levels of acidity are maintained.  This mix of hot days and cool nights helps the grapes achieve that magical balance of tannin, acid and sugar required to make quality wine.  Unfortunately, months of perfect growing conditions can be destroyed with a few days of torrential rains or hail in the days immediately prior to harvest –making good vintages hard to predict and the life of a winemaker extremely nerve-wracking.  Conversely a rather mediocre growing season can be saved by a few perfect weeks of weather right before the harvest.  As a result and as alluded to above, the weather is far more important in cold-weather climates, where different years see vastly differing amounts of rain, sun, hail and rapid climate change than most of the warmer, “New World” wine growing regions.  On the flip-side, with the recent technological advances, the best bargains are sometimes the wine from better producers in less than perfect vintage years, where the wines are great without the over-hyped pricing of top vintages (the recent Bordeaux vintages of 2009 and 2005 are hailed as extra special).  Fifty years ago, “bad” Bordeaux vintages such as 2007 and 2011 wouldn’t have yielded much drinkable wine, certainly not the quality (albeit earlier-drinking) wine that was produced, especially by the better châteaux.

While the kosher consumer isn’t as vulnerable to vintage variation for the reasons mentioned above, the last few vintages in Israel (and Napa to a slightly lessor degree) have shown the potential negative impact the weather can have on our beloved wines.  After a very serious run of good to great vintages starting in 2001 and running up to and including the 2008 Shmittah year (which was one of Israel’s best vintages – to be rivaled only by the 2012 vintage), Israel luck hit a brick wall with (generally speaking) the 2009 and 2010 vintages being relatively poor and 2011 being a problematic vintage as well (I take solace in the fact that all my children were born in particularly awesome Israeli vintage years (01, 06, 08 and 2012, although 2006 was less consistently good), making it less of a gamble to cellar wines from their birth years for their future smachot).

Despite the relative and general lackluster vintage years of 209-2011, poor vintage years are sometimes a winemakers time to shine, especially with the aforementioned technological improvements.  Anyone can make good wine in a great year, but it takes serious winemaking skill to make good wine in a poor year.  Mediocre vintage years are the ones when a winemaker’s attention to detail and the “men are separated from the boys”, both in the vineyard and the winemaking process are really brought to fore, with undeniable results.  I believe that the prior long spate of quality vintages allowed less than quality wineries and winemakers to flourish, as their lesser winemaking ability was masked by an abundance of good fruit.  The overarching surprise and disappointment in the recent years from Israeli wines is a direct result of this artificial across the board qualitative increase in Israeli wines.  None of this should take away from the massive actual increases in Israeli wines quality over the past few years, but rather should help the consumer focus on those wineries that are truly deserving of our respect and purchasing dollars.  Generally speaking, 2009 was more problematic for Israel’s Northern wineries, with the Golan Heights Winery and Galil mountain being particularly hard hit (again, relatively speaking), while 2010 was better up North (although still nothing special), with the Judean Hills and Shomron region suffering more.  However, Dalton’s 2009 wines seem an exception to this rule as do Flam’s spectacular 2010 wines.  2011 is a funny vintage, in which the quality was diminished across the board but, to date, a noticeable patter of harder-hit regions had not yet emerged (likely a result of limited data-points as many of the higher-end 2011 wines have not yet been released).  All this said, we can take comfort in the fact that 2012 seems poised to be one of Israel’s best years ever, with the majority of wines and barrel samples I have tasted to date, yielding very impressive results.

The silver lining in the recent mediocre vintages is that the best grapes are typically used for any particular winery’s top wine.  As a result, in years that no flagship wine (such as Yarden’s Katzrin) is produced, the next level down wine is likely to be a relative metzia, as it will benefit from higher quality fruit.  While this doesn’t always play out (and 2009 is a good example of this hypothesis not playing out for the Golan Heights Winery), the “regular” Ella Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is typically better in years in which no “Vineyards Choice” version is produced, while the opposite isn’t always true as vintages in which flagship wines are produced are usually great vintage years, resulting in all of the wines being good.

#256 – September 4, 2013

With Rosh Hashana literally on our doorstop, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and sweet New Year, Shana Tova and a Ketiva Ve’Chatima Tova and best wishes for the coming year. May you, your families and loved ones all be blessed with health happiness and all that you wish for (including a kosher Château d’Yquem)! As you all know, I only write about wines that I enjoy, but to the extent I offended anyone over the past year with anything I did or said, within the context of this newsletter or otherwise, please know that it was not intentional and I hope you can forgive me for any such transgressions.

While obviously not a desirable situation, the thousands of years that the Jewish people have spent in exile (i.e. the Diaspora, otherwise known as galut), have resulted in an abundance of different customs surrounding much of the way we celebrate the Jewish Holidays. Rosh Hashana is no exception, and the list of different “symbols” consumed is vast and varied, including carrots, beets, leeks, fish, pomegranates and even the head of a sheep (tough to find in Manhattan). However for all the different customs, there is one theme that nearly attempts to fulfill – eating sweet foods so that the coming year will be a sweet one for all of us. These sweet foods run the gamut from the traditional honey we shmear on our challah and dip our apples into through the more esoteric meat and poultry many folks prepare with sweeter sauces and trimmings than usual. While I could regale you with tales of duck confit in sour-cherry sauce and cranberry brisket, this is Yossie’s Wine Recommendations and it wouldn’t really be a holiday without some truly terrific wines to help enhance the Chag.

Thankfully there continues to be an ever-increasing number of awe-inspiring kosher wines from which to choose, from delicate Pinot Noir and bracing Riesling through bold Cabernet Sauvignon and powerful Petit Verdot. However, in honor of Rosh Hashana and to ensure that we have an extra-sweet year, I wanted to talk about the crème de la crème – real dessert wines, complex, nuanced, with plenty of cellaring ability and downright delicious. Unfortunately there wines are not as popular as they should be, with newly sophisticated kosher wine drinkers shunning dessert/sweet wines as not quite good enough to spend real money on (à la dairy, fish and vegetable dishes in high-end restaurants). Part of the answer seems to derive from people’s stubborn association of kosher sweet wine with the likes of Manischewitz, Malaga or Bartanura’s infamously destructive blue-bottled Moscato D’Asti; as opposed to those delectably sweet yet sophisticated treats that contain enough acidity and depth to be enjoyed by the most sophisticated wine lover. As an added bonus, these are great wines to introduce non-wine drinkers to a more serious wine, as they are both sweet and accessible. While we can only fantasize about a kosher Chateau d’Yquem, there are an increasing number of kosher dessert wines from around the world that are more than worthy of your attention, palate and dollars. That said, they are among my favorite wines and I’m a sucker for any new dessert wine that comes to the market. While many of these wines are one-time purchases, given their somewhat lackluster quality, many are true hidden gems and most are small batch wines, adding to their rarity. Just to clarify, I am not talking about Concord, Malaga or even Moscato (about which you can read is prior satirical pieces here and here), but rather the really good stuff like Yatir’s hidden port made from Cabernet Sauvignon, the unfortunately discontinued Yarden Botrytis wine from the Golan Heights Winery and the Late Harvest Chardonnay from Shiloh winery.

While there are some bargains listed below, their scarcity and the required effort to produce many of these wines combine to make them a tad more expensive than your traditional red or white wines. However, I tend to use the various Jewish Holidays as a mini “Open That Bottle Night” (a tradition I have started to participate in on a monthly basis – more on that at a later date), finding the combination of the New Year, traditionally family-centric gatherings and tons of good food, to be a great excuse to crack open those really special (and typically expensive) bottles. So dig deep in your cellar for liquid gold and enjoy!

While all grapes contain sugar, the fermentation process undergone by the crushed grape juice as it converts to wine includes a process, whereby most of the grape’s natural sugar is converted into alcohol. In order to create a sweet dessert with enough alcohol and acidity to keep the wine from becoming flabby, a wine maker has a number of methods available. All of these can occur naturally without any intervention, but the wine maker also has a number of technological mechanics at his disposal to artificially recreate these natural occurrences under pristine conditions to best effect.

The common denominator for all these methods is that they increase the grape’s sugar levels by dehydrating the grape. The three most common methods are (i) leaving the grapes on the vines long past typical harvest (late-harvest wines), (ii) using frozen grapes (Icewine) or (iii) infecting the grapes with a fungus that sucks out the water (botrytis wines). An additional method involves fortifying the wine with additional alcohol during the fermentation process (thus stopping the fermentation of the remaining sugars) which gives us Port, and about which I have written previously in newsletter #124. I have briefly described these three methods below, and in honor of the Chag, provided tasting notes for some of my favorites in each category.

Of the three methodologies mentioned above, the easiest to produce are “late-harvest” wines. As may be inferred from their name, the sweetness in these wines is obtained by harvesting the grapes later than usual (usually early fall). At that point, the sugar level (or brix) is around 24-27% going up to 40% for some very late-harvested wines (the higher the brix, the sweeter the wine). Riesling is one of the most popular grapes used to make late-harvest wine, with good examples being the Teperberg Silver or Hagafen’s multiple late harvest White Riesling wines. Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer are two other popular grapes used for this purpose, with many of the Israeli versions utilizing Gewürztraminer as the preferred varietal.
Eiswein, or Icewine, is made from naturally or artificially frozen grapes. As the water in the grapes freezes, the sugars are concentrated in the remaining residue that is then pressed from the frozen grapes. This process results in significantly concentrated natural flavors and residual sugar. Unlike the Sauternes wines described below, grapes used to produce Icewine are typically botrytis-free, resulting in clean and pure fruit flavors with refreshing sweetness and tempering high acidity. Natural ice wines require a very cold freeze, which is sometimes governed by law (e.g. Canada requires -8C° or colder and Germany’s laws stipulate a freezing temperature of at least -7C°), and which must occur after the grapes are ripe. This means that the grapes may hang on the vines for several months following the normal harvest. As with most dessert wines, there is a risk involved (which, in addition to the lowered yield, is a substantial contributor to the higher prices for these wines). If the freeze does not come quickly enough, the grapes may rot and the crop will be lost. If the freeze is too severe, no juice can be extracted. As a result, natural harvests for ice wine are relatively rare (and very expensive). While in Austria, Germany and Canada, by law the freeze must occur naturally to be deemed ice wine, in many other countries (including Israel) cryoextraction (mechanical freezing) is used to simulate the effect of a freeze which allows the grapes to hang for far less extended periods. This is how Yarden’s Heightswine is made.

One of the most famous types of dessert wines is Sauternes, which are grown in the Sauternes district of Graves in southern Bordeaux and primarily produced from the Sémillon grape. The most famous of these wines is Chateau d’Yquem (pronounced d’ee kem) which is the only wine Sauternes to receive the elite Premier Cru Supérieur classification and one of whose wines holds the current record for the most expensive single-bottle of white wine ever sold (a 1811 Château d’Yquem at $117,000). The most famous aspect of these wines is that they are infected with Botrytis Cinerea, a fungus also known as the “Noble Rot”. In addition to draining the water from the grape, the fungus adds a distinct character to the wine, resulting in flavors of honey, heather and sunshine. These wines are very labor intensive as the grapes are hand-picked, sometimes over a long period, in order to ensure that only infected grapes are selected and, as a result, yields are exceedingly low resulting in very expensive wines (d’Yquem wines from certain vintages can go for up to $10,000 a bottle). Part of d’Yquem’s greatness is its extreme longevity, as bottles from 1893 are supposedly drinking well and as they age, these wines grow deeper, darker and more mature. As a result, among kosher wines, Sauternes is one of your best bets for long-term cellaring (together with Yarden’s Katzrin wines). In Israel, botrytis is found only sporadically and was only used naturally once – in the near mythical Yarden Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc of 1988. I had the opportunity to taste this magnificent wine once, a number of years ago, and could never locate a bottle for sale. Yarden’s Noble Semillon (tasting note below) is made by infecting the grapes with the botrytis fungus in a controlled indoor building within the winery. However, as I alluded to above, this wine was discontinued with the 2007 vintage due to the extreme efforts required to make the wine and lack of corresponding appreciation among kosher wine aficionados. Many other wineries use small amounts of botrytis-infected grapes in their late-harvest wines. In addition to those from Sauternes, some other known botrytis wines include those from Barsac or the Aszú wines of Tokaj Hungary. Sauternes is a founding member of the perfect food-pairing club, matching so well with Foie Gras that one can’t help but wonder why we bother eating anything else at all.

Below are a number of highly recommended wines made using the three various methodologies described above (with a few new Port and Port-styled wines thrown in for good measure), all of which are classic choices to grace your Rosh Hashanah table. Given with their intense sweetness, typically higher price and appropriateness as a stand-alone dessert, these wines are regularly sold in half (i.e. 375 ml) or slightly larger (i.e. 500 ml) sized bottles.

Late-Harvest

Binyamina, Reserve, Gewurztraminer, Late Harvest Cluster Select, 2010: I first tasted the 2008 vintage of this wine while visiting Israel and loved it! Like Carmel’s Sha’al dessert wine, some (approximately 20%) of the grapes were infected with botrytis to great effect. A rich, ripe and luscious full-bodied wine with plenty of candied apricots, peaches, sweet citrus and dried fruit, some lychees, heather and honey all tempered by a hint of spiciness and good acidity that kept the richness in check and brighten up the palate substantially together with a hint of that delightful funk brought on by the botrytized grapes. Drink now through 2018, maybe even longer

Carmel, Single Vineyard – Sha’al, Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, 2009: An extremely well made wine with great balance between the sweetness and bracing acidity and a marked improvement over the already amazing 2006 vintage. While not a botrytis wine per se, approximately 20% of the grapes used in the wine were infected with the noble rot, giving it hints of heather and honey on the palate. Very concentrated with upfront sweetness, this one’s not afraid to come out swinging. You will find tingling spiciness and varietaly typical lychee fruits on the nose and palate along with apricots, peaches, kumquats and honeysuckle, with hints of honey and citrus on the lingering finish. A definite keeper that will cellar nicely for eight years or so.

Hagafen, Prix Vineyards, Napa Valley Late Harvest Chardonnay, 2006: Part of the “Prix Club” by Hagafen, this wine is simply amazing!! At this point, dark golden color and full-bodied with a near-viscous quality on the palate, this wine is made from Chardonnay grapes and the botrytis elements are felt throughout this wine. A very sweet wine but with enough acidity to keep the sweetness (resulting from the 18% residual sugar) from overpowering the wine and its aromas and flavors. On the nose apricots, citrus, apple orchards freshly “wet” from a summer rain, floral notes, and hints of caramel, spices and vanilla which follow through onto a delightful palate of sugar, more apples, limes all with intense hints of heathery botrytis onto the relatively long finish with plenty of controlled oak notes. The wine is drinking nicely now and should cellar for another two years or so, maybe longer (while nearly all my bottles seem to be doing well, I have heard declining reports on this wine from others so proceed to cellar at your own risk).

Icewine

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Heightswine, 2009: I love this wine, which has been an annual, and consistent hit for the Golan Heights Winery since the first year it was produced. The name “Heightswine” is a play on its origin (the Golan Heights) and production method (creating Icewine); as the winery utilized cryoextraction to manually freeze the grapes in the winery as opposed to the natural occurrence of such freezing in colder climates. A rich and satisfying dessert wine made from Gewürztraminer grapes, producing aromas and flavors of honey, tart green apples, apricots and other dried summer fruits, slightly spicy candied ginger, tinged with pleasant and not overwhelming spices, with plenty of acidity keeping things lively and a long caressing and slightly creamy finish. Well worth trying.

Tzora, Or, 2008: 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”. 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. The 2011 is the current release but the 2008 is perfect right now and among my top dessert wines period. Drink now through 2018 [Shmittah].

Botrytis

Château Piada, Sauternes, 2006: 2001 was a brilliant year for Sauternes, and for many years, the 2001 vintage of this wine was my go-to “special” dessert wine (until I was introduced to the fabulous (with a price tag to match) Chateau Guiraud listed below) and I was happy to lay my hands on a bottle of the 2006 vintage which is nearly as good. A deliciously sweet wine that caresses you at every turn. On both the nose and palate you get long lingering notes of dried apricots, sugared almonds, citrus and a slight hint of white chocolate all balanced by great structure and bracing acidity. An extremely long finish with the typical botrytized honeyed toasted white bread flavor. Drinking amazingly well now, it should continue to cellar nicely for an additional eight years.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Botrytis (Noble Semillon), 2007: The latest (and last) vintage of Yarden’s top dessert wine is full bodied and layered, loaded with the deep honey flavors typical of botrytis, a spicy background to keep things interesting and packed with bracing acidity that keeps the abundant sweetness from overwhelming the palate. Good botrytis funk together with heather, honeysuckle, marzipan, orange peel, lemon and subtle tropical fruit combine for a delightfully aromatic and rich wine with delightful hints of warm spices and a touch of crème brûlée, all leading into a long lingering finish (helpful at a half-bottle size). As opposed to the other botrytis wines listed here which contracted the fungus naturally on the vine, this wine was manually infected in a controlled environment at the winery. Enjoyable now, but will develop additional layers of complexity and should be at its best in a few years, after which continue to enjoy through 2020 (luckily there is plenty of the 2005 and 2006 for us to enjoy while we wait).

Chateau Guiraud, Sauternes 1er Cru, 2001: One of the best kosher Sauternes available and in my opinion, one of the best kosher dessert wines out there period! This dark, honey colored wine is loaded with aromas and flavors of peaches, apricot, apples, limes, clementines, all with a botrytis honeyed background and a tingling spiciness. Relatively thick on the tongue but in no way flabby and with a long lingering finish, this is a treat to be savored, as every sip will make you jump for joy as layer after layer of flavor presents itself. At its prime now, this wine should cellar nicely for another ten years at least. For some reason, the 1999 vintage is easier found and is a-l-m-o-s-t as good.

Chateau de Fesles, Bonnezeaux, 1997: In addition to the dessert wines from the famed Sauternes and Barsac regions, wines from Bonnezeaux can produce magnificent specimens of botrytis wines as well. This sensuous wine from the Layon Valley is more intensely sweet than typical Sauternes like the Guiraud above, but contains plenty of bracing acidity to rein in the abundant sweetness. Wonderful notes of nectarines, pineapple, white peaches, vanilla and honey along with hints of licorice. An awesome match to some of my all time favorite foods – Foie Gras, fruit tarts, salty cheeses or duck à l’Orange. Delicious now, I’d drink any remaining bottles in the next 1-2 years, as it probably doesn’t have much more peak cellaring time left (I finished my last, oh-so-magnificent bottle at a wine dinner a few weeks ago).

Port

Domaine Netofa, Fine Ruby Port, 2010: As Port-styled wines sweep the nation, with more and more wineries jumping on the bandwagon of sweet dessert wines; Netofa launched a 2010 Ruby port with class and elegance. While there remain only two kosher Ports (i.e. made in the Douro region of Portugal) – Royal’s Porto Cordovero and the newly launched Porto Quevedo – both nice), the number of Port-style wines is growing exponentially. A blend of 80% Touriga Nacional (a varietal the kosher world has been seeing more often, including in the Yarden T2 and T² wines and the Shirah Coalition) and 20% Tinta Roriz (a/k/a Tempranillo) with 20% alcohol, this is rich, deep and delicious dessert wine, that gets even better after it has been open for a few days. Aged in new French oak for two years, the wine presents with cloves, other warm spices, dates, chocolate, stewed plums, raisins, roasted nuts and with just enough acidity to keep things upbeat and long luscious lingering (say that three times fast) finish. Expect a four-year aged (“Vintage”) port to be released next year (along with a new vintage Ruby Port).

Quevedo, Ruby Port, n.v.: At under $20 and delicious, this wine is a YH Best Buy to boot! Made from a blend of typical Portuguese grapes including Touriga Nacional (30%), Touriga Franca (25%), Tinta Roriz (15%), Tinto Cão (5%) and Tinta Barroca (5%) (with the remaining 20% fleshed out with a host of other varietals). Made by a relatively new house founded in 1991, the family has winemaking traditions going back decades. While not a highly sophisticated Port, nor as complex as the Porto Cordovero LBV (2004), it is delicious and was very much enjoyed by the entire table – wine aficionados and “newbies” alike (an easy-drinking Port if you will). Plenty of bright red fruit on both the nose and rich palate with hints of dates, hazelnut, spices, vanilla and crème brûlée with some nice dark chocolate, more spices and ripe currants on the lingering finish. This improves massively over time; so open the bottle a few days before you plan to serve it for best effect.

Yatir, Fortified Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005: Despite having been tasted and reviewed by the late Daniel Rogov, I somehow missed this wine and was surprised to learn of its existence only eight months ago. Given the winery’s reputation, I did however jump at the opportunity and acquired the last six bottles the winery had without first tasting the wine – a rare occurrence for me but one that certainly paid off with the delicious and relatively rare wine. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that was fortified with brandy and aged in neutral oak barrels for approximately eight months, the full-bodied wine is simply dark and delicious. Plenty of sweet berries, prunes, hazelnuts, lavender on the slightly oxidized nose with much of the same on the robust and sweet full-bodied palate, where they are joined by dark espresso coffee beans, rich bittersweet chocolate and still integrating tannins that lend the wine plenty of power, stability and character, all balanced by plenty of acidity holding the sweetness very much in check. Delightful.

[Israel Events]

January 26th and 27th: The annual Sommelier Expo which, once again, will be held in Tel-Aviv at Heichal HaTarbut (11 Dizengoff) between 12:00 – 9:00 PM. For a list of participating wineries and wines, see Sommelier’s Website. The event is free of charge but is limited to trade only – you can register to participate here. It is always a great event and one in which you can taste a huge selection of Israeli wines, including many premium wines not usually poured at other Israeli wine festivals.

KFWE Israel, which will be held on Monday, February 2nd and is an invitation-only event hosted by Tzur, Royal’s Israeli importer (and a rare opportunity to taste some of Royal’s great French and California wines which are typically very expensive and somewhat hard to find in Israel.

[London]  KFWE London which will be held on February 4^th at the Park Lane Hotel in London’s Piccadilly neighborhood.  Tickets can be purchased here for this marquee wine tasting opportunity for our European friends.

[US Events]

Hot on the heels of KFWE London is the flagship New York KFWE to be held on February 9^th and which, after many years of outgrowing Chelsea Piers (to the extent that a Yacht was docked at the pier last year to allow for additional guests), they are moving to a new and larger location – the Metropolitan Pavilion which is also easier to get to using public transportation.  I highly recommend purchasing your tickets early as they always sell out and I get numerous requests for tickets when there are simply none left to be had.  It is a great event with plenty of wines and gourmet food and always makes for a very enjoyable evening that is highly recommended.  Tickets can be purchased here and use coupon “CORKBOARD18” for $18 off.

Two days letter on February 11^th our West Coast friends (and an increasing number of East Coast-based wine nuts who make a special trip) are able to enjoy KFWE Hollywood which is also relocating this year, from the Hyatt to the Hollywood W for the first time.  A more relaxed and intimate affair than the gargantuan NY event with the exquisite fare of Tierra Sur’s (easily one of the best kosher restaurants in the United States) Gabriel Garcia.  The event starts at 6:00 PM and is super recommended – I have attended the last few years and always have a terrific time.   This year, there are VIP tickets for sale which provides access to some specialty whiskeys, liquors and other spirits from around the world in addition to some exclusive delicacies and hand-rolled cigars. Tickets can be purchased here and use coupon “CORKBOARD” for a 20% discount.

After the KFWE smorgasbord, there are three events which allow one to enjoy the large number of non-Royal wines which are not served at the KFWE events (these events include all wines, both Royal and non-Royal wines).  On February 15^th the Monsey liquor store – Grapevine Wines, will be hosting its annual Grand Kosher Wine / Spirits Tasting at the Grapevine.  The event is from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM and provides the opportunity to taste a large selection of wines and spirits in a pretty relaxed setting, with some light food to accompany all the booze.  A very nice event hosted by Yehoshua Werth of Kosher Wine Review “fame”. Use CORKBOARD2015 for 15% of the ticket price.

Next is the annual Jewish Week Tasting which will be held on Monday, March 16^th at the awesome City Winery in connection with the publication of the Jewish Week’s annual Kosher Wine Guide of which I am one of the founding judges.  Tickets can be purchased at a discount ($30) here.  this event is one of the best events in which a large range of kosher wines can be tasted, including the many terrific wines NOT in Royal’s portfolio (like Gvaot, Tzora, Recanati, Ella Valley, Golan Heights Winery and many many others).

Last but certainly not least and while I don’t have a date or confirmation on the event yet, every year Gotham Wines holds a pretty extravagant kosher wine tasting on the Upper West Side and I am hopeful it will once again occur this year, so stay tuned for details.  All great events that are recommended and worthy of attending.  I hope to see you at one or more of them!  Now, on to reviewing KIW 2014!

[Israel Event]. This week (August 5th-8th), Jerusalem will once again host the outdoor annual Jerusalem Wine Festival at the Israel Museum. Easily one of the best [and most] fun wine festivals of the year (excluding the professional-oriented Sommelier Expo – see below), this one is highly recommended (even though I will not be attending this year). Run by my buddy Ran Toren (formerly of the Jerusalem branch of incredible Avi-Ben wine store). The festival is open each night from 7-11 PM and the 85NIS entrance charge gets you a glass for unlimited tastings. While not exclusively kosher (for an all-kosher event, see the 972 Festival below), given Jerusalem’s large observant community the vast majority of wines being served will be from kosher wineries.

[California Event]. On August 22, Royal Wine Corporation will, once again, host a more intimate rendition of it’s amazing International Food & Wine Festival (“IFWF“). Unlike the “main” IFWF held in downtown LA, this will be held onsite at the Herzog Winery in Oxnard. From what I hear, this event is a fabulous opportunity to taste the best of Royal quite extensive portfolio while noshing on the incredible treats from the in-house restaurant – Tierra Sur (easily on the best eateries in the United States). Click here for more details and discounted tickets (courtesy of Kosher Wine Musings).

On Tuesday, August 27th the Kosher Wine Society will hold its 5th Annual “Kosher Wines for the New Year” tasting event at the Roger Smith Hotel in midtown Manhattan. I have been every year and it is always a fun event with plenty of new and exciting wines to taste. Check out their page for more information and a detailed wine list and this link for discounted tickets for readers of Yossie’s Corkboard.

[Israel Event]. Easily the best wine event of the year, this year’s Sommelier Expo will be held on January 7-8 in Tel-Aviv (a bit about past events here). As opposed to most wine festivals, the vast majority of wineries and winemakers participate in the Sommelier Expo, which is open to the trade during the day and then to the general public during the evening hours. It provides a great opportunity to taste the top wines from the majority of wineries and even better, time to chat with the winery heads and winemakers about thier wares. Highly recommended if you are in town. Stay tuned for more details and pricing.

On Sunday, July 21st, River Wines (importer of Tishbi, Gush Etzion and others and distributor of Domaine Roses Camille and Shirah Wines) will be hosting an upscale tasting dubbed “Red, White & Champagne”, showcasing their offerings (River Wine List). The event will be held at 6:00 PM at the Brownstone, located in the East Village at 224 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003. Entry is $35, with an early entry (starting at 5:00 PM) & VIP special wine tasting available for $75 (VIP Wine Tasting List here). The VIP tasting will include the famed Domaine Roses Camille, 16-year Tishbi Brandy and some other special treats and there will be some high-end food as well. For more details and to purchase tickets see here.

On July 29th, Renewal will host a wine tasting and culinary experience, together with Royal Wines and many of the Tri-State Area’s finest dining establishments and will include many upper-echelon wines from Royal Wines and a “Cigar Bar”. Renewal is a non-profit dedicated to assisting individuals afflicted with varied forms of kidney disease, with an emphasis on those requiring transplants. A charity worth supporting and a wine-event worth attending rolled in one. For more details check out the event page and tickets can be purchased here.

On February 17th, Monsey’s Grapevine will be hosting a grand tasting between 5:30-8:30 PM at L’Chaim Manor. Details and tickets here, including a detailed (partial) list of some of the 140 wines that will be available.

On March 3rd, the Jewish Week will be holdings its annual Grand Kosher Wine Tasting at City Winery. The event is held every year to celebrate the publication of the Jewish Week’s annual Kosher Wine Guide (for which I am one of the judges). Always a fun event with plenty of new wines available and well worth attending. For more details and tickets check out City Winery’s website. Check out the complete list of wines (and food) in order to better plan your event.

Mark your calendars for February 4th, 2013 which is when Royal Wines will once again be hosting their incredible Kosher Food & Wine Experience. As in the last few years, the event will be held at Pier 60 – Chelsea Piers in New York City and is expected to be a magnificent food and wine extravaganza (details about last year’s events here). Check out KFWE’s website for more details and tickets. Plan your eating & drinking in advance with the event’s tasting guide (use the arrows to navigate from page to page). Use Yossie20 through January 11th for $20 off the ticket price for KFWE.

For West Coasters, the more intimate International Food & Wine Experience will be held in Los Angeles two days later on February 6th. This event showcases the amazing food from Tierra Sur. Use “CORKBOARD. Plan ahead and coordinate your tastings with the event’s tasting booklet.

On December 5th, New York City’s newest addition to the upscale kosher dining scene – Jezebel (located at 323 West Broadway in SoHo) – will be hosting a winemaker dinner with the folks from Covenant Wines – winemaker Jeff Morgan and co-owner Leslie Rudd (of Rudd Vineyards and Dean & Deluca fame). For those not in the know, Jezebel is the only high-end kosher eatery which has non mevushal wine, making it worthy of a visit, irrespective of the food (which is pretty good too). The dinner will include a five course meal specially paired to Covenant’s wines, a number of which are available only from the winery. More details on the wines and courses coming soon.

Dinner is called for 6:30 PM and the cost is $195 (plus tax & tip) and there are only a limited number of seats left, so sign up soon. To reserve seats, email reservations@jezebelsoho.com and refer to the “Covenant Winery Dinner.” Or call Jezebel directly at (646) 410-0717.

On September 10th at the Carlton Hotel (29^th and Madison Avenue), there will be a wine and food pairing event organized by three wine aficionado/foodies that I know and whose love of wine is indisputable. Produced by Nelly Rosenking in an attempt to create a trendier environment than other tastings and partially sponsored by 67Wine (a Manhattan wine shop that is making a serious push into the kosher wine niche with the help of some knowledgeable and passionate kosher wine buyers/employees) who will be providing proper glassware; the event will be limited to 150 people. A carefully curated selection of great kosher wines from most of the kosher wine distributors will be available, with around 60 wines available for tasting. As with Royal’s annual Kosher Food & Wine Event, substantial thought and efforts have been put on the food aspect of the event (my understanding is that the bulk of the ticket price is going toward the food component of the event, with the wines mostly being sponsored). However, quite differently than most wine tasting events, the food will be placed on the tables with the food, providing special wine pairing opportunities and the ability to combine great food and wine together in an easily accessible manner. While the food and aromas will likely distract from ones ability to conduct a serious evaluation of the wines, I doubt that most people are attending such an event for a serious wine tasting and will enjoy the combined food and wine proprieties of the event. Those looking for a more serious tasting opportunity (such as myself), will no doubt somehow find a way to properly evaluate those wines of interest. The folks at 67Wine also recently acquired the rights to the vintage wine collection offered at the Kestenbaum Wine Auction last year (read about the auction, the wines and my thoughts here) and many of these vintage wines will be available for sale at the event (although not for tasting). For more details and to purchase tickets, click here.

Israel Event. See my article about the event here. The bi-annual IsraWine Expo will be held this year on February 21-23 at Israel Trade Fairs Center in the Tel-Aviv Exhibition Gardens. The first day of the event is for the professional trade only with the second and third days being open to the general public. It is a great event with many of Israel’s top wineries showcasing their wines and provides a great opportunity to taste a lot of new wines. The entrance fee of 70 NIS buys you 10 “tasting coupons” with additional coupons available for purchase as well. The event is organized by the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center in cooperation with the Israeli Wine Magazine and The Grape-Man Wine Center and is sponsored by the the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. For those attending IsraWine Expo next week, here is a link with some general tips on making the most of large-scale tastings and most important, a list of the wineries and the wines being poured (Hebrew). For further planning purposes, a map of the exhibition and the wineries.

For more details click here.

My review of the wine auction can be read here. On September 22nd, the Judaica auction house Kestenbaum & Company conducted the first kosher wine auction at the Roger Smith Hotel (501 Lexington Avenue at 47th Street). The auction includes large format and older vintages of many of the top notch kosher wines including Castel, Katzrin, Covenant and others as well as some “collector” items like Carmel’s famed 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon and Yarden’s 1988 Botrytis wines (now undrinkable, but a piece of kosher wine history). Unfortunately they are also auctioning off a number of older vintage wines that are well past their drinking prime (or worse), so caveat emptor and feel free to ping me with any specific questions. I also note that the suggested or estimated prices listed in the catalog are pretty high in my opinion. In any event, it should be an interesting and entertaining evening. To register for the event and view the catalog, click here.

On August 10th come and learn more about Israel as a wine region and the incredible wines produced in Israel. The event is to benefit Leket Israel’s “Nutrition for Life” program! Some of Israel’s best wines will be poured and a number of wine professionals will be on hand to provide information on the varied wines and wineries. Additionally, Yossie will conduct a brief discussion on the wines and wineries. Sign-up in advance and get $25 off the admission price of $100. The event is being held in conjunction with Weil, Gotshal’s “Pay it Forward” campaign and will be help on the 25th floor of Weil’s office in midtown (767 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street).

Sensi held a gala event on June 2nd to benefit Leket Israel. The event will include a great selection of Israel’s premium wines plus a number of wines from four Israeli boutique wineries that are not sold in the US! The event will also have a live auction of Israeli art by a Christie’s auctioneer, great food, some serious prizes and other goodies. The Sensi events are always really fun and provide the opportunity to support a really terrific charity.

July 22nd – July 28th

End the week with some horrifyingly awesome schadenfreude by watching some of the world’s worst (or greatest depending on how you look at it) booze breakages!

It’s a little depressing how little of a wine’s cost actually reaches the winemaker/producer.

As Dr. Conti’s “excuses” reach new levels of absurdity (even for the legal profession), the HoseMaster takes aim…

Will Lyons profiles Michel Rolland – the world’s most influential “wine consultant” .

Continuing her visually pleasing and very helpful wine guides, Wine Folly preempts the heat & humidity with a handy temperature wine-serving guide.

Lettie Teague espouses the delightfully versatile Chenin Blanc.

July 15th – July 21st

As French winemakers get called out for cheating on thier wine samples, I await similar news from Israel where some of the same shenanigans occur…

The dicey etiquette of wine samples for bloggers further validates my own decision to reject them…

With typical piercing insight, W. Blake Gray goes after wines’ aging abilities.

Minerality is one of the most oft-used descriptors in tasting notes that most people don’t really know what it means…

Michael Franz does Israel and as [at least I] would have expected – comes away pleasantly surprised.

July 8th – July 14th

For some, wine provides all the traveling you need, no passport necessary.

Most dangerous ways to open a bottle of wine [Video]. Simply awesome.

With the recent hullabaloo around wine judging, it was only a matter of time before the Hosemaster stepped in. Chris Kassel has some choice thoughts as well.

Lettie has some thoughts on Natural Wine that are sure to arouse passionate responses, with Alice Feiring leading the charge and Tom Wark not far behind.

Matt Kramer offers advice on discovering the most important yet sometimes elusive wine that you will like.

July 1st – July 7th

With all the mud being slung in the direction of wine writers/critics, its nice to see the other point of view.

Matt Kramer has some great advice to the wine newbie looking for “their type of wine“.

As a follow up to last week’s s***storm on wine judging, folks simply want to know if wine is bulls***?

Anyone looking for convincing on the need for truth in [wine] labeling – look no further. Yuck!

Focusing on consumerism and not romanticism, the first Cola flavored wine is launched.

#252 – July 19, 2013

With the heat and humidity in NYC combining for quite a few hellish days, there really wasn’t any other proper topic besides the delights of the most refreshing and summery of wines – the goddess of goodness – Rosé.  Rosé is a tremendously underappreciated wine that goes well with an incredible array of food and comes with the added benefit of providing at least a measure of welcome respite from the uncomfortable heat wave of the past week.  There are other wines (like Sauvignon Blanc) that also provide crisp and refreshing relief (I have also heard there is something called Beer that folks enjoy as a thirst-quencher during the hot summer months), Rosé is and always will be the perennial summer wine (while, à la Eric Asimov, also very enjoyable during the year as well).

With a beautiful pink color, tons of fresh and tart berry fruits, a typically low(er) alcohol content and crisp refreshing acidity, it’s the perfect summer beverage best enjoyed out of doors and well chilled.  In my opinion, it also happens to be a wine insanely well suited to the Mediterranean climate and fare, making it another candidate for marketing good Israeli/Mediterranean wines.  Added bonuses include a typically low price and extreme versatility, making it a delicious match to most foods (although a number of recent options are relatively expensive at around $30 a bottle).  As you will see from the tasting notes below, Rosé can and is made from almost any red grape including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Barbera, Carignan, Syrah, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Rosé (French for pink) is used to describe the wines that fall into the color spectrum between red and white and are produced in a number of different ways.  One method of producing Rosé is maceration in which, following crush, the white juice of red grapes is allowed to have minimal contact with the grape skins (typically a few hours to a few days) before they are discarded (the longer the contact with the skins the darker in color and the more full-bodied and tannic the wine will be).  Given the limited contact with the skins, almost no tannins are imparted into the juice allowing the wine to be enjoyed well chilled (see my wine-serving temperature newsletter for the negative effects chilling has on the tannins in wine).

Another common method is known as the Saignée method that is a byproduct of making red wine in which the wine maker “bleeds the vats”.  If a wine maker desires to increase the intensity of a red wine, they may drain some of the pink juice prior to fermentation resulting in a higher concentration of red juice and a more intensely flavored wine.  The drained pink juice is fermented as a separate wine giving us Rosé.  Yet another, far less common method and one which usually results in inferior wines, is blending red and white wines.  This winemaking methodology is only utilized in Champagne, where Pinot Noir is added to a Champagne base to create the sexiest of all wines – Rosé Champagne.  Another, less common, method is via maceration, in which the Pinot Noir grapes are allowed very brief skin contact during fermentation (this is the methodology utilized for the Laurent Perrier Rosé Champagne previously reviewed).

In the United States, Rosé is also referred to as blush or White [X], with the [X] substituted with whichever grape the wine in question is produced.  An example would be White Zinfandel that, for some unfathomable reason, tends to be a pretty popular wine but remains a wine you should never ever drink.  If there were ever a wine that could compete with Bartenura’s Moscato d’Asti for my hatred – White Zinfandel would be at the top of the list (and several rungs above any other potential competitor).  Besides its general inferiority, most White Zinfandel wines have an unpleasant bubble gum flavor and almost every kosher version is a poster child for the reason plenty of uninformed folks still think all kosher wines are terrible.  According to Jeff Morgan, the postwar popularity of White Zinfandel in the United States is a deciding factor in the disdain many oenophiles have for Rosé.  Now, if only Jeff, a renowned expert on Rosé, would add a crisp refreshing Provence-style Rosé to his repertoire we’d be all set!  While not set in stone, blush wines are usually those on the slightly sweeter side as opposed to dry and crisp Rosé wines.

As noted above, one of the best things about Rosé is how delightfully refreshing the wine can be when served well-chilled, providing substantial assistance in assuaging the exhausting effect of the heat and humidity.  I try to serve Rosé at about 46-50ºF (8-10ºC) – slightly colder than its optimum drinking temperature, which allows the wine to warm up ever so slightly on the table or in your glass.  Too cold Rosé is a far better option than suffering through too-warm Rosé.  Coupled with its relatively low alcohol and extreme food-pairing versatility, Rosé is the quintessential picnic and/or brunch wine, matching beautifully with omelets, chicken salad, fried and lightly grilled fish and most of the other lighter fare which I find myself enjoying as the mercury starts skyrocketing.

While many prefer a little residual sugar in their Rosé, my personal preference is for exceedingly dry and crisp – once a tough wine to find but thankfully increasingly popular among Israeli winemakers.  For many years my favorite Rosé was Tabor’s, made from 100% Cabernet Franc.  Recent years have seen a proliferation of great Rosé wines, many of which are included in this newsletter.  While the vast majority still suffer from Israeli wines’ biggest Achilles Hell – price (a particularity thorny issue with Rosé wines which tend to be on the cheaper side), the number of dry Rosé wines that are very well made has skyrocketed.  Among my go-to wines are the versions from Castel, Flam and Vignobles David, with the Recanati being the popular-priced option I turn to most option.  Interestingly, certain bottles from a number 2012 Israeli Rosé wines have suffered from the appearance of tartaric crystals (which haven’t affected the bottles I have tasted), including Domaine Netofa and Kadesh Barnea.  Just check your bottles before you leave the store.

Despite Rosé wines unfortunately not being as common in US wine shops as I would like, the kosher consumer’s surging interest in quality wine has affected the world of Rosé as well, with new and better versions being introduced on a regular basis.  Some of the blame for Rosé’s lack of popularity may lie with the wineries, for which, in many cases, Rosé is either an after-thought or dumping ground for inferior red grapes.  While Rosé is inexpensive to make it also has a low profit margin resulting in wineries not investing any serious time or effort.  Granted, with the exception of a few Rosé Champagnes, there has never been a “great” Rosé wine and probably never will be, but that doesn’t ever excuse a lackluster effort.  In recent years, Israel has seen an increase in the world of Rosé, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Two last things to keep in mind when plunking down for a Rosé:  similar to white wines, Rosé wines are meant to be drunk as close to release as possible so always look for the most recent vintage year as they lose their bright, fresh flavors quickly and Rosé is not a wine to be taken seriously – they are meant to be fun – so chill, relax and enjoy!

Agur, Rosa, 2012:  As with the vast majority of Shuki’s wines, this Rosé has plenty of character and is unique among a batch of well-made and interesting Rosé wines available for the thirsty kosher consumer, both in Israel and abroad.  As is Shuki’s wont to avoid varietal wines, this year’s Rosa is a blend of 40% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with 20% Mourvèdre rounding out the wine (the Cabernet Sauvignon was obtained via the Saignée method with the remainder harvested specially for the Rosé, which was then fermented in natural oak and aged in stainless steel.  The wine opens with an aromatic nose (some of which may get lost if the wine is served well-chilled) of strawberry, cranberry, a burst of fresh lemon and a slightly bitter herbal streak that makes you notice.  A slightly viscous and oily medium-bodied palate continues the individuality of this crisply dry wine, with plenty of bracing acidity keeping the red summer fruit and citrus in check.  A serious and delightful Rosé wine.

Capcanes, Peraj Petita, Rosé, 2012:  After getting an advance tasting of this wine at KFWE back in February, the wine is now available in stores and only serves to add to Capcanes’ reputation as a quality producer of kosher wines.  Made by bleeding (Saignée method) some wine early on from the Peraj Petita, the wine is comprised of the same blend of Grenache, Carignan and Tempranillo.  A nice nose with plenty of strawberries, rosewater, red cherries and tangy cranberries leads into a medium bodied with more light red fruit, some white stone fruit and a layer of oriental spices that add a certain amount of charm to this refreshing wine.  Plenty of acidity keeps this well-crafted wine alive and refreshing all the way through the lingering finish.

Castel, Rosé, 2012:  From its first vintage in 2009, the Castel Rosé has set the standard for what an Israeli Rosé should be – crisp, refreshing, über-dry, nice acidity and some Israeli flair.  After taking a break in 2010, the Rose has thankfully become Castel’s “regular” fourth wine and a highly anticipated release each year.  This year’s wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec and has plenty of Rosé’s characteristic fruity aromas of red grapefruit, strawberries, crushed rose petals and that streak of minerality that reminds you of a true Provincial Rosé.  Plenty of warm fruit and good acidity on the light to medium bodied palate with a hint of green bitterness that keeps you coming back for more.  A terrific wine, and absent its relative high price, a wine I would be drinking daily all summer long.

Dalton, Rosé, 2012:  Along with the Recanati below, Dalton has been making a quality Rosé wine for years, long before most other wineries “discovered” its popularity (which has grown over the last few years).  A true crowd-pleaser, with higher levels of residual sugar than some of the other (and more expensive) Israeli versions, it remains a well-made and dependable Rosé and is happily even dryer than the 2011 vintage.  A blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Shiraz, 16% Grenache and 15% Barbera, with each component having a few hours of skin contact and fermenting separately.  A subtlety aromatic nose, redolent of freshly picked strawberries, red grapefruit, rosewater, flinty minerals, all of which are evident on the medium bodied and somewhat sweet palate.  While the acidity keeps the sweetness in check and the wine very well made as Dalton’s other wines, this is a wine for those prefer a touch of sugar in their summer quenchers, while remaining modest and without the aromatic punch of other Rosé wines.

Domaine Netofa, Domaine, Rosé, 2012:  An easy drinking and aromatic blend of Syrah (60%) and Mourvèdre (40%) with plenty of Syrah characteristics dominating and 13.6% AbV.  A ripe and aromatic nose of bright red fruit, watermelon, strawberry, stony minerals, pleasing spices and crisp acidity which immediately transports you to a warm summer afternoon in Provence (the job of any good Rosé).  A hint of citrus and more minerals show themselves on a lingering finish.

Flam, Rosé, 2012:  As with prior vintages, the wine is made from 100% Cabernet Franc from the Judean Hills (what’s not to love) which give this light to medium bodied wine some welcome bite, the nose is blessed with strawberry, melon, watermelon, citrus peel, lavender, some bell pepper and other floral notes with a streak of green running through.  A fresh and refreshing palate of more strawberries, white stone fruit and pink grapefruit with great acidity and a hint of salinity and minerals combine to make a terrific, all-around wine and a perfect accompaniment to summer (or any other season for that matter – like Champagne, Rosé should be drunk much more often).  The only obstacle to my enjoying this wine on a daily basis is it’s relatively high ~$30 price tag, which places it in the same company as the exceptional Castel Rosé (both qualitatively and cost-wise).

Galil Mountain, Rosé, 2012:  A hodgepodge blend of 79% Sangiovese and 7% each of Barbera, Grenache and Pinot Noir (the Sangiovese was harvested for the Rosé while the other three were obtained via the Saignée method) combine for his year’s version of Galil Mountain’s summer quaffer.  Plenty of strawberries, minerals, crushed Rosé petals and citrus on the nose, accompanied by some tart raspberries and warm spices on the aromatic nose.  A medium bodied palate has more red fruit, citrus and some flint.  While I would have liked a bit more acidity on this wine, it’s a lovely wine and it’s tough to argue with the price (or the low 11.5% AbV).

Gvaot, Gofna Reserve, Rosé, 2012:  As with nearly every other wine made by Shivi Drori, this blend of 98% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot is exceptional with the winery’s trademark impeccable winemaking evident from elegant start to lingering finish.  A nicely aromatic nose of strawberries, raspberries and red cherries are accompanied by nice minerality and floral notes.  Much of the same red summer fruit can be found on the light bodied palate.  As with most Gvaot wines, it’s slightly on the expensive side but you certainly get what you paid for [Only available in Israel].

Karmei Yosef-Bravdo, Rosé, 2012:  Given its structure and delightful dry palate, I envision I would have liked this wine even if it hadn’t been made from 100% Cabernet Franc (obtained via Saignée), which is a great added bonus for me personally.  As one would expect from Karmei Yosef, this wine is beautifully made, with great balance between the slightly subdued nose of light summer fruit, bracing acidity, citrus notes and that terrific slightly green notes that keep things interesting.  The nose has nice hints of melon and red grapefruit to go along with the characteristic strawberries, raspberries and rose hips and the light to medium bodied palate has some slate and minerals to go with the plush fruit and bracing acidity.  Another lovely Rosé in Israel’s growing portfolio [Only available in Israel].

Lueria, Rosé, 2012:  With Israel’s warm weather taking up the bulk of the year, it’s pretty surprising that it has taken this long for Rosé to really catch on.  In any event, I am quite happy to add another wine to my potential portfolio of Rosé wines.  A lovely and refreshing medium bodied wine with plenty of bright red fruit on the nose and palate, including cherries, strawberries, a bit of tart raspberries and plenty of floral notes, with rosewater dominating as well.  Crisp and refreshing with nice acidity keeps things lively and decently priced as well.  Despite a tad more sweetness than I prefer, this is a nice wine that is well worth trying.

Odem Mountain, Volcanic, Rosé, 2012:  A blend this year of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Syrah, the wine has an aromatic nose of strawberries, limes, white peaches, minerals, blooming flowers and a hint of pleasing bitterness.  On the medium bodied and crisply refreshing palate, there is plenty fruit, accompanied by more citrus and floral note with good bracing acidity and a complexity that is rare among Israeli Rosé wines.

Recanati, Rosé, 2012:  A long-time favorite of wine, harking back to a time when there was very little quality Rosé on the market.  A blend of Barbera and Merlot, this light to medium bodied wine has a great nose of strawberry, peach, citrus and some tart cranberry.  The palate is redolent of more summer red fruit, plenty of acid which keeps things refreshing and delightful citrus with hints of mineral and some spice giving the wine a nice bit of bite.  A refreshing and unpretentious Rosé that give good bang for the buck and remains a YH Best Buy.

Saslove, Varod, Rosé, 2012:  The wineries first Rosé wine and a companion to their “Lavan” Chardonnay.  Openly marketed as a semi-sweet wine, as with the Dalton above, the wine has a touch of residual sugar that will be pleasing to many and a turn off for those preferring their Rosé wines crisply dry.  In my opinion the sweetness somewhat limits the food-pairing ability of this wine but doesn’t take away from its well-craftedness and great balance between the delightful summer fruit, slight mineral notes and bracing acidity.  A blend of 55% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Petit Verdot, the wine presents with a bouquet of warm strawberries, tart red grapefruit and other citrus notes, red cherries, tart raspberries and a hint of banana with red summer fruit, minerals and more citrus notes on the medium bodied palate, with good acidity tempering both the oodles of fruit and sweet notes and maintain the wines position as a legit summer quaffer [Only available in Israel].

Teperberg, Silver, Rosé, 2012:  With its somewhat recent meteoric rise in quality and consistency over the last few years, Teperberg has rapidly risen to become one of Israel’s best QPR wineries, challenging Dalton, Recanati and Galil Mountain in many categories.  Made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with plenty of characteristic strawberries, cherries, cranberries, lime and floral notes on both the nose and medium bodied palate, the wine is crisp, refreshing and delicious, albeit with a little less acidity than I would have liked.  A tad over $10 in Israel with 12% AbV, this is another wine to be drinking all summer long and well into Israel’s mild fall season.

Vignobles David, le Mourre de L’Isle, Tavel, Rosé, 2012:  While I have listed the wines in alphabetical order, even if I hadn’t this would likely be last following the Hebrew saying “achron achron chaviv” (loosely – leaving the best for last).  A new addition to the hugely successful (and very affordable) Côtes du Rhône wines from the same producer, this wine is one of the only “real” French Rosé wines, and, at under $20, certainly the one with the highest QPR.  With a slightly subtle, yet proper nose of strawberries, red cherries, delicious citrus and some loamy dirt and minerals and a light to medium bodied palate with lots more red fruit, pungent earthy notes, plenty of mineral and a pleasing hint of bitterness running through it, this wine is well made, crisply refreshing with plenty of acidity keeping it lively and a hint of complexity to keep me intrigued glass after delicious glass.  Always happy to discover a new favorite!

Older Notes (#219 – June 26, 2012)

Castel, Rosé, 2011: Following on the great success of their 2009 Rosé, this year’s version, while different than the 2009 vintage [resulting from a different wine making process], is truly delicious and provides the Israeli wine scene with something it has been lacking – a crisply dry and refreshing Rosé with enough depth and complexity to make it more than a refreshing summer quaffer (although, price aside, it excels in that department as well). A blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Malbec (slightly unripe fruit that was cold-fermented). A rich nose of red fruit including strawberries, raspberries and red grapefruit with much of the same on the slightly viscous palate where some pleasing minerality creeps in, coupled with judicious acidity that keeps the fruit in check and makes for great food pairing, all leading into a lingering and slightly bitter finish. Its only Achilles Heel is price (at $30 it’s a tad expensive for a Rosé), a common problem for Israeli wines.

Flam, Rosé, 2010: Made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes and coupled with the incredible pedigree of the winery, I was sold on this wine before I took my first delightful sip. A rich and ripe nose loaded with strawberry, tart raspberries, pleasing citrus notes, hints of minerals and blooming flowers. The medium bodied palate has much of the same with bright acidity, more lively fruit and minerals. Well made with great balance, this is a delightful wine that is great with food or on its own.

Dalton, Rosé, 2011: A light, easy-drinking and refreshing wine made from a blend of Barbera, Zinfandel with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon thrown in for good measure. Fermentation was stopped early to retain a bit of residual sugar that, while more than I personally prefer, makes this refreshing quaffer quite accessible to all, including newbie drinkers. More pleasurable on its own as a refreshing aperitif than with food, with great QPR and enough refreshing acidity to keep the fruit and residual sugar in check, this is a terrific summer pleaser. Bright strawberries, cherries, hint of rose petals and lemons on both the nose and palate. While most Rosé wines are not meant for sophistication, this wine is pure fun – an easy date!

Galil Mountain, Rosé, 2011: While the Yiron remains one of Israel’s best QPR wines and I love the Meron as well, in recent years some of the wineries lower-tiered options have declined a bit in quality and they are no longer the best Israeli option for well-made entry-level wines. That said, this Rosé is a bright and cheerful wine, made for easy and relaxed drinking. Concocted from a smorgasbord of 75% Sangiovese, 13 % Barbera, 10% Pinot Noir, and 2% Syrah, this is perfect for a picnic and very well priced. Plenty of strawberries, tart red berries and plenty of heathery citrus notes, the wine is almost as dry as I like it with plenty of acidity to keep it fresh on your palate, regardless of how high temperatures rise. A slightly bitter finish rounds out this wine and gives it some pleasing bite.

Laurent Perrier, Rosé Brut, n.v.: The only kosher Rosé Champagne made by a “real” Champagne House and a delicious treat (especially as it combines Rosé and Champagne – two of my favorite things). Less obligatory and more romantic (and expensive) than regular Champagne, Rosé Champagne has exploded in popularity over the last decade with more and more Champagne Houses trying their hands at producing this lucrative wine. This version is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and, as with most Rosé wines, is pretty light on the palate. Loaded with typical yeast, toasted bread and green apple flavors, these accompanied by lush strawberries, cherries and hints of slightly astringent citrus. This is a fun (albeit expensive fun) wine and a great accompaniment to any summer festivities. A real treat!

Domaine Netofa, Rosé, Galilee, 2011: Pierre Miodownick continues the winery’s successes with this delightfully refreshing wine. An easy drinking blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with plenty of bright fruit and crisp acidity, combining to provide a perfect summer quaffer. A beautiful nose, redolent of stone fruit, strawberries, a hint of watermelon and nice minerals lead into a light to medium bodied palate with more fruit, citrus and mineral and nicely lingering finish with some pleasing bitterness.

#251 – July 11, 2013

Given the nature of Yossie’s Wine Recommendations as a weekly email newsletter as opposed to a blog, it often happens that a wine I tasted or winery I visited will only be mentioned weeks or even 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, this week’s newsletter is a summary of my recent trip to Israel, in which I visited 15 wineries and tasted over 170 different wines over the course of five delightful days, including many advance and barrel tastings of wines “in progress” (which don’t get a full-blown tasting note until they are manifest themselves as finished wines, but are mentioned here in passing to give you a sense of what wines are coming your way).  While this newsletter will have more of a personal journey / blog-like feel to it, it is a off-type newsletter that is still in the realm of Yossie’s Corkboard’s primary goal of writing about wines and wineries I hope you enjoy.

As always, future newsletters will provide in-depth commentary and tasting notes on the individual wineries (many about whom I have not written about in two to three years [or ever]!!) and wines I tasted and enjoyed (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 75 kosher Israeli wineries.

Given the fact that my family typically does not join me on these quickie visits, I feel compelled to make the most of my time which explains why I packed three to 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, two to three visits a day is a lot.  Four is a little out there – but hey, someone has to do it!

My previous trip focused on two of Israel’s premier Northern wine regions – the Golan and the Upper Galilee, together with the Shomron.  As such and despite the fact that I missed a number of important wineries in the region (including Odem Mountain, Galil Mountain, Or Haganuz and others), this trip focused on other areas including the extended Judean Hills region which in recent years has blossomed into one of Israel’s premier wine growing regions.  For wineries I have written about in recent newsletters, I only included information about the wines we tasted and new information (to the extent applicable), and didn’t bother regurgitating the relevant information about the winery but you can click through on the links to read all about them.

For those who don’t want to read through the entire newsletter, but rather are interested in one or two specific wineries, note that this newsletter covers (in order): Tulip, Tishbi, Carmel, Alexander, Recanati, Saslove, Gat Shomron, Karmei Yosef-Bravdo, Domaine Herzberg, Castel, Ella Valley, Yaffo, Agur and Gush Etzion.  I hope you enjoy!

Tulip Winery

An unfortunate flight delay of a few hours due to technical difficulties with the plane’s entertainment setting resulted in the shelving of my carefully laid plans and canceling my scheduled visit to Binyamina winery.  I hope to make it there next time, especially with the recent news that former winemaker Assaf Paz resigned his position (and replaced Avi Feldstein as Head Winemaker at Segal Winery – necessitating a visit to Segal as well once Assaf gets settled in).  After collecting my rental car (always an interesting experience in Israel) I headed south towards Tulip Winery, assisted by Israel’s crowd-sourced GPS mapping system – Waze (hopefully with its recent acquisition by Google, we will soon be able to incorporate my annotated map into Waze which was far less helpful in finding the exact location of each and every winery).  Tulip is one of the three of wineries (along with Flam and Saslove) who became kosher with the 2010 vintage.  In addition to their portfolio of good wine, Tulip stands out by virtue of its location in Kfar Tikva, a vocational village for adults with special needs, and integration of the village’s residents into its workforce.  The Yitzchaki family who live in the neighboring village of Kiryat Tivon founded the winery in 2003.  From its inception, one of the main criteria of the Yitzchaki family for the winery (in addition to making top-notch wines) was to be involved with the local community, namely the residents of Kfar Tikva.  The winery provides employment for a number of the residents who assist in nearly all aspects of the winery’s day-to-day operations (very slight modifications were made in this regard when the winery acquired its kosher certification from the OK).  Starting with approximately 6,000 bottles of Merlot for the 2003 vintage, the winery slowly grew under the capable hands of its CEO – Roi Yitzchaki, to approximately 160,000 expected bottles for the 2012 vintage, with further growth (to 220,000 bottles) expected for the 2013 vintage.  The winery has multiple vineyards located in top-quality areas in Northern Israel including Kfar Yuval, Kerem Ben-Zimra and Meron.  The current winemaker is David Bar-Ilan (with whom, together with Roi, I had the pleasure of tasting the wines) who has been there for about a year after replacing Tamir Arzy – the prior winemaker.  Dr. Arkady Papikian, one of Israel’s top wine consultants (who is also the winemaker at the (non-kosher) Amphorae Winery), consults on Tulip’s wines and assists David with blending and other winemaking decisions.  David worked at Soreq winery in Israel and also at a number of wine-related retail locations before working at Amphorae for some time and then coming to Tulip.

Tulip creates wines in four to five different “series” as follows: the “White” series which includes two white blends (White Tulip and White Franc); the “Just” series which includes entry level varietal Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines; the eponymously named “Mostly” which includes 85% varietal wines blended with another wine (the Cabernet Franc has 15% Merlot and the Shiraz is blended with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon); the “Reserve” series which includes a Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah; and the “Black Tulip” which is a blend of the winery’s best grapes, aged in oak for 30 months (as such the first kosher vintage from 2010 will only shortly reach the United States but is well worth the wait).  In addition the winery is releasing a special wine in a limited run of 2600 bottles named “Creation DNA” (more aptly name “Assor” in Hebrew) to commemorate the winery’s tenth anniversary.  The wine contains grapes sourced from each and every plot owned by Tulip (hence the “DNA”) and will be part of a new series called “Creation” which will encompass mostly small lot experiments of David’s or other special wines, and is expected to be priced between the Reserve and Black labels.

With David and Roi, I tasted through nine wines including the two white wines, which were refreshing but somewhat less acidic than the 2011 versions, the two Just wines of which I enjoyed the Merlot more than the Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2011 Mostly Cabernet Franc which was lighter bodied, less oaky and even more enjoyable than the 2010 vintage which I had liked as well.  The two Reserve wines (2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) and the Black (2010 vintage) were somehow softer than I expected with nicely integrating tannins and the Cabernet Sauvignon exhibiting characteristic herbal notes.  The Creation DNA was a well-structured wine that still needs some time to come into its own but has the potential to evolve into a really good wine over the next 12 months or so – time will tell.  Thank you again David, Roi, Natan and the rest of the Tulip crew for a delightful visit and tasting.  I look forward to enjoying many more good wines from you!

Tishbi Winery

After bidding farewell to the good folks at Tulip, I headed south to Tishbi Winery to meet Jonathan Tishbi – winemaker and effective CEO.  Despite being one of Israel’s larger wineries, producing a little over one million bottles a year, it is still very much a family business, with multiple family members across three generations working there in varied capacities.  The history of the winery goes back to 1882 when Michael and Malka Chemeltzki immigrated to Israel from Lithuania and started working for Baron Rothschild as grape growers.  Israel’s famous poet – Chaim Nachman Bialik christened them Tishbi in 1925 (a Hebrew acronym for “Resident of Shefaya in Eretz Yisrael”).  In 1984, after watching the price of Muscat grapes (which represented the lion’s share of grapes grown by the family) drop precipitously, the family (headed by its current patriarch – Jonathan Tishbi (for whom the winery’s flagship label is named)) decided to resign from the Carmel grape grower cooperative to which they had belonged for decades and open a small winery.  Opening in 1985 as the Baron Winery, in honor of Baron Edmund Rothschild, the family later changed the name to the Tishbi Winery.

While the winery maintains a small visitor center on Zichron Ya’akov’s main thoroughfare where you can taste some wines, learn a bit about the winery and purchase the various edibles sold by the winery, the main attraction is the visitor center a few minutes down the road from Zichron where Tishbi has built a large visitor complex including a beautiful tasting room equipped with Riedel glassware, a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and a bakery, all geared towards providing a delicious upscale experience for the budding gourmet.  While Tishbi is first and foremost a winery, the family has spent a substantial amount of time, effort and money building up a complete food experience including incredible preserves, a partnership with the French chocolatier Valrhona and other epicuric endeavors.

However, this trip was wine focused and, as such, I met with winemaker Golan Tishbi and we tasted through 12 of the winery’s current offerings, including their famous Brandy, whose current incarnation has been aged for 16 years (prior releases were of 8 and 12 year brandies).  Tishbi currently produces approximately one million bottles annually, these spread across a number of labels.  The entry level series is called “Tishbi” and includes nearly ten unoaked varietal wines (including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Viognier, Gewurztraminer and others) with one or two blends included as well.  The next series is the winery’s reserve label called “Estate” which also includes a number of specially designated single vineyard wines, with a number of recent releases from the 2007 vintage earning the love and adoration of many wine aficionados.  Included in this series are the single vineyard Malbec and organic Syrah, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir, Petite Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and the most recently released – Carignan.  The winery’s flagship label is the Jonathan Tishbi / Special Reserve which is not produced every year and is now produced as a blend.  The Jonathan Tishbi series was one of Israel’s pioneers in the “Single Vineyard” arena, releasing for the 1999 vintage three Cabernet Sauvignon wines, each from a vineyard located in a different part of the country.  As mentioned above, Tishbi also produces a brandy that has garnered substantial acclaim (while being exceedingly expensive), a sparkling wine and two dessert wines – a Muscat and a blend of Barbera and Zinfandel.

Golan and I tasted four newly released 2012 wines from the Tishbi series (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend and the 2010 Syrah) and a number of wines from the Estate series, including the 2008 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2007 Petite Syrah and Carignan (advance tasting) and the 2010 Single Vineyard Malbec.  We also did a comparison tasting of the 2007 and 2010 Jonathan Tishbi Special Reserve wines and the 16-year Brandy, with the 2007 Special Reserve and Brandy taking the top spots for me.

Following my visit, I rushed back to Hertzlia Pituach for an event at the US Ambassador’s house to benefit Leket Israel (and where, for some unfathomable reason, no wine was poured…).

Carmel Winery

The next morning I once again headed north towards Zichron Ya’acov to meet with Adam Montefiore at the Carmel Winery.  On my last visit to Carmel, Adam and I tasted through the premium wines of Carmel and Yatir so for this visit Adam put together a tasting of the current releases of all Carmel’s white wines.  I was actually very happy to have the opportunity, since on my own I rarely drink any of Carmel’s white wines other than the Kayoumi Riesling, a house favorite.  If nothing else, the tasting convinced me that I should be drinking more Carmel whites, as I was very pleasantly surprised by a few, including those in the lower-tiered “Private Collection” label (although I had previously been seduced by the entry-level Private Collection (“PC”) Chardonnay and even included it in the Carmel Showcase we did for the Leket Wine Club two years ago).

We started off with the PC Emerald Riesling, which was doubly interesting to me personally, as Emerald Riesling was a big part of what was wrong with Israel’s wine industry for many years.  Mainly produced as a semi-sweet wine, for years Emerald Riesling was Israel most popular wine, offering the sophistication of “wine” with the sweetness loved by Israelis.  It was not, however, a complex or even interesting varietal.  While it remains a semi-sweet quaffer –level wine, Carmel’s version is lighter on the residual sugar than many previous versions of the wine (from Carmel and otherwise), had decent acidity and lightly aromatic fruity notes that many entry-level wine drinkers will find pleasing, especially during Israel’s hot summer months.  We also tasted the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier wines that rounded out the white wine selections in the PC series, with the Viognier being my personal favorite.  We then moved on to Carmel’s next level – the Appellation series.  With the red wines of this series, I have historically enjoyed the more esoteric wines (Carignan, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc) over the better-known ones (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot).  The white wines in this series include Viognier, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, with the Chardonnay holding the most of my interest with its ever-so-slightly oaked body and solid structure throughout – a really well made and delicious wine.  Despite the fact that it could have used some more acidity, I also enjoyed the Gewürztraminer which, as I have discussed before, is rapidly becoming one of Israel’s most popular white wines.  We also tasted the 2011 Kayoumi Riesling about which I have written recently.  All in all, it was a great tasting and a rare opportunity to focus on Carmel’s white wines, which, other than the Kayoumi Riesling, are often unfairly regulated to “supermarket wine” status, a fact I hope will change after reading the above.

Alexander Winery

After thanking Adam for his hospitality and generous time I headed south towards Alexander Winery, located on Moshav Beit Yitzchak in the Hefer Valley.  Similar to Tulip and Tishbi, Alexander is yet another Israeli winery about whose wines I have written and reviewed in the past but never dedicated a complete newsletter to. Founded in 1996 by its current owner and winemaker – Yoram Shalom, Alexander is named for Yoram’s father and the winery’s varied labels are also named for various relatives of Yoram.  Yoram started the winery in the interest of continuing a winemaking tradition that had been in his family for over 100 years, going back to his grandfather’s home winemaking in Tunisia.  Starting with the 2006 vintage, Alexander became a kosher winery which has enabled it to increase exports and became a player in the lucrative (and frankly, quite crucial for Israeli wines) export market, with the United States receiving the lion’s share of all exported Alexander wines.

With vineyards located in top-tier grape growing areas including Kerem Ben Zimra and Kfar Shamai, Yoram produces wines across four series: Liza (his mother), Sandro (Alexander’s nickname), Reserve and the winery’s flagship label – Alexander the Great (of the famed metal, jewelry-like, labels).  Along with a number of new wines, Alexander will be releasing a new Reserve Chardonnay named for his recently deceased sister – Yvonne.  Liza includes two varietal white wines – Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that typically spend some time in oak barrels.  Sandro is Alexander’s entry-level red blend which varies slightly year over year and typically spends just over a year in oak barrels.  The Reserve label includes a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot (which is being discontinued and whose last vintage was 2009) and a blend under the name of Gaston which spends 24 months in oak barrels (the single varietal wines typically spend 18 months in oak).

The Alexander the Great label is the series for which the winery is best known and a number of factors contribute to this, including the aforementioned meticulously designed (by Yoram’s wife – Ilana) labels, the relatively expensive cost and the heavy oaky notes – a signature of the winery.  The Alexander the Great series currently includes a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon which spends nearly three years in oak, a “Grand Reserve” blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Shiraz added which spends two years in new oak and is then transferred into new oak barrels for another two-year stint and the Amarolo, an Amarone-styled wine for which the grapes spend approximately two months drying in the sun on straw mats before spending 40 months in oak and whose 2007 vintage made my list of Most Exciting Wines of 2012.  In addition to producing approximately 40,000 bottles annually under the Alexander label, Yoram makes a significant number of “private-label” wines for individuals, restaurants and wine stores (during my visit I had the opportunity to taste two private label wines Yoram created for a well-known Jerusalem-based wine store).

Alexander Winery has also been working diligently on a brand-new visitor center that Yoram expects to open soon and which will include rooms for wine tasting sessions and culinary-related seminars where Yoram hopes to entertain larger groups, as well as additional barrel rooms for his increasing production.  After getting a quick tour of the visitor center’s progress, Yoram and I descended into Alexander’s cellar for some barrel tastings of 11 wines.  We started with the Reserve Chardonnay which is 100% Chardonnay from Yoram’s Ben-Zimra vineyards.  I really liked the wine which was fresh, lively and well-made although it is expected to spend another six months or so in barrels and will obviously continue to evolve over that time.  We continued with the 2010 Reserve Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre and Grenache (the latter two are expected to be blended with other wines and not released on their own) and then moved on to the Alexander the Great series and sampled the 2009 Grand Reserve and 2010 Amarolo.  A comparison tasting of the 2010 and 2011 vintages of the Alexander the Great Cabernet Sauvignon finished out what was ultimately a delightful and informative tasting.  To finish off the day Yoram poured a 2011 Petit Verdot (intended for blending as Yoram doesn’t think Petite Verdot can or should be made as a stand-alone wine).  All in all a great tasting and a heartfelt thank you to Yoram for taking the time on a busy Friday to show me around and pour me some of his wines.

Recanati Winery

After a restful and relaxing Shabbat during which I sampled a number of wines I “discovered” at Ra’anana’s local, kosher-only, wine shop (tasting notes to follow at a later date), I was ready to hit the wine trail again and started off the day (and week) with a visit to Recanati Winery, a long-time favorite and home to an exceptionally talented team of winemakers that includes Gil Shatsberg, Ido Lewinsohn and Kobi Arbiv.  While I have written about, enjoyed and heartily recommended many of Recanati’s wines over the years, it has been nearly three years since I wrote a stand-alone newsletter about Recanati, other than the mini-write ups in recent Leket Wine Club shipments (have no fear – an updated piece is coming soon).

In any event, I met Gil at the winery and we tasted through a nice selection of ten wines which included some barrel samples, advance tastings and some cool comparative tastings of wines that Recanati is making in both mevushal (for the US market) and non-mevushal versions (similar to the tasting I did at Dalton back in December).  We started off with a comparative tasting of mevushal and non-mevushal versions Recanati’s entry-level red blend – Yasmin (the mevushal version of the wine is pasteurized right before bottling) with the main discernible difference between the two being the non-mevushal version had slightly more vibrant red fruit and a little less oaky notes.  We then tasted the 2012 Cabernet and Shiraz (there is a mevushal version of the Shiraz as well which I have tasted and written about previously) both of which are very well made wines and, given their placement in Recanati’s entry level series, represent good value for money.  We then tasted the first Reserve Chardonnay from Recanati in some time (the quality of the fruit in recent years simply wasn’t sufficient for a stand-alone, reserve-level Chardonnay) and this vintage, which spent eight months in 40% French oak, was delicious (not yet filtered, it will be retasted before its schedule Rosh Hashanah release).  We also tasted the 2012 vintage of two of my favorite Recanati wines – the Syrah-Viognier and Wild Carignan, both in the Mediterranean Reserve series which showed great promise as well as the winery’s Special Reserve White which, while delightful and refreshing, with great balance and decent complexity – is way overpriced.  An exciting tasting of the winery’s newest wine – a varietal Marselan which will also be included in the Mediterranean Reserve series.  The wine spent eight months in French oak (60%) new and it had just come out of the barrel the day before, likely needing some recuperation time before a more accurate tasting but, like its brethren, showed great promise to be an interesting and exciting new addition to the series and indicative of the distinct and creative winemaking path that continues at Recanati.  Thanks again Gil for the time, conversation and delightful tasting!

Saslove Winery

While I have written about Saslove [relatively] recently after tasting their newly kosher releases at during the 2011 Sommelier Expo in Israel, the only wines released at the time were those from Saslove’s entry-level label Aviv and not the winery’s more prestigious and Reserved and Adom labels.  With the release of Saslove’s first upper-tier kosher wines (understandingly coinciding with the same releases from the other two wineries that became kosher for the 2010 vintage – Tulip & Flam) and the release of the winery’s first Rosé, I was happy to make my way to Saslove to meet and taste the new wines with Barry and Roni.  We tasted through seven wines (and I purchased a bottle of the 2011 Lavan which had sold out at the winery but was necessary to “complete” my tasting of current offerings).  We started with the newly released Rosé, a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and some Petit Verdot in which the Shiraz was fermented separately from the other two (which were co-fermented).  The wine was well made with decent acidity and although a little sweeter than I personally prefer my Rosé wines, it was crisp, refreshing and enjoyable and will appeal to the legions of summer time Rosé drinkers looking for something refreshing with more complexity than much of the alcoholic Fanta passing for Rosé among many other wineries.  In addition to tasting the 2010 Adom Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines (I had tasted the 2010 Reserved on multiple prior occasions, including a few days before at City Winery at the “Wines of Israel’ tasting), we also tasted through the 2011 Aviv wines (other than the Lavan which I acquired and tasted alone a few days later) including the Marriage (a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Nebbiolo) and the varietal Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, all of which still need a bit of time to settle down.

Besides the delightful tasting in the quaint visitor center (protected from the smell of the many cows just outside the doors), I thoroughly enjoyed the informative and entertaining conversation with Barry and Roni – thank you again for your hospitality and time and I am looking forward to tasting the 2011 upper-tiered wines which are scheduled for release in March 2014!

Gat Shomron Winery

Gat Shomron is another winery that I first became acquainted with at the 2011 Sommelier Expo (if you haven’t realized already – it’s a great show and well worth attending) where I tasted their acclaimed Icewine-styled wines (one of which – the 2009 Viognier made my list of Most Interesting & Exciting Wines of 2012).  Having stayed in touch with Avigdor and Lior (co-owners &winemakers), it was finally time for a real visit.  Despite being located only a few minutes from Saslove, I managed to get slightly lost but thankfully Lior stuck around to meet me – thanks!

Gat Shomron was started in 2003 by Avigdor Sharon and Lior Nachum, two neighbors in Karnei Shomron who had each trained at the Ramat Gan College Wine Academy and had been making wine on their own for a number of years.  Starting with 1,500 bottles in 2003, production grew annually reaching approximately 12,000 bottles in 2011 and nearly tripling to 30,000 bottles for the 2012 vintage.  The winery is currently located in Avigdor’s home, spread out over a number of refrigerated containers and an add-on basement, but Lior and Avigdor are in the process of securing designated space in the Yishuv for a proper winery, along with the nowadays-required visitor center.  As the winery didn’t make very many Shmittah wines, a number of their offerings cross over vintages, such as the 2007/2009 Cabernet Sauvignon or the acclaimed 2006/2007 Merlot (each vintage fermented and aged separately, obviously for different periods of time).

Despite making a number of different wines over the years (it was delightful Carignan and Cabernet Franc wines that caught my eye a number of years ago), the Icewine-style wines are the ones that have really helped put Gat Shomron on the map and today, approximately 50% of production is dedicated to Icewine-style wines!  In addition to the aforementioned Viognier and Gewürztraminer wines, Lior is also making a late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blend.  Lior was kind enough to procure nearly every wine on hand and, despite my tardiness and the relatively late hour, we ended up tasting close to 20 different wines.

While the abbreviated nature of this newsletter obviously precludes listing, let alone describing, the full list of wines we tasted, overall the wines showed an increase in consistency and quality while recognizing that this is a boutique winery that is still going through growing pains.  The winery produces its wines under the “Gat Shomron” label, with certain wines in certain vintages earning the Reserve designation based on the determination by Avigdor and Lior.  Among the Reserve wines we tasted were the 2009 Shiraz and aforementioned 2010 Late Harvest blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  We also barrel tasted a number of wines that are currently anticipated to receive the “Reserve” label but whose final designation will need to wait a little while longer as the wines continue to develop.  From among this crowd of potential Reserve-level wines, we tasted the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and the 2010 Shiraz.  Lior was also kind enough to share the 2011 Viognier and 2010 Gewürztraminer Icewine-styled wines (there are also a 2011 Gewürztraminer and 2010 Viognier in lesser quantities (and quality) which may likely be blended together, but the first-listed vintages will be the dominant ones).  Another interesting wine was their first Petite Sirah, made in a limited edition run of 300 bottles from the 2010 vintage which was sourced from vineyards in nearby Mevo Choron.  Nice structure with sweet oak in balance with the dark black fruit, floral notes, a slight herbal streak and lavender on both the nose and full bodied palate.  Definitely an up and coming winery that is worthy of your attention.  Thank you again Lior for your time, hospitality and a great tasting experience.

To round out a great day, I met a friend at one of Israel’s top kosher restaurants – Vino Socco in Hertzlia.  While my meal wasn’t as impeccable as last time (and the waiter a little “off”), it was still a great meal with awesome wines and delightful company, and I will most certainly return.

Karmei Yosef – Bravdo Winery

The next two days were dedicated to winery’s in the exalted Judean Hills region, which has rapidly evolved into one of Israel’s best, with many of the country’s top wineries located in close proximity to each other, making for a terrific and fairly convenient “Wine Route” (if you haven’t already, this map is a good resource for planning Israeli winery visits).  That said, the first two wineries of the day were slightly outside the accepted parameters of the “Judean Hills.  However, as Israel doesn’t [yet] have any established appellations, I feel comfortable with the expanded designation, at least for purposes of this newsletter.  My first stop of the day was the (doubly) eponymously named Karmei Yosef-Bravdo winery, located right outside Karmei Yosef.  Due to somewhat arcane rules and regulations (partially relating to the categorization of Israeli wineries as agricultural facilities), many smaller wineries are not allowed to have proper signage, making it difficult to safely make the turnoff from the main road without endangering the cars driving behind you at breakneck speed.  Thanks to my map, I found the turnoff and then proceeded to follow the tiny but helpful signs that led me through the vineyards over dirt and gravel paths until I reached the picturesque winery located among its very own vineyards, home to a newly constructed and not-yet-opened visitor center.

For our morning tasting I was lucky enough to be joined not only by Hadar, who is the marketing and export manager for the winery, but also by her father – Ben-Ami Bravdo, one of the two founder- winemakers (who also happened to be one of the country’s pre-eminent lecturers on oenology and until very recently, a fully tenured profession at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, with the other winemaker being his former prize student).  In addition to the two senior winemakers – Ben-Ami and Oded Shosheyov (who founded the winery in 1999 with an initial vintage of 2,800 bottles), Ben-Ami’s son-in-law Zori assists with the winemaking.  The winery is currently producing approximately 85,000 bottles annually across seven wines, with two having been added for the currently released 2011 and 2012 vintages (a mevushal version of the Coupage named Quadro and a Rosé, respectively).  The winery keeps approximately one-third of the grapes grown in the vineyards owned by Oded’s family with the remaining two-thirds sold to other wineries, with nearly 40% of that exported, mainly to the United States (along with many other wineries, the export market is increasingly taking up larger portions of production).

As the mashgiach was unavailable, we were unable to do any barrel tastings, but we did taste through the winery’s entire portfolio of wines, including the aforementioned two welcome new additions.  The 2012 Chardonnay may be the best Chardonnay produced by the winery to date, with a delightful nose of tropical fruit, tart green apple and a good dollop of minerals with some notes of spicy oak (the wine was fermented in oak barrels through malolactic fermentation).  The newly released Rosé, made from 100% Cabernet Franc had a slightly subdued nose of red fruit, watermelon and a hint of strawberries, decent acidity and the characteristically delightful streak of minerality shared by most of Karmei Yosef’s wines.  We then tasted through the varietal wines – Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, saving the full-bodied and muscular Shiraz for last.  I particularly enjoyed the Merlot.  We then followed with the winery’s 2011 Coupage blend, which I enjoyed more than the current (in the US) 2010 vintage.  For the 2011 vintage, the blend is comprised of 40% Cabernet Franc, 33% Shiraz and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon.  A the request of their importer, Happy Hearts, the winery produced for the first time a mevushal wines named Quadro (for the 2011 vintage), based on the Coupage with the blend slightly altered to incorporate Merlot and comprised of 35% Cabernet Franc, 25% Shiraz, 20% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

As with Recanati, Psagot and others, more and more Israeli wineries are responding to their United States importer/distributor requests and creating mevushal wines to satisfy supposed high demand for such wines.  Personally, I am skeptical that there is sufficient demand for more expensive mevushal wines and am hesitant about the potential impact on a winery’s perceived quality from producing such wines, especially without the proper infrastructure (i.e. flash pasteurizing the wine before bottling, almost as an afterthought as opposed to intending the wine to be mevushal from the outset and initiating the flash pasteurization at earlier stage of the winemaking process) – time will tell.  The Quadro was certainly a nice wine, with a slightly muted nose but the same impeccable winemaking we have come to expect from the folks at Bravdo.  A big thank you again to Hadar and Ben-Ami for their gracious hospitality, invigorating conversation and tasting of top-notch wines!

Herzberg Winery

My next stop was Domaine Herzberg, a very small boutique winery located on Moshav Sitrya whose wines I first learned about from the late Daniel Rogov back in 2009 when Herzberg’s first releases received relatively high scores, usually a good indicator of quality winemaking.  After tasting my first Herzberg wines – a Merlot and Malbec (even more a rarity then than now) from the 2007 vintage, I knew that Herzberg was a winery to keep my eye on and I was happy to finally visit the winery and meet its owner – Max Herzberg – in person.

Founded by Max Herzberg in 2007, Herzberg winery is a true Estate Winery with the winery and vineyards located in the backyard of Max Herzberg’s home on Moshav Sitrya.  After making aliyah from France many years ago and prior to (and continuing today) the founding of Herzberg Winery, Max’s occupation was that of a successful Biotechnologist and serial entrepreneur, founding multiple biotech companies, many of which still receive consulting services from him these days and some of which he maintains the role of chairman.  However, after a highly-successful career, in 2005 Max decided to plant some vines in his back yard and try his hand at making wine.  After planting the two acres in his backyard with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Malbec, Max made his first vintage in 2007 which was well received by friends and family (and Rogov) and his first commercial vintage in 2008.  In addition to the two acres in his backyard, Max also utilizes another acre of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown by a close neighbor of his, for total annual production of approximately 5,000 bottles, with no intention of growing that number any further.  Mainly self-taught, Max utilizes the professional assistance of two top Israeli winemaking consultants – Ittai Lahat (who teaches courses at the popular Tel-Chai college’s winemaking course) and Yotam Sharon, formerly a winemaker at Barkan winery, who now provides consulting services to many Israeli wineries.  Most of Max’s wines spend 12 months in oak barrels and then another year aging in the bottle before he releases them.  Herzberg produces wines in two labels – Herzberg, comprised of varietal wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec and Merlot along with a blend named “Asado” (in tribute to the proper cut of meat it is meat for) and a “Reserve” blend.  For the 2012 vintage, Max also produced a Rosé, in honor of his grandson’s bar-mitzvah which was served to all the guests in 350ml bottles and was not sold commercially.

After a quick tour of the small winery, we retreated to Max’s combination office and tasting room where we tasted through the 2010, 2011 and 2012 (in barrels) vintages.  While I very much enjoyed the 2009 wines (which Max graciously donated to the wine tasting I organized at Leket’s Sensi dinner two years ago), the later vintages show a marked increase in quality, complexity and most importantly for any up-and-coming boutique winery – consistency.

We started off with the aforementioned Rosé, of which max produced 200 bottles by harvesting some of the Malbec three weeks early and making it in the Saignée method, with 50% of the grapes having a little “skin time”.  A light-bodied and very dry Rosé wine with plenty of minerals and good acidity to go along with the summer red fruit and hints of candied cherries.  Next up were the 2010 wines Max still has left which included the Cabernet Sauvignon and the two blends – Asado, which is a blend of 50% Malbec and 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot which spent a year in 50% in new oak, and the Reserve, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% each of Merlot and Malbec which shows promise but needs some more time in the bottle before the components come together as intended.  We then moved on to an advance tasting of the 2011 wines, including the Malbec  and Reserve (comprised of the same blend as the 2010 vintage) which was delicious.  Max was kind enough to do a barrel tasting of his 2012 offerings which included his four varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Malbec, all of which showed nicely and exhibited much of Domaine Herzberg’s near-characteristic mineral and graphite notes, along with the deep black fruit we are slowly becoming accustomed to.  All in all, a great tasting of an up-and-coming winery that is certainly worth seeking out and trying next time you are in Israel (while Max is looking to export, the wines are currently only available in Israel).

Castel Winery

After bidding adieu to Max I headed towards one of the crown jewels of the Israeli wine industry and one of the pioneering wineries that helped put the Judean Hills on the map as a serious and well-respected wine-growing region – Castel.  Upon arrival, I was met by Ilana Ben-Zaken, daughter of Founder and Winemaker Eli and Export Manager.  The winery is currently undergoing some personnel and administrative changes, losing a number of long-time employees, segueing from family owned and operated to a more “family owned and supervised” model (with the appointment of a new, non-family CEO – Eduardo Guthartz) As I recently wrote about Castel, please check out the above link for a detailed description of the winery.  As I had also tasted the winery’s current offerings a few days prior (together with Ilana) at the “Wines of Israel” exhibition at City Winery, this tasting focused less on the present and more on the past (with the tasting of some cool library wines) and the future (barrel tastings of the 2011 and 2012 offerings).

We started off with a quick tour of the winery, including its gorgeously impressive barrel room, where we also did a slew of barrel tastings.  Starting off with the winery’s only white wine – the 2012 Castel “C” Chardonnay, a 100% percent Chardonnay wine sourced from the acclaimed Tzuba vineyards, located right down the road.  Despite some recent controversies over the wine (many of the 2009 bottles suffered from reduction)and I had heard reports of the same in the 2011 vintage although that has not been my experience the last five times I tasted the wine –in Israel or the US), the 2012 is currently an amazing wine.  As with every vintage, the wine 12 months in oak (evenly split between new, 1-year and two-year old barrels) and is expected to be bottled within a few weeks and released around Rosh Hashanah time).  Fresh and lively, with great acidity and near impeccable balance, this is a delightful wine whose only fault is its relatively high price for an Israeli white wine.  We also barrel tasted the 2011 Grand Vin which should be bottled right around now and the 2012 Grand Vin and Petit Castel wines as well (I really enjoyed the 2011 Petit Castel – I recommend stocking up on it).  The 2011 and to a larger degree, the 2012 vintages are looking very good for many Israeli wineries, especially when compares to the lesser 2009 and 2010 vintages (for many wineries – more on recent Israeli vintage variation is coming in a future newsletter).  We then moved on to one of my favorite Castel wines – their crisply dry and refreshing Rosé.  After making only three wines since the winery’s founding, at the behest of his son, Eli agreed to make a Rosé in the 2009 vintage which was met with great excitement as Israeli Rosé wines to date had catered to the Israeli palate and been on the sweeter side, while the Castel version was bone-dry and made with added complexity (and cost), rare at the time among Israeli Rosé wines.  While no Rosé was made in 2010, 2011 saw the return of the popular wine and its appearance in 2012 cemented it as Castel’s “fourth” wine.  As I like tasting the same wines in Israel and the United States (finding more and more that there are distinct differences – to be reported on in a future newsletter), we also re-tasted the current releases including the 2011 Petit Castel and “C” Chardonnay which had a little more oak than I would like, but remains the most Burgundy-like of all Israeli Chardonnay with a distinct (and pleasurable) Israeli personality of its own.  We also tasted the 2010 Grand Vin which still needs some time to show its true colors.

We then moved on to the treat of the tasting – a number of library wines from Castel’s cellar.  We started with the 2006 “C” Chardonnay.  While the aging ability of Israeli wines has been rapidly improving over recent years, the white wines that have proven aging ability are far and few in between (the Yarden Chardonnay wines from the Golan Heights Winery are among the rare finds in this category), this wine was still alive and kicking.  While showing its age (along with a hefty dose of oak), the wine had retained its decent acidity and notes of tropical fruits.  We also tasted the 2006 Petit Castel which was on the south side of its peak but still showing interesting notes of black fruit, slightly spicy oak and Mediterranean Herbs with some minty baker’s chocolate on the medium finish.  To round out the tasting, we tasted the 2003 Grand Vin, the first vintage in which Castel was completely kosher (while the 2002 vintage was Castel’s first kosher one, it was done on a trail bases, with only a portion of the wines made kosher, resulting in kosher and non-kosher versions of Castel’s 2002 wines).  The 2003 was delightful with subtle tannins, nuances of black fruit, earth, some minerals and spicy oak.  All in all a great experience, plenty of industry gossip and most importantly, terrific wines that show Castel remains on top of its game.

I ended the day with dinner at one of Jerusalem (and Israel’s) top culinary kosher destinations- Scala (located at the David Citadel hotel).  A great culinary experience with a pretty good and well-curated wine list as well.

Ella Valley Winery

The following day started at one of my all-time favorite wineries, and one I have been writing about for years as a true underappreciated winery and unfortunately hidden gem – Ella Valley.  While the day started ominously with the changing of a flat tire in the blazing sun on the back roads of Ramat Beit-Shemesh, things looked up dramatically by the time I drove up to the gates of Ella Valley Winery for a comprehensive tasting of 15 wines, including advance tastings and barrel tastings of not yet documented wines.  Despite my best attempts and repeated cajoling, I could not get Lin to share some of her coming sparkling wines which are “not yet ready”…

After taking over the winemaking helm from Doron 18 months ago, there are still only a few wines on the market that are “Lin’s Wines” – wines that Lin had full responsibility over from harvest to release.  In addition to the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc which I have previously discussed, the 2011 Chardonnay and Rosé have now been released, as has the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc.  We tasted all three of these wines with all three wines exhibiting more fresh fruit and juicy exuberance than prior vintages, while maintaining the class and refinement we have come to expect from Ella Valley.  The 2012 Sauvignon Blanc was blended with 10% Sémillon to great success, yielding a fresh and lively wine with citrus, minerals and great acidity.  The Rosé was a big improvement on last year’s vintage and I really liked the 2011 Chardonnay as well.  The Rose is included in the winery’s entry-level series – EverRed (which also includes a white blend and 1-2 red wines, depending on the year), while the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are under the Estate label.  Recognizing my adoration of the winery’s 2008 Pinot Noir (one of Israel’s best examples of the varietal), Udi and Lin brought out a bottle of the inaugural 2005 vintage (there will be a 2010 version as well) which was very much alive and kicking, needing time in the glass to open up with still strong tannins.  We also tasted the 2009 Cabernet Franc and Syrah before moving on to the 2010 Merlot, long Ella Valley’s signature grape (the entire 2009 vintage of Merlot was sold to Japan – ping me if you have a bottle).  We also tasted the winery’s signature wine – the 2008 32/35 (we also tasted the 2010 version of this wine which may be among the winery’s best wines and is highly recommended once released).

After finishing up the bottle tastings, Lin and I moved to the barrel room and tasted the 2012 Chardonnay which is currently contemplated to receive the Premier “Vineyards Choice” designation (a choice I currently wholeheartedly agree with as the wine was delicious with great structure and fruit).  We also tasted the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon which was the first red wine of Lin’s I tasted.  We also did a nice sampling of the 2012 red wines, many of which are still components and not the final wines (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon from different plots which will be blended together to make the final wines) including samples of two different 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon wines, a Merlot and a Petit Verdot from Nes Harim which was quite good and bodes well for the future of the plot (2012 was only the second harvest) – I am looking forward to a varietal one day.  The winery recently released its 2010 Cabernet Franc and 2009 Petit Sirah which I have not yet tasted.

Yaffo Winery

My next stop was a winery I first tasted only recently and who had become kosher starting with the 2009 vintage in which they made a terrific varietal Carignan (unfortunately a one-time wine that isn’t expected to repeat) that was my first introduction to this winery.  Founded in Yaffo (hence the name) 1998 by Moshe Celniker, the winery relocated to its current location in the Judean Hills in order to be closer to the winery’s primary vineyards  and is currently producing approximately 40,000 bottles annually.  Moshe’s son Stephan studied winemaking in Israel and abroad and is now the winery’s official winemaker.  The winery currently produces four to five wines with a flagship blend called “Heritage” and a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot-Syrah blend in the Yaffo label.

Stephan met me for the tasting, which we conducted outside facing some just-burnt foliage, the result of a fire that nearly consumed the winery just days earlier.  Our tasting started with the 2012 Chardonnay, sourced from the Zichron Ya’acov area.  Nice notes of green apple, pear and fig combined with some slightly toasty oak and lovely minerality were all backed up by good acidity creating a really nice wine.  We also tasted the 2010 versions of the Cabernet Sauvignon which spent 12 months in approximately 50% new oak and the equal blend of Syrah and Merlot, which were fermented and barrel aged separately before being blended and bottled.  We finished up the tasting with the winery’s flagship Heritage from the 2009 vintage, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% each of Syrah and Merlot which spent 24 months in oak and of which 5,000 bottles were produced.  A little softer than I expected the wine was round and mouth filling with some understated elegance and good fruit.  While not yet imported into the United States, Moshe and Stephan are working on that and Yaffo is definitely a winery worth seeking out and giving a try.

Agur Winery

Due to some unforeseen events, I had to reschedule (or cancel) a number of winery visits and Agur was to be my last winery visit of the day.  As I arrived Shuki and Co. were in the middle of rearranging their “visitor center” but we soon settled in for a tasting of a number of Agur’s wines.  Unfortunately the mashgiach was not around so, unlike last time, barrel tastings were out of the question.  After not being available in the United States for a number of years, many of Agur’s wines are now available, courtesy of Israel Wine Direct.

For our tasting Shuki brought out a number of current releases including the Agur Rosa, a delightfully dry Rosé wine comprised of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% Mourvèdre.  I am always happy to find dry and crisply refreshing Rosé wines, which typically go with the vast majority of lighter summer fare and are also very much enjoyed on their own.  The Agur Rosa easily earns its way in the rapidly growing cadre of Israeli Rosé wines of this nature.  We also comparatively tasted the 2008 and 2011 Kessem wines, with the 2008 representing the seamlessly integrated results of a blend Shuki aims for and also indicative of the many benefits of bottle aging.  Other wines tasted were the 2010 Special Reserve, Shuki’s flagship wine (this year a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot) which was approachable but will certainly benefit from some more time in the bottle and his newest addition to the portfolio – the 2011 Layam (of which the 2010 vintage was the inaugural wine).  The driver for this very enjoyable wine was Shuki’s desire for an Israeli-styled Côtes du Rhône and resulted in the planting of a Mourvèdre plot (which I hope will sustain many more Israeli wines in the coming years).  Shuki also planted some Grenache which will likely make its way into the Layam in coming vintages.  All in all, a distinctive boutique winery with some great wines, quality winemaking and a slightly eccentric winemaker who is always a delight to spend time with – go and visit!

Gush Etzion Winery

My last winery visit of this trip was to the Gush Etzion Winery, about which I had last dedicated prime newsletter real estate to over three years ago.  It was meant to be the beginning of a Southern Israel winery tour including Midbar and Yatir, but ended up being my solitary winery visit of the day due to unforeseen circumstances.  Located in a beautiful facility with outdoor space for events and an adjoining nice little restaurant, the winery is partially owned by its winemaker – Shraga Rosenberg who started making wine under the Gush Etzion name back in 2001 where, until 2004, he was making wine at Tishbi’s facility before opening up on his own in time for the 2005 vintage.  Tishbi is also a partial owner of the winery (together with a prominent American financier).  Prior to that Shraga made wine in his basement for a number of years.  Shraga is also assisted by Ittai Lahat.  The winery is currently producing between 40-50,000 bottles annually under three labels (which are marketed under their English translations in the United States).  Nachal Hapirim (Spring Valley) is the entry level series, comprised of blends, followed by Alon HaBoded (Lone Oak) which are the Reserve-level varietal wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling (which may be ending) and Chardonnay (which isn’t produced every year).  The winery’s flagship label is Emek Bracha Blessed Valley) and is all blends.

Our tasting included 14 different wines, including current offerings, advance tastings and barrel tastings of some very interesting wines.  Among those early tastings I am most looking forward to seeing in final form was the 2012 White Emek Bracha (a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier and Roussanne) and the 2012 Nachal Hapirim Syrah-Mourvèdre blend.  Other wines I enjoyed were the 2011 White Emek Bracha and 2010 Alon HaBoded Cabernet Sauvignon (the 2008 vintage was also very nice).  The winery is clearly continuing its upward qualitative trend and I am looking forward to continued improvement and good things from this winery.

Once again, thank you Shraga for a great and informative tasting and I look forward to continued great things Gush Etzion Winery.

Ra’anana Wine Festival

While Gush Etzion was my last winery of the day (and trip) it was certainly not my last wine-related experience.  As is my wont, during the course of my trip I had acquired a number of bottles I was interested in trying, both at the wineries themselves and at various wine stores along the way (I find it hard to walk by a wine store without at least a quick peek inside).  Additionally, I was lucky that my trip coincided with Ra’anana’s annual wine festival.  While these festivals are usually not the best opportunity to do serious tastings, especially when they are outdoors, they are typically a great opportunity to socialize with other industry folk and actually drink (gasp) so nice wines.  The event was help in Ra’anana’s gorgeous municipal park on a hot and muggy evening.  Unfortunately there were nearly no industry folk there and very few interesting and/or new wines available for tasting, making it a less than interesting wine event for a budding aficionado.  That said, there were plenty of wineries showcasing their wares, a large number of food vendors offering delicious stuff for sale and a number of chocolate, olive oil and other gourmet purveyors to make for an interesting and enjoyable evening out.

Among the wines I ended up sampling were the three currently released wines from Bat Shlomo (a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Rosé), a number of wines from Tanya and Teperberg, along with some of Tishbi’s offerings I had missed when visiting the winery a few days earlier.  I also tried the latest vintage of Shiloh’ “Fort”, a port-styled wine.

All in all, a great (albeit exhausting) trip and one which I hope assisted in incentivizing you to go out and visit a winery or two (or ten) on your next trip to Israel!

June 24th – June 30th

Want to be a wine-writer but have no skills, palate or other qualifications? We’ve got you covered.

…and then there are those who think the whole Terroir thing is bunk. Tom Wark has his own thoughts on the matter.

With the new movie SOMM on the horizon, even Esquire learns something.

After years of existence as a Bordeaux-blending varietal, Petit Verdot starts to gain recognition as a varietal. Yatir, Ramot Naftaly, Brobdingnagian and others would agree!

Robert Parker goes [even more] corporate and the Hosemaster has a field day.

Responding to a critique of wine judging that kicked up quite a storm, the Guardian has some follow-up comments to the credibility of critics.

June 17th – June 23rd

Like “reserve“, “authentic” gets bandied about quite a bit in the wine industry. @SteveHeimoff explains what the word REALLY means [to him].

Robert Parker goes further [and even further] corporate.

Israeli (and other) wineries love to talk about and prominently display their medals. Blake Gray reinforces the total BS of it all.

Chateau d’Yquem gets robbed and @drvino details the top 12 wine heists of all times.

In an incredibly misguided attempt to fix a terrible problem, France tries to clamp down on social media and wine. Vinography agrees about the stupidity of this action.

Tom Barras thinks wine is served at the wrong temperature. Yossie’s Corkboard heartily concurs!

12×75 has some tips on what NOT to do to your treasured bottles of wine.

With his typical soupçon of practicality, Matt Kramer call some oblivious wine lovers to task. Tim Atkin goes one further and blows the whistle on some industry secrets.

With Merlot being the “forgotten step-child” of the Golan Heights Winery‘s Yarden series, it’s nice to see it get some recognition!

As wine blogging continues to take on more importance, the 2013 State of Wine Blogging Report does as well.

June 3rd – June 16th

As I have said for years, investing in wine is a fool’s game.

Some quick tips for navigating a restaurant’s wine list. My own kosher-specific suggestions.

The French love affair with wine is over 2,500 years old.

Calling wine snobs to task, Bloomberg plugs the stickies and I heartily concur!

As semi-sweet red wine takes off, @winefolly covers last year’s fad – Moscato.

Taking a page from Alice Feiring‘s playbook, Eric Asimov takes wine ingredients to task.