Unfortunately most Israelis associate sweet wines with Kiddush and religious ritual, and therefore the very word ‘sweet’ has connotations of a cheap and nasty wine. Something which is to be avoided, at all costs. However some of the world’s most sought after and expensive wines are sweet, pudding wines. An Eiswein or Trockenbeerenauslese from Germany, Icewine from Canada or Sauternes from Bordeaux are sweet, but it would be a tragedy if a wine lover never experiences them because of a prejudice against sweet wines.

The Eastern Mediterranean is famous as being home to some of the world’s most original dessert wines. Commandaria, from 14 villages on the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus, is the world’s most historic wine, dating back to the Crusades. Greek wines such as Mavrodaphne from the northwest Peloponnese, Vinsantos from the Assyrtiko grown in the volcanic island of Santorini or Muscats from the island of Samos, are some of the world’s best dessert wines. The Keo St John Commandaria, Achaia Clauss Mavrodaphne, Argyros Vinsanto and Samos Muscat are well worth seeking out. Even Lebanon makes quality dessert wines, like the Kefraya Lacrima d’Oro.

Lately, Israel is joining its neighbours in the Eastern Mediterranean and becoming known for excellent dessert wines. Twenty years ago Israeli wine lovers would sneer at sweet wines. The wines that changed the view were Yarden Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest 1988 and a wine that was originally sold under the name ‘Yarden Port Blanc.’

In 1988 the Sauvignon Blanc from the Ortal vineyard was found to have botrytis and the Golan Heights Winery made what may be the best ever dessert wine made in Israel. It was certainly a wonderful wine, and totally unique, because it was never replicated. Those privileged to taste the Yarden Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest will never forget it.

Yarden Port Blanc was a fortified Muscat, a vin doux naturel. This was the first Israeli dessert wine to win a major medal in overseas competition. Thankfully the Golan Heights Winery changed the name to the legally correct ‘Yarden Muscat’ in the early 1990’s. Other Israeli dessert wines to win awards & gain international recognition were the Rothschild White Muscat, produced by Carmel, the Carmel Muscat of Alexandria Late Harvest and Binyamina Muscat.

However it is only in the last ten years that Israeli dessert wines have consistently gained international ratings at the very highest level. The finest of these are two wines, both made from Gewurztraminer grapes and both grown on the high altitude, volcanic Golan Heights. Furthermore, the Yarden HeightsWine and Carmel Sha’al Gewurztraminer are arguably Israel’s most awarded wines of the last ten years.

The HeightsWine, a play on the words ‘Icewine’ and ‘Golan Heights’, is produced from Gewurztraminer grapes, frozen at the winery. The result is a rich, honeyed, and very complex wine. The Sha’al Gewurztraminer is produced from a single vineyard on the Golan Heights, where the grapes are late harvested. The result is more delicate and less rich than the HeightsWine, but with a more refreshing, balancing acidity. Other fine Israeli dessert wines made from Gewurztraminer grapes are Or, made by Tzora and one produced by Binyamina. All are special wines, which any connoisseur of dessert wines from around the world would appreciate.

The Muscat of Alexandria grape variety is indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean. Some excellent dessert wines are made from Muscat. Joining the aforementioned Yarden Muscat, are sweet Muscats produced by Binyamina, Carmel Private Collection, Dalton and Ella Valley.
White Riesling is rarer in Israel, but quality dessert wines from this variety are made by Teperberg and Vitkin. More unusual still in Israel, is the Yarden Noble Semillon, made from grapes affected by botrytis at the winery.
Normally the wine lover will advocate a dry wine for religious ritual, but at Rosh Hashanah, a dessert wine served ice cold will be perfect for the Kiddush. It will then be suitable to accompany the sweet dishes served including the sweet Challah dipped in honey, the traditional apple and honey, dates and sweet carrot dishes which begin the festive meal. They will even go well with the Gefilte Fish, matching the sweetness and yet toning down the heat of the horseradish. There is nothing wrong in having a dessert wine as an aperitif, as the French do it all the time.
It is then possible to revert to dry wines for the main course and return to the dessert wine with the puddings. Any of the wines mentioned would be ideal. They should be served very cold, even spending a short time in the freezer. At Rosh Hashanah, it is worth selecting a quality sweet wine to honor the occasion, instead of the lesser expensive, poorer quality alternatives.

A new trend amongst religious families is to blend Carmel Tirosh Grape Juice, with say, a King David Kiddush wine, so that all the family can sanctify the Sabbath or Festival without getting too drunk. A better solution and more suitable family wine for these occasions, would be a low alcohol Moscato, which are produced from the Muscat variety. These wines are made in the style of the Italian Moscato d’Asti and outside Italy, no country makes this style of wine better than Israel. The wines are low alcohol, between 5-6% alcohol, frizzante and sweet.

The best in Israel are the Young Selected Moscato produced by Carmel, Golan Moscato and Dalton Moscato. Carmel also produce a red version, for those that prefer a red wine. This is called Young Selected Carignano, made from Carignan with a touch of Muscat. These wines should also be served very cold. The fact, that they are lightly sparkling and slightly less sweet, means that they will probably go even better with the sweet, aperitif dishes than the more traditional dessert wines.

So quite apart from the fact that dessert wines are ideal for the Rosh Hashanah meal, it is a good time to appreciate that Israel is making some really fine dessert wines. They have also received recognition from the major critics. The Carmel Sha’al Gewurztraminer received 95 points from Howard Goldberg, the Yarden Heights Wine and the Tzora Or received 93 and 92 points respectively from Robert Parker. The Sha’al and HeightsWine have also received gold medals in the top international competitions, like the IWSC in London and Challenge du Vin in France. This is obviously a style of wine made well here, and Israel is fast becoming known as a country that makes really fine dessert wines.

(The above article is from wines-israel.com)

Twenty years ago there was a large market for Israeli brandies. Stock 84 and Brandy 777 were big domestic brands. In the 1990’s Carmel & Tishbi brandies won major international recognition at the very highest possible level. Yet high domestic taxes and the fact that brandy just drifted out of fashion, have contributed to an ongoing decline in Israeli brandy, which has continued until today. This is sad because Israeli brandies are good and deserve better.

The new brown spirits of choice for Israelis are Scottish or Irish whiskies, but the major boom in sales has been in vodka. The major international vodka brands came to Israel backed by their massive advertising as global brands and furthermore, cheap vodka imports fuelled the trend to what has become the preferred drink of Israeli youth. Today the few remaining brandy drinkers tend to be in the 60 year old plus age group.

It is true that the main indigenous spirit in the eastern Mediterranean/ Levant region is Arak, but it is scarcely a product at its best when made by Israelis. Ironically, the best Arak in Israel is produced by a Lebanese refugee from the South Lebanese Army, which is not a surprise. Lebanon is home to the best araks. However Israel does have a spirit it makes well. Israeli brandies are made to a good standard and have also enjoyed a fair amount of success internationally. As a wine producing country, Israel should be very proud of its brandies.

The brandy with the highest profile is Stock 84. Stock is a famous international company, which was founded in 1884 in Italy by an eighteen year old called Lionello Stock. The Jewish owned company settled in Trieste and was a great success until the rise of Hitler & Mussolini. Then the distilleries were pillaged, closed or nationalized. Because of this, Lionello Stock, had to rebuild his company again towards the end of his life and chose to make a start in other countries like America … and Israel. In 1938 he began to produce brandy in Ramat Gan, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Their Stock 84 Brandy, now a major international brand, is still made in Israel under license by Barkan Winery, which is owned by Tempo Breweries. The Israeli version is liked by those that buy it for having ‘bite’, and it remains the biggest selling brandy in Israel.

Carmel began distilling excess grapes to produce brandy in 1898. Their distillery tower, at Rishon Le Zion Cellars, was built in the 1930’s and their four pot stills and two continuous stills date from the founding of the state. Carmel’s brandies were aged in casks previously used to mature fine wines, in the original 100 year old barrel cellar at Rishon Le Zion, which still has the original wooden slatted roof. They include the Brandy Extra Fine, which is Israel’s oldest brand of brandy, and the label has remained virtually unchanged since before the founding of the State of Israel. It is a best seller in the Jerusalem area.

More-well known is the Carmel 777 Brandy, once known as Richon 777. This is a mere 50 years old and is the most likely Israeli brandy to be found in export markets. The name ‘777’ was chosen because of the importance of this number in the Jewish religion. The 777 Brandy is Israel’s second biggest seller and is most popular as an aperitif or as a beginners brandy.

Carmel 100 Brandy was launched in 1982 to celebrate the winery’s 100 year anniversary. Both Carmel’s brandies, 100 and 777, have won gold medals in international competition. The most praiseworthy prize was the ‘Trophy for Best Brandy Worldwide’ at the International Wine & Spirits Competition awarded in 1998. Then the brandies were produced by Freddie Stiller, for many years the winemaker of Carmel Mizrahi. Today the Master Distiller is Mendel Gil, who studied the art of distillation in Russia and the Ukraine.

In the early 1990’s, Tishbi Winery gained the advice and support of Sidney Back of Backsberg Winery in South Africa in an innovative venture. They decided to purchase an authentic Alembic Still from Cognac with the objective of making Israel’s first Cognac style brandy. Yonatan’s son, Golan Tishbi, was the distiller. He took this is on as his personal project, after studying the techniques at Remy Martin. The resulting three year old brandy was an instant success winning the prestigious ‘Trophy for Best Brandy Worldwide’ at the IWSC in London in 1996.
It was no mean feat for two Israeli brandies to win this Trophy twice in three years. However, it received less media attention than say, the comparable successes of Yarden at the IWSC and in the Wine Spectator, Castel in Decanter or Yatir in the Wine Advocate. Brandy was already becoming unfashionable in Israel.

The only other Israeli company to produce brandy is Binyamina Winery. In the days they were known as Eliaz, they produced a brandy called BBB, which continues to be produced today. More interesting to the brandy lover is The Cave Brandy, which is produced at Binyamina Winery, but has been matured at ‘The Cave’. This is a genuine 400 year old cave in the foothills of Mt. Carmel, not far from Bat Shlomo. It is 90 meters long with stone lined walls and ideal, natural aging conditions.

Segal Wines used to produce a brandy called Grand 41 and a brandy liqueur called Hallelujah, but these were discontinued soon after they were bought by Barkan.
So the main brandies to be found today in Israeli supermarkets are: Brandy Extra Fine, Carmel 777, Stock 84 and occasionally, BBB Brandy. The leading quality brandies for the brandy connoisseur are: Carmel 100 Brandy, Jonathan Tishbi Brandy and The Cave Brandy. These are scarcer, but may be found in most quality wine stores. The main brandy liqueur is Grand Sabra, which is particular popular in duty free shops.

Details about these brandies are as follows:

BBB Brandy, 3 Star
A basic brandy product produced by Binyamina Winery, suitable for those looking to buy on price. It is produced in a squat bottle, normally associated with liqueurs.
In ‘Classic Brandy’ by Nicholas Faith, BBB is referred to as: “.. the cheapest and naturally least satisfying of all Israeli brandies.” However it could be well used in cocktails.
Price: 45 shekels.

Stock 84, VSOP
Stock 84 is produced under licence by Barkan Winery.
It is made from a number of grape varieties, distilled in a continuous still and aged for up to four years in large oak casks. The result is light, fiery with an alcoholic nose.
Described in ‘Classic Spirits’ as: “Lighter styled… with a touch of fire.”
Price: 55 shekels.

Brandy Extra Fine, 2 year old
Extra Fine is a brandy produced by Carmel from various white grape varieties, distilled in a continuous still. It is aged in oak for 2 years. The result is in a light style, but it is still quite fruity.
Price: 60-65 shekels

Carmel 777 De-Luxe Brandy, 3 year old
Carmel 777 is mainly distilled in a continuous still and then aged for three years in small oak barrels. It is a light, fruity, spirity brandy, representing good value. It is an aperitif style
Price: 75-79 shekels

Carmel 100 Brandy, 8 year old
Carmel 100 is mainly produced from Colombard and a little Emerald Riesling and Chenin Blanc grapes, grown in the Shefela and Mt. Carmel regions. Seventy five per cent of the base wine was double distilled in copper pot stills and twenty five percent was distilled in a continuous still. The brandy was matured in barrels previously used for wines, so can be said to have a ‘wine finish’. The minimum age statement on the bottle is 8 years, but there are components of 13, 23 and 25 year old brandies in the blend.

Carmel 100 is referred to in ‘The Ultimate Bar Book’ by Andre Domine as: “An after dinner brandy with rich aromas of dried fruit, it is pleasantly warm and long on the palate.”
A recent tasting note by the judges in the IWSC in London described the brandy in complimentary terms: “Medium depth of gold. Delightful floral notes on the nose with apricot and peach. Well rounded mouth with sweet fruit flavours and firm oak backing. Some nutty notes add complexity. Lively, spirited finish.”
The book ‘Classic Spirits’ described the Carmel 100 as being with a: “Firm, mellow-fruit flavor and balance.”
Price: 195-215 shekels

The Cave Brandy, 10 year old
A brandy produced by Binyamina Winery. Made from French Colombard, double distilled and matured for 10 years in the cave, from which it receives its name. It is sold in an attractive and stylish glass decanter and it comes in a presentation box.
It is rich, full bodied and deeper colored than the others, with an attractive sweetness on the finish.
Price: 500-550 shekels

Jonathan Tishbi Brandy, 12 year old
This is an estate brandy named after the owner of the winery, Yonatan Tishbi. It was made from Colombard grapes, grown in Tishbi’s own vineyards, double distilled on its lees in an authentic Charentais Still. It was then aged in oak barrels. It is sold in a traditionally frosted brandy bottle.

The tasting note of IWSC judges is complimentary: “Dark gold with greenish flecks. Nose has honey, wine notes with dried fruit and cinnamon and vanilla. Well rounded mouth with fine, friendly, mellow notes. Fine oak support. Great balance and fine texture. Comforting warmth after the swallow. Spice filled finish.”
Nicholas Faith in ‘Classic Brandy’ regarded Tishbi Brandy’s success as a “tribute to its fruity cleanliness.”
Price: 350+ shekels

Grand Sabra
Grand Sabra is an orange flavored brandy produced by macerating fresh, Israeli grown kumquats in 777 Brandy, aged for three years in used wine barrels. The unique bulbous Sabra bottle is a copy of a Phoenician wine flask. It is a sort of kosher Grand Marnier, but has had its own success, winning gold medals in the IWSC in London.
The dry citrus nose marries well with the richness of the brandy. It has a pronounced orange aroma, is full bodied with a warm middle palate and an intense lengthy finish.
Price: 120 shekels

Of these, only the Carmel 777 and 100 Brandies, Jonathan Tishbi Brandy and Grand Sabra are known in export markets, but each has received awards at the highest level and warm recommendations from international drinks experts. All are kosher and considering the rarity of kosher brandies from elsewhere, they fill a niche in the kosher bar portfolio. Nicholas Faith in ‘The Pocket Guide To Cognacs and Brandies’ wrote: “Israeli distilleries have the enormous advantage of a tied market, for they are the only producers of kosher brandy. Thus orthodox and many unorthodox Jews the world over naturally turn to them.” Regretably, Israel’s brandies tend to be comparatively expensive against their non kosher equivalents and have not succeeded to gain a foothold in export markets.

Israeli brandies are the natural spirit of a wine producing country and they do deserve a little respect. Even though sales are unlikely to return to what they were, there is justified national pride at the international success and no doubt they will continue to be appreciated by those few connoisseurs and brandy lovers, who know what others are missing.

(This article originally appeared on http://www.wines-israel.co.il/len/apage/3355.php)

I love how social media can be used to introduce people to Israeli wine. On my Twitter account (@hakerem – you arefollowing me, I presume), I found a wine blogger who was looking for some wine tips. Well, first we bonded over a few tweets about (the lack of) social media in the wine industry. Then, I suggested some Israeli wine — which she had never had before.

Upon taking my suggestion, @foodwinechickie ordered a bottle of Segal Cabernet Sauvignon from Wine Library (yes, that Wine Library – the one owned by @garyvee’s dad and from Wine Library TV).

Well, she just received her wine over the weekend from Wine Library. This is what she had to say:

Last night, I had the pleasure of sharing a bottle of Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon with some guests at my home.  What was neat about the wine, is that:

1. It was my first taste of Israeli wine – definitely not my last
2. The bottle was recommended by Avi, a wine communications consultant from Ranaana who I ‘met’ on Twitter (@hakerem) – how great is social media?!
3. I was able to find, order online and receive the wine within 2 business days from the savvy folks at Wine Library in Springfield, NJ, who I also exchange Tweets with (@winelibrary).

I opened the bottle of 2004 Segal’s Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve a couple of hours prior to dinner, and when I first tasted it, I felt like it could improve from decanting for all the elements to come together.

After about 45 minutes in the decanter, I found the beautifully dark wine to be rich, spicy and full of bold red current flavors.

We enjoyed the well-priced wine with grilled filet mignon kabobs, basmati rice and a four pepper sauce, enhanced by a splash of the Segal’s.  I feel the meal was a worthy pairing to the well-balanced oak and tannins of this pleasant wine.

For more information and for a buying guide on Israeli wines and kosher wines, visit:  www.israeli-wine.org

Wine 2.0 at its finest.

How has social media introduced you to new wines?

This is a guest post by Adam Montefiore, which was first published in www.wines-israel.com

These were the words of an English wine journalist who visited Israel four times in the last 15 years and claimed to know to what was good for the Israeli wine industry. His parting advice was: “Learn to love Carignan. Every country has a grape they are known for as their ‘signature’ variety. Why not make some old vine Carignan, it’s your cheapest variety, it’s not unknown, and such a wine could be unique, interesting, and (hopefully) more sensibly priced.”

Carignan hails from the town of Carinena in Spain. It is known as Carignane in California, Carignano in Italy and Carinena or Mazuelo in Spain. It is most prominent in Languedoc-Roussillon, the Catalan regions of Spain, Sardinia, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. It is fairly well distributed in Cyprus, less so in Turkey and is barely seen in Greece. However it is more respected in Lebanon.

Traditionally, it is a variety that has always been most appreciated in blends. Mazuelo is usually a component in the Rioja blend. In Priorat it is often blended with Grenache. In the better Carignan regions of the Languedoc, like Corbieres, Fitou, Faugeres, it is often blended with Syrah, Grenache or Mourvedre. The legendary Paul Draper from Ridge Winery in California, produces a rare old vine Carignan and also uses it in one of his Zinfandel blends. It is also an integral part of the famous Lebanese wine, Chateau Musar, where it is blended with Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Carignan has also been the backbone of the Israeli wine industry for nearly 130 years, being ever present since the 1880’s, until today. When the first tentative steps to viticulture were taken in 1882 by a small number of farmers in the Rishon Le Zion area, they planted some local Arab varieties but also a grape they called ‘Corignan’. They received their cuttings from the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School.

Amongst the other varieties planted were Alicante (a synonym of Grenache), Espart (aka Mourvedre) and Bordolo (aka Cinsault), so there was a distinct bias to vines from the South of France. The reasons for this were not only that Mikveh Israel was founded and funded by the French but also they obviously thought the climate in Palestine was similar to that of the South of France.

So the presence of Carignan in Israel preceded even the involvement of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the founder of the modern Israel wine industry. However, when the Baron came on his first visit to Israel in 1887, he insisted on concentrating more on Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. This was the beginning of a debate that is still going on today: What are better for Israel, Bordeaux or Mediterranean varieties?

Back then, in the 1890’s and into the first decade of the 20^th century, the Mediterranean varieties won the argument. The growers complained about the low yields of the Bordeaux varieties. Furthermore the early wineries discovered the market was not yet ready for a more expensive, higher quality ‘Palestine wine’. So, when the vines in Israel became affected by phylloxera, they all had to be grubbed up and the vineyards replanted. By that time the growers knew what the market wanted – basic sacramental wines and inexpensive bulk wine. Carignan and Alicante were selected instead and these two varieties were systematically planted throughout Israel.

By the 1940’s, Carignan had a 20% share of the wine grapes planted in Israel. This grew to 28% in the 1950’s and to 35% in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s the harvest of Carignan amounted to nearly 25,000 tons and at one stage, even reached 55% of all the grapes planted in Israel.

Even then, the Carignan vine was considered to be most at home in the area around the town of Zichron Ya’acov. More than half of the country’s Carignan vineyards were planted in the valleys either side of the southern part of Mount Carmel. This was in those days the largest wine growing region in Israel. All the Carignan vineyards were planted in the goblet, bush vine style that was in vogue at the time. Harvesting was by hand and with the older vineyards, drip feed irrigation was not always absolutely necessary.

Why was Carignan so popular? Firstly it was ideal for the Israel’s Mediterranean climate. Though susceptible to powdery mildew, it proved easy to ripen and produced consistent results even during the hottest, most humid vintage. It was versatile and could be used to make grape juice, sweet sacramental wines or dry red table wines and growers could get very high yields, up to 4 tons per dunam. What was important was volume production and suitability to the climate. Quality was not then an issue.

Over the years, two attempts were made to improve the simple Carignan grape. The Ruby Cabernet variety was developed in California in 1949. This was a cross between Carignan & Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, it is only sparsely grown in Israel, where there are approximately 100 tons harvested each year. The only commercial winery using it to good effect is Tishbi Winery, with their Ruby M, a blend of Ruby Cabernet and Merlot.

More prevalent is the Argaman variety, which was developed in Israel in the early 1990’s.  It is a cross between Carignan and Souzao, and there are about 2,000 tons harvested in Israel. The most successful varietal Argaman to date, is a single vineyard wine produced by Segal Wines. However neither Ruby Cabernet nor Argaman were successful in replacing Carignan as the volume grape of Israel.

Since then, Israel has gone through a well-documented quality revolution. Wineries now plant noble varieties in cooler, higher altitude vineyards, with the express objective of making quality wines. As a result of this change, it is the Bordeaux varieties that have returned, fulfilling the original vision of Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Today, the finest wine from most Israeli wineries is either a Bordeaux style blend or a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. These are the wines receiving the highest scores and bringing Israel a new name for quality.

Yet the marketing people and some winemakers still believe a return to Mediterranean varieties is inevitable. Shiraz/ Syrah has been heavily planted in the last 10 years and is thought by many to be ideal for Israel and there are plantings of new clones of Grenache and Mourvedre etc.

In the 1990’s, there was a revival in Carignan, led by regions such as Priorat and Fitou. The use of old vines and reduction in yields was seen as the key to getting the maximum from the variety. Also in Israel, winemakers began to look at their productive Carignan vineyards differently. Individual plots in old vine vineyards were identified and yields were drastically reduced. The stage was set to produce some good, quality, old vine Carignans.

Margalit Winery made a one off Carignan in 2001 and since then Carmel has been the leading the way producing its Appellation Carignan Old Vines from Zichron Ya’acov vineyards since the 2004 vintage. The vineyards used are around 35 years old and yields have been drastically reduced to as little as 0.3 tons per dunam or 20hl/ha. Carmel also produce an easy drinking red called Carmel Ridge (known as Reches in Hebrew), which is a blend of Carignan and Shiraz from the Zichron Ya’acov region.

Apart from Carmel, there are other wineries now producing some excellent Carignans. There is a newly released Barkan Reserve Carignan from their Hulda vineyard, in the Judean plain and the grapevine says that there may soon be a Tishbi Estate Carignan.  There are also a few smaller wineries specializing in Carignan. For example the Vitkin and Somek Carignans have had very good reviews. The English wine journalist quoted earlier, would be satisfied to see the revival of Israel’s oldest variety.

Carignan was the first international variety planted in Israel and it has been a permanent fixture since the earliest vineyards of Rishon Le Zion in 1882 and Zichron Ya’acov in 1883. Today it is true that there are more hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon planted, but because of overall higher average yields, Carignan is still the leading variety in terms of tons harvested with approximately 20% of the total wine grape harvest.

The fact that vineyards once used for sacramental wine are now producing quality varietal Carignans is symbolic for the changes in priorities in the Israel wine industry as whole. Certainly the wine critic, sommelier or retailer from abroad is more interested in tasting wines that are edgier, more exotic or unusual. The world is awash with Cabernets and Merlots. The wine professional may turn up his nose at the opportunity to taste yet another Cabernet or Merlot. However an Old Vine Carignan from Israel – that could be really interesting!

Wine tasting is an important part of wine appreciating. I’ve long had a section on wine tasting.

Now, the aptly named Wine Tasting Guy, a fellow passionate lover of Israeli wine, has a few videos about wine tasting and a taste of a recent release from Israel’s Dalton Winery that he tasted while visiting his brother in Israel. Dalton has some great wines that were recently released, and I plan on opening up their new rose release in these hot spring days.

Here is Wine Tasting Guy talking about wine tasting. Gary Vaynerchuk he’s not despite the shared name, but despite his more subdued style, he’s still worth watching!

Gary, aka, Wine Tasting Guy enjoys the Dalton Sauvignon Blanc