Archive for July, 2009

Tishbi Wine/Food event

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

I mentioned last week that I attended an Israeli wine tasting of Tishbi Wines.  In addition to the wines there was some gourmet accompaniments such as artisan olive oils & fruit preserves which are “produced from the actual Tishbi wines according to a range of varietals“.

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I’m not sure what to say other than I was BLOWN AWAY!

Led primarily by Oshra Tishbi of the Tishbi family, people were having so much fun that the tasting went on for ours…in a hot room with no air conditioning (it broke).  The questions were great, the discussions lively and the food and wine terrific.

I must make a confession here.  I have not been a huge supporter of Tishbi wines.  When in Israel on a recent trip I stopped by a Tishbi Cafe in the Zichron Yakov area.  The food there was great and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines.  Why had I previously not been a huge supporter and why was I so surprised?  Well, lets just say that growing wine vines in an area more suitable to bananas or oranges doesn’t make for the highest quality wine grapes.  Wine grapes need cool nights (which do not exist where most of the Tishbi owned vineyards are) and do better in nutrient poor soils.

So how was it that I was so pleasantly surprised and the wines were so well received by all?  For one thing – good wine making.  But more importantly, the Tishbi folks have contracts with growers in the prime grape growing regions and are making their higher series wines from said HIGH QUALITY FRUIT.

A crowd favorite white was the 2008 Chenin Blanc.  It is a semi-dry wine but I did not pick up much sugar at all in the wine.  It had a nice acidity that kept it lively.  And if I am not mistaken this wine DID come from the aforementioned Tishbi vineyards.  Goes to show you.

Also of interest were the locations of the vineyards of the 3 reds I enjoyed most.

The 2006 Estate Shiraz is made from fruit grown in the Judean Hills.  For several years now I have been saying that I believe the Judean Hills is a region where the Merlot & Shiraz do really well.  Not producing wimpy wines, these varietals really pack a punch when grown here.  I picked up on the characteristic Israeli herbs in addition to a ripe plum & kirsch liquor thing.  The wine had a touch of heat, but also had a long finish and was well liked.

http://www.tishbi.com/db/Estate%20Cabernet%20SAuvignon_S.jpg

The 2005 Estate Cabernet is made of fruit grown where I think Cabernet does best in Israel – the Galilee (AKA Galil region).  Typical and quite pleasant black fruit with a touch of Israeli herbaceousness this wine also had a nice long finish.

And interestingly enough, the last DRY red wine was a desert (not dessert) wine.  Made from grapes grown in the negev desert, the 2004 Sde Boker (the region within the negev) Special reserve was indeed special.  A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc, this wine had aromas and flavors of blueberry, plum and mocha chocolate with silky tannins and an almost sweet long finish.

But the surprises did not end with the wines.  Those fruit preserves were DELICIOUS.  Not yet commercially available in the US, I STRONGLY suggest you keep an eye out.  We tried about 5 flavors, but my favorite was the “Sangria” flavor.  Aromas and flavors of berries, jasmine & cinnamon; spread on a cracker, a piece of bread, or (don’t tell) straight off the spoon – WHAT A TREAT!

Many thanks to all who participated.  I am especially happy to have had the opportunity to try these wines as I will be recommending them, especially the Estate series which I think are of great value.

I continue my wine group Burgundy tasting tomorrow night – SUMMER STYLE.  We are doing Chablis!  Yes, I’m excited.  I also have to revisit the boxed Chardonnay.  It will be two weeks tomorrow night.  I’m a bit scared, but looking forward to that as well.  Until then…

…Happy Tishbi wine & fruit preserve wine tasting!

Shipping wine to New York

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

As a resident of NY it came as a surprise to me when I learned last week that the 2nd US Circuit court of Appeals UPHELD the law (what law?) that prohibits out of state wine retailers from shipping wine into NY.

Please disregard all previous mentions of wine shipments I received through the mail.  They never occurred…

http://www.cowineco.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/ec3d1c5c7da3caa27d5c4f277c75d079/misc/mailbox.jpg

…but seriously; the law states that NY retailers CAN ship to NY residents, but out of state retailers can not.

There is a background to this story and several rulings by others courts that have proceeded this ruling.  Most famous is that of the “Granholm” decision handed down by the Supreme Court whereby it was ruled that laws such as the aforementioned one discriminates against out of state businesses.  The difference being that ruling was with regards to wineries, not wine retailers.

I am sure the last chapter in this saga has yet to be written.  Stay tuned…

Happy shipped to your doorstep (legally of course) wine tasting!

WTG

Happy July 4th!

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

July 4th is America’s independance day.

http://www.festiveglassware.com/files/1692076/uploaded/Americas%20Flag%20Wine%20Glass.jpg

Happy July 4th wine tasting!

WTG

“Kosher brand tops the chart”

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Not JUST kosher, but kosher FROM ISRAEL!  OK, so it was not a kosher wine, rather kosher marshmallows.  I found the article “Kosher brand tops the chart” in the San Fransisco Chronicle while I was out West the other week.

Just like a wine tasting, the panel tasted 5 marshmallows BLIND (cool huh?) and scored each, with a perfect score being 100.  And the winner…by A LANDSLIDE….(drum beat)…. the ELYON marshmallow.

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While the ELYON scored 80 (out of 100) points, the other 4 tasted scored between 42-49 points.   Price per weight, these marshmallows, imported from Israel, were not even the most expensive ($3.99 for 7 ounces).  That honor went to the Whole Foods brand (43 points & $6.49/10.5 ounces).

SO what does this tell us about kosher?  Probably nothing, but maybe…just maybe, it tells us that kosher (from Israel or elsewhere) can be just as good (or dare I say better) than non-kosher products.

My only hope, and the reason I write this post today, is that I am tired of hearing people say “I am not kosher, I don’t need/want/like that kosher product”.  ESPECIALLY when it comes to kosher wine, which is made THE SAME WAY as all other wine (sans the unnecessary animal byproducts).  Instead I wish people would perceive kosher similarly to how they perceive organic, sustainable, animal friendly, etc – a product that had special consideration given to a specific set of criteria.

Speaking of kosher wine, I attended a truly amazing kosher wine tasting last night.  Oshra Tishbi of Tishbi wines together with a representative from Tishbi’s US importer (Admiral imports), showed off some lovely wines as well as hand crafted olive oils and fruit preserves (the “sangria” flavor was spectacular).  I’ll hopefully be writing more about this tasting in the coming days.

Happy KOSHER wine tasting!

WTG

Andes Peak boxed wine – part II

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

It is one week since I opened up this boxed wine and I went in for wine tasting #2.  My mini-Manhattan style refrigerator is space-challenged, so while it was kept in the fridge, it was not kept in the vertical position as instructed on the side of the box.  But hey, to heck with instructions.

So, what did I think of the wine???…

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(t-shirt available for purchase here – I have no affiliation with this site)

It was pretty darned good.  As a matter of fact, looking at my old tasting notes I think I found it to be an EVEN BETTER wine tonight.

The nose opened up a bit showing toasty & citrus notes.  While on the palate I found that the tart-bitterness mellowed a bit and it had nice vanilla and melon flavors.  Same crisp, pleasant finish.  And NO SIGNS OF OXIDATION.

Nice job!

Part III, coming soon…

Happy week old boxed wine tasting!

WTG