(This information first appeared at Israeli Wines-Pride of Israel wines-israel.co.il)

VINEYARDS

Israel is usually regarded as being part of the Middle East. It may be more accurately considered as being situated in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region also referred to as the Near East or ‘The Levant.’

Climate: Mainly Mediterranean. Long , hot dry summers; short wet winters; snow on higher ground. Also semi arid & desert conditions in the Negev.

Soils: Volcanic in north ; sandy red soils on coast & chalk & limestone on hills.

Hectares: 4,300 hectares (10,621 acres; 43, 000 dunams).

Harvest (metric tons):

2008: 43,987 2007: 42,156 2006: 45,175 2005: 45,483 2004: 53,468; 2003: 45,242; 2002: 43,077; 2001: 44,653 (1995: 31,668).

Vintage: August to end of October – (often begins late July & occasionally ends early November); Machine & hand harvested.

GRAPE VARIETIES

Israel’s traditional volume varieties, Carignan & Colombard, apart from some quality old vine Carignans, are usually only used in inexpensive blends. They are gradually being replaced by international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc. Shiraz is proving both popular & suitable for Israel’s climate. Bordeaux varieties have been most successful to date, yet Mediterranean varieties may be more suitable in the longer term.

Main Varieties used for Table Wines:

Cabernet Sauvignon; Merlot; Shiraz / Syrah; Cabernet Franc; Pinot Noir; Sangiovese; Zinfandel; Petite Sirah; Carignan; Chardonnay; Sauvignon Blanc; Gewurztraminer; White Riesling; Emerald Riesling; Chenin Blanc; Semillon; Muscat Canelli; Muscat of Alexandria.

Varieties by Quantity (% of hectares):

Cabernet Sauvignon 22%; Merlot 16%; Carignan 16%; Colombard 7%; Chardonnay 4%; Emerald Riesling 4%; Shiraz / Syrah 3%; Sauvignon Blanc 4%; Argaman 3%; Muscat of Alexandria 2%; Petite Sirah 2%; Semillon 1%; Chenin Blanc 1%.

Varieties – Metric Tons at Harvest (%):

Carignan 20%; Cabernet Sauvignon 17%; Merlot 16%; French Colombard 6%; Emerald Riesling 5%; Shiraz/ Syrah 4.5%; Muscat of Alexandria 4%; Sauvignon Blanc 4%; Argaman 3.5%; Chardonnay 3%; Petite Sirah 2%; Cabernet Franc 1%; Petit Verdot 1%; Others 13%.

Other Varieties:

Barbera; Gamay Noir; Gewurztraminer; Grenache; Malbec; Muscat Canelli; Muscat Hamburg; Pinotage; Ruby Cabernet; Sangiovese; Semillion; White Riesling; Viognier; Zinfandel.

Recently Planted:

Mourvedre; Nebbiolo; Tempranillo; Pinot Blanc.

WINERIES

The three largest wineries – Carmel, Barkan & Golan, (along with their respective subsidiaries: Yatir, Segal & Galil Mountain) account for over 75% of the 2008 harvest.

The top 5 wineries total more than 85 % of the harvest and the top 10 account for 95%.

Number of Commercial Wineries: 30

Number of boutique Wineries & Garagistes: 200 +

Large Wineries – harvesting more than 2,000 metric tons (1.8 million bottles + ):

1. Carmel Winery – Rishon Le Zion, Zichron Ya’acov, Kayoumi, Yatir

2. Barkan Wine Cellars – Hulda

3. Golan Heights Winery – Katzrin

4. Teperberg 1870 – Tzora

5. Binyamina Wine Cellars – Binyamina

Medium Sized Wineries – more than 500 metric tons (450,000 bots + ):

6. Tishbi Winery – Binyamina

7. Tabor Winery – Tabor

8. Galil Mountain – Yiron

9. Recanati Winery – Emek Hefer

10. Dalton Winery – Dalton

Small Wineries – between 100 – 500 metric tons (90,000 – 450,000 bots):

Arza; Cremisan; Domaine de Latroun; Domaine du Castel; Ella Valley; Flam; Hacormim; Hevron Heights, Yatir; Zion.

Commercial Boutique Wineries – between 50 – 100 metric tons (45,000 – 90,000 bots):

Ben Haim; Chateau Golan; Clos de Gat; Mony; Saslove; Tulip; Tzora; Tsuba; Amphorae.

Boutique Wineries – a selection of the most prominent, 15 – 50 metric tons (13,500 – 45,000 bots):

Agur; Alexander; Bazelet HaGolan; Chillag; Gush Etzion; Hamasrek; Kadesh Barnea; Karmei Yosef; Margalit; Odem Mountain; Pelter; Psagot; Sea Horse; Vitkin.

Garagistes – a selection of the most prominent, less than 15 metric tons (< 13,500 bots):

Avidan; Ben Hanna; Bustan; Gustavo & Jo; Gvaot; Hans Sternbach; La Terra Promessa; Meishar; Poizner; Ruth; Tanya; Sde Boker; Shilo; Somek; Sorek; Yaffo; Zauberman.

ISRAELI MARKET

Wine Market in Israel: $175 million dollars annually

Imports: 20%, mainly from 1. France; 2. Italy; 3. Chile

Consumption: 4 liters a head

% Red v’s White Wines: 75% red wines; 20% white wines

EXPORT

Export of Israeli Wines ($million):

2008: $ 26.7m. 2007: $ 21.1m. 2006: $ 14.8m. 2005: $ 14.6 m.; 2004: $ 13.7m.; 2003: $ 11.3 m.; (2001: $ 8.01 m.)

Main Importers of Israeli Wines : 1. U.S.A; 2. France; 3. Holland.; 4. U.K; 5. Canada

Sales: 50+% of exports to North America; 30+% to Western Europe; Remainder to more than 30 countries in 5 continents.

Main Exporting Wineries:

· Barkan, Carmel & Golan Heights each export over $ 2.5 m. dollars worth of wine and have the majority of Israel’s exports

· 90% of Israel’s exports are from the following 12 wineries: Barkan; Binyamina; Carmel, Castel; Dalton; Ella Valley; Galil Mountain; Golan Heights, Recanati; Tabor; Teperberg; Tishbi.

ISRAELI WINERY RANKINGS

Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2008:

· Four Stars: Castel

· Two to Four Stars: Golan Heights Winery

· Three Stars: Yatir

· Two to Three Stars: Flam, Galil Mountain, Margalit

· One to Three Stars: Carmel

· Two Stars: Clos de Gat, Ella Valley, Saslove

· One to Two Stars: Barkan; Dalton

· One Star: Amphorae, Bazelet ha Golan, Binyamina, Chateau Golan, Recanati, Tabor; Teperberg, Tishbi,

Parker’s Wine Buyers Guide No. 7

· Four Wines – 90+ points: Castel

· Two Wines – 90+ points: Carmel, Golan Heights, Yatir

· One Wine – 90+ points: Clos de Gat, Galil Mountain, Margalit, Pelter, Tulip, Tzora, Vitkin

· Other Wineries listed: Alexander, Ben Hanna, Bustan, Chillag, Clos de Gat, Ella Valley, Flam, Saslove, Tabor.

Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines 2009:

1. Golan Heights Winery; 2. Margalit; 3. Yatir; 4. Castel; 5. Clos de Gat; 6. Flam; 7. Chateau Golan; 8. Carmel; 9. Galil Mountain; 10. Pelter.

WINE REGIONS

Hectares of Vineyards by Wine Region (%):

· Galilee 38% – mainly Upper Galilee & Golan Heights

· Samson 34% – vineyards in central coastal plain, Shefela, Judean Lowlands & Foothills

· Shomron 16% – southern Mt. Carmel – mainly in valleys around Zichron Ya’acov & Binyamina

· Judean Hills 8% – mainly Jerusalem Hills, Gush Etzion & Yatir Forest – southern Judean Hills

· Negev 4% – mainly Ramat Arad, Sde Boker & Mitzpe Ramon

WINE REGIONS
Region in Hebrew	Name in English	Vineyard Areas
Galil	Galilee	· Upper Galilee · Lower Galilee · Golan Heights
Shomron	Samaria	· Mt. Carmel · Sharon
Shimshon	Samson	· Dan · Adulam · Latrun
Harey Yehuda	Judean Hills	· Beth-El · Jerusalem · Bethlehem · Hebron
Hanegev	Negev	· Northern Negev · Central Negev

Wine regions in bold type are registered with the TTB (USA) and the European Community.

Sources:

www.wines-israel.com

Israel Wine & Grapes Board (Ministry of Agriculture);

Israel Wine Institute; Israel Export Institute (both Ministry of Trade & Industry);

Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines 2009, Daniel Rogov (Toby Press)

The Wine Route of Israel, Eliezer Sacks (Cordinata)

The Bible of Israeli Wines, Michael Ben-Joseph (Modan)

The Book of New Israeli Food, Janna Gur (Al Ha’Shulchan)

Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide No. 7, Robert Parker (Simon & Schuster)

Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2008, Hugh Johnson (Mitchell Beazley)

The Oxford Companion To Wine, Jancis Robinson MW (Oxford)

Wine Report 2009, Tom Stevenson (DK)

The Vine & Wine in Archaeology of The Land of Israel, Prof. Amos Hadas (Kronenberg)

Drink & Be Merry, Michal Dayagi-Mendels (The Israel Museum, Jerusalem)