Archive for the ‘Israel Wine’ Category

Laurie Daniel: What’s ahead for wine drinkers in 2008

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

A recent article, “What’s ahead for wine drinkers in 2008”, written by Laurie Daniel for the San jose Mercury News is an interesting read, with 4 predictions listed below.  Not much for me to add but I do want to comment on #3.

1.  Domestic wines should look more attractive as prices rise on many imports.

2. More companies will start touting how “green” their wines are.

3. We’ll see more wines from ever-more obscure places.

4. Some wine producers will become more transparent about their winemaking practices.

 

 

When referring to the “obscure places” in #3 Daniels mentions places in Countries like Italy & Spain that once was not considered to be a wine producing region and now is.  She proceeds to mention countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria, the former Soviet republic of Georgia and even goes so far as to contemplate the possibility of wines from China.

 

I am interested in this prediction (isn’t it really an already proven trend?) as it relates to another “obscure” region…yup, ISRAEL!  While Israel can not even be mentioned in the same breath in terms of size, I think the recent Wine Advocate feature on Israeli wines both confirms Daniels suspicion that new, previously unexpected wine regions will emerge in the not too distant future AND that Israel should be included in the list of “obscure places”.

 

Keep your eyes open…premium Israeli wine MAY be coming to a shelf near you sooner than you think…

 

Happy happy everybody…

WTG.

Happy New Year!

Monday, December 31st, 2007

Not much to say today, but I don’t want too many days to go by between posts so just a quickie tonight.

Let me start by apologizing for my last post (ie. rant). I apparently overreacted to a post elsewhere regarding wines which had seemingly “changed” between a critic’s first and second tasting. I gather this is not the most common phenomena, but it is possibly a byproduct of young wine producers heeding a critics critique & intentionally altering their product. I do stand by my strong feelings on the matter & further DO NOT believe that ANYONE, consumer & producer alike, should allow a critic too much influence. But I suppose that sales is the bottom line and if the critic knows what people like and can help the producers to understand what that is, then maybe it is not such a terrible thing…most of us after all do need to earn a living.

Tomorrow night is New Years. Will you be drinking bubbly?

I recently picked up a couple of bottles of Yarden blanc de blancs 2000. A very well regarded vintage sparkling wine. So well regarded that it unexpectedly appeared on a list of random sparkling wines on justwinepoints.com and was given a very respectable 92 points, while The Wall Street Journal called it a wonderful international sparkling wine. I know, I know, I just got through chastising those who let points/critics dictate their wine enjoyment, but nobody is perfect , right?!?

Happy New Year!!! Hope it is a year filled with enjoying wines that YOU LIKE…regardless of what others say about said wine.

WTG.

Israeli Wine – Wine Advocate ” Modern Israel: A Survey (A Work in Progress)”

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

Well ladies and gentlemen, the results are in.

I will be copying a list of wines & their scores from Israeli Wine Critic Daniel Rogov’s “Wine & Food Forum”.  I am waiting for my physical copy of the issue to arrive before I comment specifically.  The only thing I would like to share is my excitement for a 92 score given to a wine I worked on – The TZORA “Or” dessert wine.  No, I was not the winemaker & admittedly, not even as assistant, but I DID help out and as such I take pride in said wine’s positive review.

More comments later.  Without further ado, the scores…

Golan Heights Winery, Heightswine, Yarden, 2005, Score 93
Golan Heights Winery, Katzrin, 2003, Score 91
Golan Heights Winery, Chardonnay, Odem Organic, 2005, Score 86
Golan Heights Winery, Viognier, Yarden, 2005 Score 86
Golan Heights Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarden, 2003 Score 86
Golan Heights Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, El Rom, Yarden, 2003 Score 88
Golan Heights Winery, Blanc de Blancs, Yarden 2000 Score 86

Yatir, Ya’ar Yatir, 2003 Score 93
Yatir, Cabernet-Merlot-Shiraz, 2003 Score 90

Castel, Grand Vin 2004 Score 92
Castel, Chardonnay, 2005 Score 91
Castel, Petit Castel, 2005 Score 90

Tzora, Or, Dessert Wine, 2006 Score 92”

Carmel, Limited Edition, 2004 Score 90
Carmel, Gewurztraminer, Sha’al, 2005 Score 90
Carmel, Cabdernet Sauvignon, Kayoumi, 2004 Score 89
Carmel, Shiraz, Kayoumi, 2004 Score 88
Carmel, Petite Sirah, Appelation, 2005 Score 88

Clos de Gat, Syrah, Sycra, 2004 Score 90
Clos de Gat, Red Blend, 2003, Score 89
Clos de Gat, Chardonnay, 2005 Score 89
Clos de Gat, Syrah, Har’El, 2005 Score 88
Clos de Gat, Merlot, Sycra, 2003 Score 86

Tulip, Syrah, Reserve 90
Tulip, Shiraz, Mostly 88

Galil Mountain, Yiron, 2003, Score 90
Galil Mountain, Pinot Noir, 2005 Score 87

Pelter,Shiraz T-Selection 2004 Score 90
Pelter, Cabernet Franc, T-Selection 2005 Score 79
Margalit, Enigma, 2005 Score 89
Margalit Cabernet Franc, 2005 Score 88
Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Score 87

Tabor, Mescha, 2003 Score 89

Flam, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2004 Score 89
Flam, Classico, 2005, Score 87

Vitkin, Petite Syrah, 2004 Score 89
Vitkin, Cabernet Franc, 2004 Score 85

Ella Valley Vineyards, Merlot, Vineyard’s Choice 2003, Score 88
Ella Valley Vineyards, Chardonnay, Vineyard’s Choice 2005 Score 87
Ella Valley Vineyards Cabernet Franc, 2004 Score 86

Saslove, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserved, 2003 Score 88
Saslove, Adom Marriage, 2004 Score 86

Alexander, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 Score 88
Alexander, Gaston, 2004, Score 87

Segal, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Score 88
Segal, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dishon, 2003, Score 85
Segal, Merlot, Dovev, 2003 Score 84

Bustan, Syrah, 2003 Score 88

Ben Hanna, Petite Verdot, la Mariee, 2005 Score 88

Chillag, Merlot, Primo Riserva, 2004 Score 88
Chillag, Cagbernet Sauvignon, Primo Riserva, 2004 Score 86

Recanati, Petit Syrah-Zinfandel, Reserve Score 87
Recanati, Special Reserve, 2004 Score 87
Recanati, Cabernet Franc, Reserve, 2004 Score 85
Recanati, Chardonnay, 2006 Score 86
Recanati, Merlot, Reserve 2004 Score 85

Karmei Yosef (Bravdo), Chardonnay, 2006, Score 87
Karmei Yosef, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Score 87
Karmei Yosef, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003, Score 87
Karmei Yosef, Merlot, 2005 Score 81
Karmei Yosef, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001, Score78

Binyamina, Chardonnay, Onyx, 2004 Score 88
Binyamina, Cabernet Sauignon, Aquamarine, 2003 Score 82
Binyamina, Ruby-Syrah, 2003, Score 81

Gustavo & Jo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Premium, 2004 Score 87

Meishar, Cabernet Sauvignon, 730, 2004 Sore 87

Avidsan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reseve, 2005 Score 87
Avidan, Grnache Premium, 2006 Score 84

Dalton, Shiraz, Oak Aged, 2005, Score 86
Dalton, Zinfandel, 2005 Score 86
Dalton, Merlot, Meron Vineyard, 2005 Score 79

Tanya, Merlot, Reserve, 2004 Score 86
Tanya, Cabernet Sauignon, Halel, 2005 Score 85

Tishbi, Special Reserve, Sde Boker 2004 Score 85
Tishbi, Shiraz, Estate, 2005 Score 85

Odem Mountain, Merlot, Har Odem, 2004 Score 85

Hevron Heights, Cabernet Sauvingon-Merlot, Makhpeah, 2002 Score 86
Hevron Heights, Syrah, 2003 Score 84

Benhaim, Cabernet Sauvignn, Grande Reserve, 2003 Score 86

Barkan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Altitude 720, 2005 Score 85
Barkan, Pinotage Superieur, 2002 Score 85

Sea Horse, Antoine, Tete de Cuvee, 2004 Score 85
Sea Horse, Elul, 2004 Score 84

Agur,Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, 2004 Score 85
Agur, Kessem, 2005 Score 84

Assaf, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2005 Score 85

Bazelet HaGolan, Czabernet Sauvignon, 2004 Score 84

Kadesh Barnea, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2004 Score 84

Ben-Zimra, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2004 81

Katlav, Wadi Katlav, 2005 Score 81
Katlav, Merlot, 2005 Score 79

The BIG Israeli Wine review – Wine Advocate

Friday, December 21st, 2007

OK, it is time to let the cat out of the bag.

Yes, I am The Wine Tasting Guy, but more importantly I am the Israeli Wine Tasting Guy.

What does that mean? Well, if I ever get my BIO up some of it will be explained. But for now, let’s just say I have a strong affinity for Israel, and as such I have spent extensive time working at wineries in Israel. Convinced that Israeli wine is top notch, under appreciated, and held to a much lower regard than it warrants, I made it my mission to expose Israeli wines to the masses. There are others out there with a similar mission, and their success is my success. But for now, I must focus on my mission. I have a lot of work ahead of me. More on how I plan on tackling this once perceived “impossible task” in future posts…

But for now, lets get back to the BLOG TOPIC – The Israeli wine report in this edition of the Wine Advocate. WA edition #174 is being mailed out tomorrow (or I suppose technically today) and will contain a thorough report on Israeli wines. I can’t wait!!!! As soon as I have seen it I will report on its findings, and eventually comment on them. Many thanks to Robert Parker & Mark Squires of the Wine Advocate for their soon to be released efforts.

Anyone who wants to talk Israeli wine, just drop me a dime and I’ll be more than happy to discuss for HOURS…..

Until the next time…HAPPY ISRAELI WINE DRINKING!!!

The (Israeli) WTG.