It’s that time of year again – time for my suggestions of
great Israeli wines for Passover. Since
I don’t have a synagogue bulletin to write for, I’m curious to see if anyone
seeks out my advice via Facebook or my blog.
It’s been a good year for wine and a busy year of tastings,
despite the fact that I did not get to Israel in the last year. Some of these wines have appeared on my lists
before, but many of these are new this year.
First the whites.
I’ll
start by saying I’m no longer the consumer of white wines that I once was. When the girls were home I likely drank more
white wine. Still, I have some
favorites, and try to keep my tastings interesting by trying new releases as I
find them. For the budget conscious I
highly recommend the Tishbi Winery’s whites:
Chenin Blanc, Emerald Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc – these wines drink
easily and smoothly and can often be found under $15 in local retail
outlets. I recently found the Chenin
Blanc online for less than $13.
I remain
a big fan of the Dalton Winery’s whites from the Upper Galilee – the Alma White
blend, the Wild Yeast Viognier and the Unoaked Chardonnay. The Viognier and the Chardonnay are often
less than $20. Each pairs nicely with
fish, roasted poultry and vegetarian dishes.
In the tastings I conduct, the Chardonnay is a consistent favorite. Rounding out the whites, I still like the
Carmel Appellation Ridge White (the 2011 is a nice blend of Columbard,
Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier - usually $15 or less) and the Teperberg Collage
White, a nice blend of Chardonnay and Semillon.
The Teperberg has the added feature of being mevushal, if you are
drinking somewhere where that matter.
I don’t
usually serve Rose wines, let alone at Seder, but this year I had a chance to
try and buy the Castel Rose ($32) and as most of their wines are beyond my
budget, I decided to try this one. It is
a nice, balanced Rose, with nice fruit, and should go well, with either the
fish course or poultry.
Among
the reds new to me this year, long time winemaker Barry Saslove is now making
kosher wines, and I really enjoy the Saslove Aviv Shiraz, 2010. I met Barry more than a dozen years ago, and
have always admired his wines. He and
his daughter Roni are making some beautiful wines in the central wine growing
regions of Israel.
I remain
a raving fan of one of last year’s favorites, the Har (Mount) Odem Volcanic
Shiraz, made in the far north of the Golan Heights by the Alfasi family (Abby
and I spend a nice afternoon with Itay in 2013). This is a beautiful Shiraz, pairing well with
turkey or brisket and I've found it on sale for around $26 in the last couple
of months.
I've also been drinking a lot of wine from the Tulip Winery in Kfar Tikvah. Tulip does well by doing good (tip of the hat
to Tom Lehrer for the phrase), employing some of their neighbors, adults with
developmental disabilities at the winery.
My favorites (under $30) are their Mostly Shiraz and the silky Just
Merlot, though the Mostly Cabernet Franc is also a great wine.
Galil
Mountain who has now stratified their brand by using similar (and to me confusing)
labels at 3 levels, but they continue to produce lovely and affordable
wines. The entry level is their Galil
Mountain label, their mid-range is called Galil and their high end is Galil
Elyon (which means Upper Galilee, kind of a play on words). The Galil Elyon has three well known favorites,
the Avivim white and the Meron and Yiron Blends – the Yiron 2009 is a
Cabernet-Merlot, Petit Verdot, and I will likely have one open on my seder
table. The 2010 replaced the Petit
Verdot with Syrah. It appears they have stopped making two of my favorites, the
Shiraz and the Cab-Shiraz blend, but they have introduced some new blends,
including the Ela which combines Barbera, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc
grapes. Also, the Viognier, for a long
time one of my favorite Israeli whites now contains a hint of oak, where once
it was unoaked. I served it just last
week at a tasting and thought it was still very good and I will still enjoy
drinking it.
Sometimes the big boys also get
things right. I remain supportive of the
fine wines being affordably made by the Carmel winery, particularly their
Appellation series, which features some great varietals like Cabernet Franc, Petite
Sirah (their spelling, not mine) and Carignan.
These wines sell in the $18-23 range, are consistently delicious and
represent the notion that even a large commercial winery can get it right when
it tries. Carmel does a lot to support
and assist small wine makers in Israel, and so I’m happy to be supportive in
return for the great experience and quality they bring to the Israeli wine
market. You probably also know that I am
not a sweet wine drinker, but I probably serve more Moscato di Carmel as an
example of Israeli dessert wines than any other wine. Whatever experienced wine drinkers think about
Moscato wines, this one goes head to head with the popular one in the blue
bottle, it’s a crowd pleaser and a product of Israel and sells at a price about
twenty percent less than that blue bottle.
Judge for yourself and let me know.
Whatever you drink, please relax and enjoy and have a Chag
Kasher v’Sameach!
