In Daniel Rogov’s latest column in Ha’aretz, he tastes the interesting wine from Vitkin. This is a taste of Rogov’s thoughts:

Assaf Paz, the winemaker at Vitkin Winery, is doing some pretty strange things. The winery, a family affair producing about 40,000 bottles annually, has refused so far to fit into the standard mold. Instead of producing wines from ultra-popular grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, it has chosen to focus on grapes with less of a local following, such as Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Tempranillo.

More than that, Paz is making some pretty unusual blends. With one white combining Viognier, French Colombard and Gewurztraminer and one red a blend of Syrah, Carignan and Cabernet Franc, the winery is certainly moving in unusual directions.

Call all of this a little bit crazy if you like, but the oddest thing is that it seems to work – the results, which are quite definitely not run-of-the mill, are quite successful, and the winery already has won the attention of sophisticated wine drinkers.

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