Sparkling for Celebration
23 Dec2011
The following article was originally posted on wines-israel.com. It is reprinted with permission.
Sparkling wine is the wine of fashion and celebration. Whether on New Year’s Eve or at a wedding, it remains the classic wine to make a toast with. It is also a symbol of success and happiness. The new ‘in’ wine in Israel is anything with bubbles. The many imported sparkling wines are generally covered by the almost generic terms of Champagne, Cava, Prosecco and Lambrusco.
Champagne is the byword for quality in sparkling wines. It is made in the Champagne region in France in the most expensive, time consuming way.
Cava is Spain’s national sparkling wine, which is made in the Catalonian region. It provides quality, but at a cheaper price than the French version.
Prosecco is the latest rising star. This is a light, soft, fruity sparkling wine made in the Veneto region of Italy. It is usually a little cheaper than Cava, and so is popular with those buying on price.Lambrusco is a semi sparkling wine, with a slight fizz. It may be red or white and in any style from dry to semi sweet.
Champagne is the ultimate expression of the art, which is replicated by ‘traditional method’ sparkling wines made elsewhere. Between the late 1950’s and 1980’s, Carmel was the first Israeli winery to produce ‘méthode champenoise’ sparkling wines. It was expensive undertaking needing a special work force as everything was done by hand. There was no market for expensive sparkling wine in those days and so they eventually stopped production. It was too unprofitable. The only remaining clue of a champagne past, are the old pupitres, which can still be seen at the Rishon Le Zion Cellars.
Carmel’s specialist winemaker for sparkling wines was Koby Gat. He was a Francophile and his main interest was in sparkling wines. As Carmel’s focus changed, his did also. He became the agronomist looking after Carmel’s vineyards and later ran the wine education department. The main wine flying the flag for Israel was President’s Sparkling wine, made primarily from Colombard grapes. It was initially made by the champagne method, and later by the charmat process. It was sold abroad as Brut Cuvée and Blanc de Blancs, all under the Carmel label. Another brand was Sambatyon. There was also a Chardonnay Sparkling Wine at in the early 1990’s.
It was then that Israel took a giant step forward to producing quality sparkling wine. The Golan Heights Winery sent their young, new winemaker, Victor Schoenfeld, to work for six months at Jacquesson Champagne to learn the secrets of the ‘champenoise.’ The Golan then invested in all the modern equipment to make champagne method sparkling wine. This time the process was mechanized and gyro-pallets were used instead of manual remuage. Their efforts resulted in three traditional method sparkling wines: Yarden Blanc de Blancs, Yarden Brut and Gamla Rose.
At the 1996 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London, Israeli sparkling wine arrived on the international stage. Yarden Blanc de Blancs, then a non-vintage wine, won the Trophy for The Best Bottle Fermented Sparkling Wine. This high profile award was repeated in 2003 when Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1997, by then a vintage wine, won the same trophy. The 1999 vintage also won a prestigious trophy at Vinitaly of 2006. These prizes were to the immense credit of the Golan Heights Winery. It showed that Israeli sparkling wine could be truly world class.
Today sparkling wine such as President’s, Brut Cuvée, Sambatyon, Yarden Brut and Gamla Rose are history. They are no longer made. However the choice of quality Israeli sparkling wines has never been better. These are the wines for New Years Eve or Sylvester’s parties and they are as good as any Cava or Prosseco! The range of Israeli sparklers goes from the frizzante Moscatos to the finest champagne method wines.
Young Selected Moscato, Golan Moscato & Young Selected Carignano – all 2011
These are light, fruity, easy drinking wines, with a touch of sweetness, and a slight sparkle. The two Moscatos are white and the Carignano is red. All are low alcohol.
Selected Sparkling, Selected Sparkling Rosé & Selected Sparkling Lite
The regular ‘extra dry’ white sparkling wine is made from Colombard and Sauvignon Blanc. It is light, fruity with a delicate and not too obvious sweetness.
The Selected Sparkling Rosé has a delicate berry fruit nose, is deliciously balanced and has an attractive salmon pink color. Selected Sparkling Lite is a semi sweet sparkling wine with only 7% alcohol.
Tabor Pninim White & Tabor Pninim Red
Tabor make two semi sparkling red and white wines. The white is made from Gewurztraminer and Viognier grapes and the red is made from Merlot. Both are semi dry, quaffable and may described as fun wines, to be enjoyed without pretension. The word ‘Pninim’ means pearls and is so named for the string of bubbles that constantly rise upwards in the glass.
Private Collection Brut & Private Collection Brut Rosé
The Private Collection Brut sparkling wine is made by the Charmat Method from Colombard and Chardonnay. The wine is refreshing, with an aroma of lime, green apple, with hints of lightly toasted bread. The Private Collection Brut Rosé is made from Chardonnay, Colombard and Syrah. Delicate pink in color, with a strawberry nose, this wine will be a good accompaniment to a wide range of first course dishes.
Tabor 562 Red & Tabor 562 White
The Tabor sparkling wines come in a white and red version. The red wine is the first genuine sparkling red wine in Israel and is made from Barbera grapes. It is fruity with a refreshing cranberry finish and is a fun, slightly unusual sparkling wine option. The white is made from Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon and has a refreshing citrus character.
Gamla Brut
Gamla Brut is made by the traditional method from 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, grown in the relatively cool climate Golan Heights. The wine is left to age for one year at least before disgorging. The wine is bone dry, with good berry aroma and refreshing acidity.
Tishbi Brut
A bottle fermented sparkling wine made from French Colombard grapes, grown in the Shomron Region vineyards, in the southern Mt. Carmel region. The wine is aromatic, fruity, with a nice clean good lemony finish.
Yarden Blanc de Blancs 2005
Israel’s finest champagne method sparkling wine, made 100% from Chardonnay grapes grown on the Golan Heights. The wine is delicate with tropical fruit notes, and a toasty backdrop. It is of the quality of the finest champagne, but is a great deal better value.
Pelter Blanc de Blancs
A tiny production of traditional method sparkling wine, made from Chardonnay grapes grown in the Galilee and Golan. The wine rests for three years on its yeasts. The result is a fresh, aromatic and intense wine. The wine is rare, exclusive and very expensive.
- In: Wineries|Wines
- Tags: Blanc du Blancs, Carmel, Golan, Pelter, sparkling wine
Advancing Brand Israel
1 Dec2011
The following article is adapted from wines-israel.com
Advancing Brand Israel
The United States is Israel’s largest export market for wines, with over 50% of all Israel’s exports going there. It is also the country with the largest potential for Israeli wine. The USA has something like 5.5 million Jews. More than 140,000 US residents were born in Israel and there are between 500,000 to 800,000 Israelis living in America, depending on who you ask. The East Coast in particular is very cosmopolitan in its choice of wines and is open to the smaller wine producing countries.
Until now, Israeli wineries have not worked together to advance the Israel wine brand, apart from the pioneering ‘Handcrafted Wines of Israel’, a consortium of ten wineries, which was set up and managed by Carmel in the early 2000’s. This was the first time Israeli wineries worked together.
The IWPA.
Now Royal Wine Corp., from Bayonne, New Jersey, has set up the ‘IWPA’. This is an abbreviation for The Israel Wine Producers Association.
The IWPA includes fifteen Israeli wineries, from A to Z, of every size and type, from large to small and old to new. It takes in wine regions from the north to the south of the country, covering every terroir in Israel. The largest wineries in Israel, Carmel and Barkan, are involved, along with some of the finest quality boutique wineries, such as Castel and Yatir.
The IWPA’s mission statement states: “The purpose of IWPA is to represent Israeli wines with a unified voice. To communicate, educate, market and expose US customers and consumers to Israel as a world class wine region.”
Royal Wine, situated in Bayonne, New Jersey, is owned by the Herzog family. They are owner of two wineries, Herzog Wine Cellars in California and Kedem Winery in Upstate New York. They are not only the largest importer and distributor of Kosher wines in the world, but also the largest importers of wine, spirits and food from Israel.
Joshua Greenstein is the Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the IWPA. He is the 5th generation of his family to work in the wine and spirits trade. He worked in the past to advance mega brands such as Gallo and Yellow Tail, as well as for Royal/ Kedem. His goal is to put Israeli firmly on the map. He refers to Israel as an ‘Ancient land, with Modern wine.’
He says: “It’s my goal to increase the awareness and tell the story of each individual winery and thereby build awareness for the category as a whole, to a whole new level”.
The fifteen wineries that are partners in the IWPA, provide a cross section of Israel’s wine industry, covering every possible angle of interest.
Largest Wineries.
The IWPA includes some of the largest wineries in Israel, including:
Carmel Winery, Barkan-Segal, Binyamina and Zion. Carmel is the largest winery in Israel, producing 15 million bottles a year. It is the largest winery producing kosher wine in the world and is owned by SCV des Grandes Caves. Barkan is the second largest winery in Israel. It is owned by Israel’s largest brewery, Tempo Beer Industries and may currently be Israel’s largest exporter. Binyamina is Israel’s fifth largest winery in Israel and is owned by the Hezi Hinam supermarket chain. According to the harvest returns of 2010, Zion Winery is the seventh largest winery in Israel. These four wineries on their own shared no less than 60% of Israel’s wine grape harvest in 2010.
Best Boutique Wineries.
The IPWA also includes some of Israel’s finest small wineries including:
Domaine du Castel, Yatir Winery and Flam Winery. Over the years they have been recognized in publications like Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Daniel Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines. They are regarded as being part of the elite and amongst Israel’s very finest boutique wineries.
Castel, situated in Ramat Raziel, is owned by Eli Ben Zaken and managed by him with the help of his sons. Yatir Winery, situated at Tel Arad in the north eastern Negev, is owned by Carmel.
Flam is owned by the Flam brothers, sons of Israel Flam, who was winemaker of Carmel for many years.
Historical Wineries.
The IWPA includes some of Israel’s most historic wineries. These include Zion, Carmel, Segal and Binyamina, which each have a place in the story of Israeli wine.
Zion Winery is owned by the Shor family. Their descendants founded the first recorded winery in 1848, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Today the ninth generation manages Zion Winery.
The historic winery of Israel is of course Carmel, which was founded in 1882 by the same Rothschilds that owned the famous Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux.
The Segal family of distillers came to Israel in 1925, and founded their winery in 1950. Recently Segal Wines was taken over by Barkan. Eliaz was founded in 1952 following the founding of the State of Israel. It was later renamed Binyamina Winery.
New Wineries.
The list also contains some of Israel’s newer, younger wineries.
For instance, Alexander, Bazelet Hagolan, and Flam were founded in the 1990’s. This was the period the boutique winery boom began in Israel.
Psagot, Tzuba, Shiloh and Yatir were founded in the 2,000’s – and Domaine Netofa was founded as recently as 2009!
Behind each winery is an owner, who is likely also be the winemaker, making wine with commitment and passion. The resulting wines are highly individual creations representing both the personality and terroir. The quality and variety are in no doubt.
Covering All Regions,
The wineries in this consortium cover the map of Israel from the Golan Heights to the Negev. To understand the difference of the terroirs, in the Golan the main pest is wild boars that eat the grapes. In the Negev, it is roaming camels that can devastate a vine in seconds. The IWPA wineries represent all the main wine growing regions.
Bazelet Hagolan is to be found in the central Golan Heights, in the northeast of Israel. Domaine Netofa is in the Upper Galilee and Gamla wines are made primarily in the Galilee.
Carmel and Binyamina are both situated on the southern slopes of Mt. Carmel, south of Haifa, whilst Alexander is in the Sharon Plain, near Netanya.
Barkan & Segal are located in the central Judean Plain, south west of Tel Aviv.
Shiloh, Psagot and Zion are in the central mountains. Shiloh is in the Samaria region, whilst Psagot and Zion are placed north and east of Jerusalem respectively.
Both Castel & Tzuba are situated in the Judean Hills, west of Jerusalem.
The southernmost winery is Yatir, which is situated at Tel Arad, in the northeastern Negev Dessert.
Wide Range of Expertise.
The expertise these wineries bring with them is wide and varied. They include winemakers with all sorts of backgrounds, who have studied at the world’s premier wine universities and have had experience in the world’s major wine regions.
For example, Lior Lacser, Carmel’s chief winemaker, studied in Beaune in Burgundy. Ed Salzberg, Barkan’s chief winemaker, graduated from the University of California at Davis in the United States. Assaf Paz, winemaker of Binyamina Winery, studied in Bordeaux. Golan Flam, winemaker of Flam Winery, studied in Italy. Eran Goldwasser, winemaker of Yatir Winery, is a graduate of Adelaide University in Australia.
The two winemakers who have contributed most to Royal’s world wine portfolio are also represented. Pierre Miodownick, was for 25 years the winemaker of Royal Wine Europe. He has now has founded his own winery in the Galilee called Domaine Netofa.
Also Californian Peter Stern, ex-winemaker of the Herzog Winery, and legendary wine consultant to both the Golan and Carmel, is involved. He was the architect of the quality revolution in Israel. He is now responsible for making the Gamla wines to be imported to the USA by Royal Wine. Within America, Gamla is a negociant brand producing wines primarily from the Galilee.
Summary.
So the IWPA is a grouping of Israeli wineries which is able to give the color, variety and flavor of the Israel wine scene. It includes some of the largest and best Israeli wineries, along with the most exciting new wineries.
Gary Landsman, Director of Marketing at Royal Wine, is an Israeli wine specialist. He has travelled through the vineyards, worked at some of the wineries and tasted with the winemakers. He says: “Israel wines offer something else in a globalizing market place. There is a combination of Old World and New World terroir. Ripe fruit flavors combine with earthy wild herb characteristics to make wines of interest to connoisseurs and wine lovers alike.”
Israel is a New World country, in one of the most ancient wine growing regions. It is situated in the Eastern Mediterranean, the cradle of the grape, where wine culture began. Before the Greeks and the Romans of ancient times, and well before the Italians and French of today, they were making wines in Ancient Israel.
The renewal started in the 1880’s due to the finance and vision of a Rothschild. The recent quality revolution has ensured that Israel is one of the newest of the quality wine producing countries. Now, the quality matches the rich history. The IWPA provides a platform to showcase the best of Israel.
www.israeli-wine.org congratulates both the fifteen Israeli wineries and Royal Wine Corp. on their joint initiative and wishes the IWPA, B’Hatzlaha! Good Luck!
The IWPA – Wineries and Brands.
Alexander
Barkan
Bazelet Hagolan
Binyamina
Carmel
Castel
Domaine Netofa
Flam
Gamla
Psagot
Segal’s
Shiloh
Tzuba
Yatir
Zion
- In: Wine industry
Moti and Hila Teperberg
26 Nov2011
Ha’aretz’s weekend magazine has a new series where they profile a parent and child. This weekend is Moti Teperberg, from Teperberg 1870, and his daughter Hila Lieber-Teperberg.
A little history of Teperberg winery:
Moti is a fifth-generation Jerusalemite on his father Menachem’s side and 10th generation on his mother Rivka’s side. The foundations for the family’s wine business were laid by Avraham Teperberg, who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine from Austria in 1850, and two years later opened a store in Jerusalem that sold wine and other alcoholic beverages. His son, Ze’ev Zaide, caught the bug and in 1870 set up a winery called Efrat in the Old City, named for the ancient route of grapes that were transported from Bethlehem, also called Efrat in Genesis. The first winery in the country’s Jewish community, antedating Baron Rothschild’s venture by about 20 years, it was located in cellars beneath the Jewish Quarter. In 1925, the winery was relocated to the Romema neighborhood at the western edge of the new city. The business flourished and the Teperbergs sold bottles of sweet sacramental wine in large numbers. But then someone noticed that the winery’s logo, showing the two spies in Canaan with a cluster of grapes, had been copied by the big Carmel Mizrachi Winery. "There were legal proceedings with Carmel over the logo," Moti recalls. "In the end there was a compromise, but the affair cost the family a lot of energy and money, and the business deteriorated." Afterward, the Teperbergs were granted an exclusive franchise by the British Mandatory authorities to produce alcoholic beverages, and established a plant in Sarona, the community founded by the German Templars north of Jaffa. A few years later, the authorities allowed alcohol to be imported and the family went bankrupt.
After Israel’s establishment, Moti’s father and his brother went back to the wine business. The new winery, located in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda produce market – in the backyard of Rachmo’s famous hummus place – manufactured some 80,000 bottles of sacramental wine. "That was the only kind of wine people in Israel drank at the time," Moti says. "There was barely any dry red wine. Afterward, the Romanians and the Hungarians brought in the spritz trick: You put wine in a Sypholux soda-maker and create Champagne. I remember the Mahane Yehuda winery from my childhood. On holidays, during the harvest, I poured grapes into a machine and stomped on grapes with special boots." In 1964, the winery moved to Motza, outside Jerusalem.
Moti has managed the winery since 1984. For the past six years it has been located near Kibbutz Tzora, on the slopes of the Judean Hills wine country, which evokes Tuscany. Moti joined the new wave of local winemakers who discovered the marvels of terroir (a fusion of terrain and climate ), and the ability of skilled local vintners to put out high-quality products. In an attempt to shake off the image of the sweet Efrat wines, Moti called his line Teperberg 1870; his is today the fourth biggest winery in the country. Hila works in the business as a market coordinator and is in charge of establishing a visitors’ center.
- In: Wineries
- Tags: Teperberg, Teperberg 1870
Yatir Forest
23 Nov2011
Check out my good friend and mentor Adam Montefiore (and a true mentsh!) talk about one of Israel’s best wineries – Yatir Forest.
- In: Wine industry
David Rhodes talking about Beaujolais Nouveau style wines and traditions including Israeli versions including Tishbi Junior, Binyamina Baby, the Golan Heights recently discontinued Gamay Nouveau and Carmel’s original 20 year Nouveau wines from 1983-2003. The following is from David’s radio show on Rusty Mike Radio.
Click here to download or right-click “save as”
Israel’s Robust Wine Industry
20 Nov2011
In the past decade Israel’s wine making has transformed from a hobby into a major industry. Today, there are some 200 boutique wineries in Israel, each one doing their best to make quality wines.
- In: Wine industry
- Tags: Video
The Ultimate Rogov Guide
11 Nov2011
Buy The Ultimate Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines
The following is printed with permission of the author
The ultimate, and final, Rogov Guide has been published. It contains nearly 687 pages. Last years version had a mere 603 pages! This year there is no International kosher wine Guide, nor a version in Hebrew. The book is published by Toby Press, the publisher, which has provided a wonderful service to Israeli wine over the years. Rogov’s Guide
It will be the final edition because of the untimely death of the author, Daniel Rogov, z”l, just over a month ago. Daniel Rogov for thirty years had been Israel’s most famous wine critic and the voice of the Israel wine renaissance. His mouthpiece was firstly the Jerusalem Post, then Haaretz and Rogov’s Wine Discussion Forum. However it was the annual Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines, which really made Rogov a household name.
The book contains 175 Israeli wineries. For this reason alone it is worth purchasing, because it is the most comprehensive list of Israeli wineries available anywhere, and that includes Israeli wine websites and even the country’s official wine bodies! So it is a valuable source of information. It also contains a data base of wine tasting notes and scores for older wines making it a complete source of information.
The eagerly awaited winery rankings by Rogov were increased this year from the usual ‘Top 10’, to a Baker’s Dozen, allowing the addition of three more wines to the standard list. The top wineries were:
- Golan Heights Winery (Katzrin, Rom, Yarden, Gamla)
- Margalit
- Yatir
- Castel
- Clos de Gat
- Flam
- Chateau Golan
- Pelter
- Carmel (Limited Edition, Mediterranean, Single Vineyard, Appellation)
- Sea Horse
- Recanati
- Tzora
- Vitkin
The top wines released in the last 12 months were:
- Golan Heights Rom Yarden 2007 95 points
- Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve 2009 95
- Yatir Forest 2008 95
Tom Stevenson, the author of the Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia and editor of The Wine Report, wrote: “……thankfully sommeliers and consumers of Israeli wines everywhere can turn to Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines. The Guide ranks with Platter’s Guide in South Africa as head-and-shoulders above every other national wine guide.” A compliment indeed from one of the world’s most respected wine writers. The The Ultimate Rogov’s Guide
- In: Featured|Wine industry|Wineries
- Tags: Daniel Rogov, wine gifts
Sommelier 2011
6 Nov2011
Monday November 7 and Tuesday November 8 at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Center.
Will you be there?
For more information about Sommelier or to register. (Free for the industry – registration requires – otherwise 150 shekels and well worth it!)
- In: Wine industry
- Tags: Events, Sommelier
Villa Wilhelma Winery
29 Oct2011
Among the wineries at the Ra’anana Wine Festival was the Villa Wilhema Winery.
Founded by wine growers on Moshav B’nai Atarot (near HaTayaasim Junction and Airport City), grapes are sourced from the Upper Galilee and Ben Zimra vineyard.
The winery has events on Fridays. Conviently located near Ben Gurion Airport, it’s worthwhile attending both for tourists looking to visit a (non-kosher) Israeli winery and residents.
- In: Wineries
- Tags: Villa Wilhelma Winery
Gat Shomron Winery
28 Oct2011
Gat Shomron Winery, in Karnei Shomron, was one of the wineries at the Ra’anana Wine Festival and also was at Sommolier.
Founded by Avigdor Sharon and Lior Nachum on the settlement of Karnei Shomron, not far from Kfar Saba, in 2003, this small winery released its first wines from that harvest in 2005. Grapes are sourced from the areas of Shomron and the Upper Galilee.
Among their wines include two lines of Merlot and Syrah, one meant for early drinking and one that is heavier and more tannic. Both wines were enjoyable, with the heavier series wineries capable of aging 10-15 years — a real rarity in Israel. Their Syrah wines are among the best, most complex wines that I’ve ever encountered in Israel with an aging capacity that is only seen in Yarden’s Single Vineyard wines, considered the best in Israel.
For a select few, Avigdor and Lior also pulled out their latest wine, an ice wine. It is very syrupy, thick, and fruity, it is very enjoyable to drink and sense the complexity of the light summer fruits like mango and passion-fruit that can be tasted. This unique ice wine seems like it would be a great wine served with an ice cream sundae or delicious dessert.
The Forward’s Jew and the Carrot blog also mentioned Gat Shomron’s ice wine.
Gat Shomron Ice Wine
Although Gat Shomron Winery mostly produce red wines, specifically very nice Shiraz and Merlot, their ice wine is what grabbed my attention. Considering Israel’s warm climate, ice wine is difficult to produce and requires mechanically freezing the grapes to achieve the desired effect. A dessert wine, Gat Shomron’s rendition is sweet without being cloying. The flavors — apple and tropical fruits — are well balanced, and the wine goes down nicely. Located in the Karnei Shomron settlement in the West Bank, Gat Shomron has been making wine since 2003. It may be tricky to find in the United States, but winemakers Avigdor Sharon and Lior Nahum say they are happy to export to America. Email [email protected] for information.
Pair with: A cheese platter for dessert.
- In: Wine industry
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