Israeli Wine
Recommendations for Passover 5776 (2016)
If you have been following me for a while, you know that
when it comes to wine, my focus is on the east, with Israeli wines. There are more and more great kosher wines
being created all over the globe (this year’s new find for me was a budget
priced wine from Bulgaria) but I’m one person, and if I have to know about
something, I’d rather stick to what I can reasonably get to know well. That, combined with my desire to concentrate
my wine buying on Israeli wines as a way of economically supporting Israel is
why I continue to focus on Israel wines – I won’t say I don’t like an occasional
Spanish Rioja or Argentinean Malbec, I just don’t know very much about them.
I’ve just completed a very concentrated period of wine
tastings, and I’ve met some very nice newish wines, which I’m happy to
recommend as well as some new vintages of old favorites that have undergone
some changes.
As I pointed out in a response to a recent review about a
Jerusalem Wine festival, there are fewer Israeli white wines available this
year due to last year’s Shmitah (sabbatical year). Because whites tend to be released within a
year of their vintage year (they tend to spend less time aging, especially those
that aren’t aged in oak barrels), there just aren’t as many white wines
available, since 2015 produced fewer Israeli wines; those that were produced
have to be handled differently than wine produced in other years (a halachic
issue known as Kedushat Shvi’it – the holiness of the 7th year). Please contact your rabbi for details on how
to treat 2015 wines from Israel. There
are still lots of 2013 and 2014 white wines to drink.
White Wines
I remain a fan of the Dalton Winery in the northern Galil,
and in particular, the 2014 Reserve Wild Yeast Fermentation Viognier. I
think it’s an outstanding example of the varietal, it’s been aged for 4 months
in French oak so it’s not as influenced by the wood of the barrels as say an
American Chardonnay would be. I think
this wine pairs beautifully with a fish course or roasted poultry, and would
accompany vegetarian dishes nicely as well.
The Dalton Chardonnay Unoaked is another favorite in our house,
and the 2014 continues the fine reputation of this wine; the combination of
citrus and tropical fruit notes makes it a really delightful wine. Both of
these wines should be available for $18-$22.
The Tishbi Winery in Binyamina makes a variety of very
drinkable whites, and while their entry level wines are not always valued by
experts (and they sell at very budget-friendly prices, particularly in Israel)
many people discount them. For people
not accustomed to fine dry wine, the Tishbi whites: Emerald Riesling,
Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, offer a nice gateway into drinking dryer
wines that tend to be more fruit forward, particularly with citrusy notes of
flavor. These wines sell in the US for $12-$18
a bottle (in Israel you can find them on sale at 4/100NIS). I find them to be very pleasant and
approachable wines.
One more source for whites that regularly please my guests
is the Gush Etzion Winery. They produce
some Semi-Dry whites (their 2012 Spring River White is a blend of 5
different varietals, including Gewürztraminer, Viognier and Chardonnay and they
also occasionally release a Semi-Dry Chardonnay) and their dryer Blessed
Valley white (a blend of two-thirds Viognier and one-third Chardonnay) is also
extraordinary. These wines offer
outstanding quality for the price and usually are available for less than $24.
Red Wines
As I mentioned in my introduction, I made some new friends
this year; I’ll start with two of those, then move on to an old acquaintance
renewed and finish with a wine I met just last spring.
I’m a big fan of the Tulip Winery in Kfar Tikvah – they are
good people, making excellent wine and doing great things. In recognition of honoring their host
village, they released a new blend called Espero (Esperanto for Hope)
and it is an outstanding blend of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This wine has a lot of dark fruit
characteristics (particularly black plum) and the merlot gives the wine very
soft tannins (not leaving you with an astringent dry mouth feel). I was able to find this wine on sale for
around $27, and it would normally sell legitimately for around $36 so if you
find it at a lower price, I recommend buying a few. This wine will drink well with beef (think
brisket or roast), lamb or roasted poultry (I’ve always liked Syrah or Shiraz
with turkey). I’m putting some on my
seder table and I have some in reserve.
Another new friend from a favorite winery is also a blend (I’m
sensing a trend), the Psagot Sinai.
Ya’akov Burg has been making outstanding wines for about a dozen years,
and I’ve been a fan of his Shiraz, Cabernet, Edom Blend and Viognier for
years. His wines have gotten pricey in
recent years, and mostly out of my price range (I aim for $30 or less per
bottle, but sometimes I splurge). When I
saw a new Psagot blend for under $20, I just had to try it. The Sinai is 55%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Shiraz made from grapes grown at relatively high
altitude (900 meters above sea level).
It is delicious, it will be great with beef or poultry, and you should
buy it if you find it because I don’t think it will last long at this price.
About 10 years ago the Golan Heights Winery released an
atypical varietal for Israel, a Sangiovese under its Gamla label. Due to a change in distribution, the Gamla
label has now become Gilgal in the United States, and the Sangiovese
is again available. This is an Italian varietal that has a great future in
Israel, if this version is typical of the grape. This is a lighter red wine, one of the
standard components in many Italian red table wines, and it goes well with
grilled beef or poultry, and I think it’s a great complement to vegetarian
dishes with a tomato base (ratatouille, gnocchi with a red sauce). I’ve seen the price vary from $13-$22, so
shop around, but I’ve been very pleased with this wine.
Finally, last year I discovered the Galil Mountain Ela
blend, a combination of Syrah (61%), Barbera (32%) and Petit Verdot (7%). The Petit Verdot lends this wine its rich
purple hue, but the Syrah and the Barbera and the fruit-forward stars of this
wine. Galil Mountain is a long-time favorite of mine because they make
excellent wines at budget-friendly prices.
The Ela sells for less than $20, but even their flagship blends, the
Meron and Yiron, often sell for less than $30.
There may not be time to get these wines for Purim, but they
are likely to be available between now and Passover. Enjoy the holidays, drink something great and
support Israel with your wine buying!
