Having followed Israel wines for many years I knew this day would come.  Having worked at Israeli wineries I was sure that others would eventually acknowledge the high quality of up-and-coming Israeli wines.  Having chosen a career in Israeli wines I have PRAYED for universal acceptance of Israeli wines.  Ladies and gentlemen, Israeli wines have arrived!

In all seriousness I know that it will take a while, but the past 12 months have brought a barrage of recognition for Israeli wines.  First it was the extensive tasting of Israeli wines by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (”Israeli wine isn’t an oddity any more, and it is certainly not just for those who keep kosher”).  Then it was Wine Spectator’s Kim Marcus traveling the holy land (”I came away impressed by the leaps in quality, especially of the red wines, and by the dedication of the vintners”).

And more recently Israel earned its own chapter in the latest release (7th Edition) of ” Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide” - a whole NINE pages - as many as New Zealand and more than South Africa!

But I chose to write about my beloved Israeli wines today as there was more news yesterday.

Top 100

Wine Spectator’s “annual roundup of the years most exciting wines”, AKA the top 100 wines of the year included an Israeli wine for the first time.  The Golan Heights winery’s Yarden 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon came in at 91.  How cool is that!  Also pretty cool are the messages of congratulations I received from several industry contacts.  Although I had NOTHING to do with the making of this wine I feel like a proud parent.

Now go out and buy some great Israeli wine…you’ll love it!

Happy Israeli wine tasting!

WTG

I fancy myself an aspiring Israeli wine expert, but I must admit that I have lots to do before I earn any such title.  Among the many things I must do is to better acquaint myself with one of Israel’s oldest wineries - Carmel.  YES, that Carmel, of the sweet, thick sacramental wine.  Well guess what folks, quietly the Carmel people have made HUGE advances in the vineyards, winery & their resulting products.  From their single vineyard and appellation series wines to their “supermarket” - “Private Collection” wines - the improvements have been dramatic.  And now that the product is better, they have slowly started to market the “new Carmel”, and people are noticing (see a blog post at the Hakerem Israeli wine blog here).

I recently checked out some of their unique single varietal appellation wines (Carignan & Petite Sirah) and was so (surprisingly) impressed by their quality that I included them in a blog post with some recommendations.  Clearly they are doing things right at Carmel (marketing wise as well as winemaking) as I was subsequently thanked via email and invited to the winery for a more formal introduction to Carmel and the changes that have been implemented in recent years. 

I graciously accepted the invitation and had my appointment there today.  Upon arriving at the winery I was greeted by Ruti, a Sommelier and manager of their wine culture center (how is that for marketing?!).  A warm and likable person, Ruti was an encyclopedia of information.  She started with some very interesting facts about the 120 year history of Carmel.  Of interest was how the ambitious founder Baron Rothschild (of the famous Lafite Rothschild) wanted to be completely self sufficient and created both a cooperage (for making barrels) and glass blowing center (for making bottles) at the original winery.  Neither stuck, but how cool is that?!

Following our history lesson I was introduced to one of the (many) winemakers.  Understanding that wine starts in the vineyard, I was told that changes have been made to improve fruit quality by incentivizing the growers/co-owners to put in extra effort in their vineyards.  From shoot thinning & fruit dropping (to lower yields) to leaf trimming (increase fruit exposure to sun) & water management (cutting down on water leads to more concentrated grapes), the growers are doing everything to get their fruit included in the premium wines.  And the results in the vineyard are evident.  Prior to visiting the winery today I tried their LOW LEVEL supermarket 2007 “Private Collection” Cab/Merlot blend.  WOW!  Fabulous new packaging to go along with a wine that is a great deal at its price.  I was really excited to taste their “better” wines.

And taste I did.  Together with a Carmel executive, 2 winemakers & Ruti (yes, I was a bit embarrassed by all the attention) we went through 12 wines -  five white & seven red.  All REALLY IMPRESSIVE. 

The 2007 Carmel Ridge White, a blend of sauvignon blanc (50%), Chardonnay (20%), semillion (15%) & french Colombard (15%) had a hint of effervescence to go along with its crisp acidity & pink grapefruit characteristics.   And the 2007 appellation whites: a Viognier, a Gewurtztraminer & a Reisling each seemed varietally correct and had their own unique appeal.

As for the reds, the single vineyard 2005 Kayoumi Cab showed black fruit, was round, approachable and very elegant, while the 2004 Kayoumi Shiraz was very upscale shiraz in style with a touch of black pepper, very fruit forward and a long finish.  My favorites of the day were still the appellation Carignan and Petite Sirah.  Not because they were the best, but because they were the most unique and really got me thinking.  Although the color of the Petite Sirah was incredibly dark (leaning towards being almost black) I was surprised by how light (relatively speaking) the body was.  Its gripping tannins and subtle dark chocolate were a pleasure.  The wine of the day was the Carignan though.  I may have been influenced a bit by Ruti’s enthusiasm for this wine, but it is a wine that truly speaks for itself.  The 2005 Appellation Carignan, made from 30-40 year old vines and blended with 10% Petite Verdot had an interesting toffee, mocha, chocolate, cedar thing going on.  A BIG juicy, mouth coating wine with creeping tannins and a modest finish - this is a wine you MUST try! 

Of note were the alcohol levels of the wines.  I have heard some criticism regarding the high alcohol levels of some of Israels wines.  Yet i noticed that only the appellation Petite Sirah & Carignan were as high as 14.5% ABV (which clearly did not affect my affinity for them), while others such as the single vineyard wines came in at a more modest 13.5% (as was the appellation viognier which I had thought was a typically high alcohol varietal). 

As is being done at the Israel wine revolution leader Golan Heights Winery (AKA Yarden), Carmel is trying to get away from being labeled as kosher, and doing everything possible to instead be considered a World Class winery whose wines JUST SO HAPPEN to also be kosher.  If today was any indication, they are well on their way!

Happy World Class CARMEL WINE tasting!

WTG

I spent my day today at an amazing event.  Eric Trump (yes, The Donald’s son) has a wonderful charitable organization that throws an event at the Westchester, NY based Trump International Golf Course to raise money for St Jude’s Childrens Charity.  I was invited several weeks ago to sponsor a hole & pour wine at the event.

(pic to come)

I’m very proud to say that Hole # 10 was sponsored by the Wine Tasting Guy.  Not only that, but they set up a wine tasting table for me (and a fabulous industry collegue from “Bacchus - Wine Made Simple”) right on the 10th hole.  We poured some amazing wines from Israel and California and the guests LOVED THE WINES.  The golf tournament went well for the golfers and there was a reception that followed where we poured more wine.  It was a successful event and I was very excited to hear the positive feedback and be invited back next year.  Among the many highlights of the day was when Ivanka Trump came by, tried, and LOVED an Israeli Syrah we were pouring.  Sadly I missed her at the end of the event but I sent Eric with a bottle of the Syrah for her.

On a sadder note I am about to bring up a political issue.  I try very hard to stay away from said issues on this site for a multitude of reasons.  But this one is important enough for me to briefly mention.  This coming Monday Iran’s President Ahmadinejad is coming to the U.N. and there is a “Rally to Stop Iran.  The information can be found in the following flyer.  I will be there and hope that anyone within driving distance of NYC understands how serious this evil man is about his intentions to “wipe Israel from the map” and will put the effort in to attend the rally.

rally flier

Happy PEACEful rally golf tournament wine tasting!

WTG

WOW.  The past few weeks have been very hectic.  Selling wine, running around the greater NY area.  Working on my Israel wine project.  Exhausting.  I wish someone would “invent” a holiday to acknowledge all my hard LABOR.

I’m off for the weekend.  Happy Labor day weekend to all and I’ll be back either Monday night or Tuesday…

WTG

A real quick weekend post. I have written plenty about the health benefits of wine and my affinity to Israel has also been well documented on this site. So when I stumbled on the following post I knew I had to re-post it here for all of you. Enjoy the article, “Researchers Develop White Wine With Health Benefits Similar To Red”.

Happy healthy WHITE wine tasting!

WTG

OK, so who really needs an excuse to drink good Israeli wine anyway

But seriously, with prices for wine increasing worldwide, now is a great opportunity to try some Israeli wines you may not have previously considered.  I bring up the “surge” in European wines as a result of reading an article in the NY Post.  The article quotes buyers who have called the price increases “insane” and talk about the “magnitude” of European wine prices.

Other factors leading to higher prices throughout the industry are the drought in Australia and the illegal worker act in California.  All these factors are leading to higher costs that are now being passed along to the consumer.

Back to Israeli wines for a second, these too have slowly risen in price of late.  But aside from a few standouts many of the best Israeli wines found in the US today have remained at a steady price point.  Also, keep your eyes out for new wines from Israel being brought into the US over the next several months.

Sorry to be the barer of rough news, but their is always a silver lining.  Discovering that new “hot” region before it gains public recognition and its prices subsequently increase -  means trying lots of new wines, and who doesn’t enjoy that?!

Happy new wine region tasting!

WTG

I have been asked by countless people which wines I would recommend they check out for Passover, so I thought it appropriate to blog for the masses. I am not going to go into ALL kosher wines but I will discuss where my passion lay, Israeli wines. I will present wines in each price level both so that everyone can find a wine in their range and so that some of you can buy different wines for different purposes (some for the 4 cups & others to drink with the meals). (more…)

I attended a wine event this evening. It was a charitable event featuring Israeli wines - my passion as those of you who have been reading for a while know. I know one of the organizers and asked if he wanted my assistance. He was happy to have me & informed me that he planned the event with some other people who are connected to Israeli wines. I knew whom he was speaking of reached out to said people. I simply volunteered to step in, should a question arise, that my hands-on Israeli winery expertise qualified me to handle, possibly something the others were not prepared to respond to.

While my offer was originally politely declined, I felt it my duty both as WINE TASTING GUY and as ISRAELI WINE GUY to attend. And I was happy that i did. My enthusiasm for Israeli wines seemed to possess a magnetism of sorts. I spoke with many people throughout the evening about topics ranging from Israeli wines in general, to more specific Israeli boutique wineries, as well as the idea that wine from Israel is (and should be) Israeli wine and not kosher wine - as is often the misconception. I was proud to have felt like I made a difference in helping to educate people. And the feedback I received was tremendous.

I hope you will all excuse me for a quick yet important diversion. This is not a political BLOG, and as such I do not want to get into current events. That said a travesty took place in Israel today when 2 terrorists infiltrated a Jerusalem Yeshiva (school for Judaic studies) and opened fire - killing 8 and injuring scores of others. I am not sure what to say other than that my prayers and thoughts are with the families of those who lost loved ones or who have loved ones presently fighting for their lives.

It is very hard to write about something like wine (and to maintain focus on something such as wine) at a time like this. But they say that the way to fight terrorism is NOT to let it affect &/or change ones normal routine. As such I will get back to the topic at hand.

Moving on from the more difficult subject of terrorism, let me get back to something I feel much more comfortable discussing. WINE…

OK, so tonight’s topic is “wine expertise”. I bring this topic up as at tonight’s wine event I was given a name tag that labeled me as an “Israeli Wine Expert”. And I was astutely asked by several people what qualifications I posses to be labeled an “Israeli Wine Expert”. Forgetting about me for one second, what i would like to discuss is - what qualifies someone as an aficionado to discuss &/or educate others about wine (or anything for that matter). Is it drinking a lot of it? Is it the desire to be an “expert”. Is it schooling? Maybe it is “street smarts” or as the case may be “winery smarts” - knowledge obtained through hands on experience???

I do not know. I am merely an aspiring connoisseur. I can only speak for myself. And for me, short of attending one of the world renowned schools of oenology & viticulture, I received a degree from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, a certification in Wine Sensory Analysis from the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, but MOST IMPORTANTLY (in my very humble opinion) - I rolled up my sleeves and worked 10, 12 & 14 hour days in vineyards and wineries both in Napa Valley & Israel. While I will readily admit that I am far from an “expert” I do feel that my passion and hard work has positioned me to address many of the questions that those who seek to learn more are interested in.

I wish you all happy wine tasting, drinking, learning & most importantly Peace & health!

Sadly soberly yours-WTG.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what to blog about tonight and two controversial issues come to mind, relating to the following two topics:

1 - Internet sales of wine

2 - Wine ratings/reviews

The first, internet sales of wine has come up as there is presently a very exciting project underway to sell Israeli wines online. While I believe that the project will ultimately be successful I have urged my contacts to be realistic in their expectations. It has also come up in the “wine world” of late given a little controversy surrounding wine.com and how the wine.com CEO has been very vocal in pointing out that there are many retailers illegally shipping wines throughout the US.  This was written about in Wine Spectator in an article “Wine.com Conducts Sting Operation Aginst Other Retailers“.  I’ll blog about this further as it becomes more relevant.

Wine ratings & reviews has come up as everyone in Israel has an opinion when it comes to the recent Wine Advocate review of israeli wines. I can probably write a book on this topic just based on conversations I have had the last week here in Israel. BUT, what I want to touch upon is something a bit more controversial (and interesting). It was expected, and realized that many of the wines would receive scores a few points lower than the wineries would have liked - OR, then local wine critics have given. At the same time something UNEXPECTED HAPPENED, there were a few wines that received scores higher than people here are used to seeing from the specific winery. How could such a thing happen??? Lower scores, OK - it was expected. But higher scores????

N O, accusations were not made. BUT, it was pointed out that there are WAYS of “tricking” wine critics. Especially when the critic is not familiar with the wine AND/OR the wine is not available in the market where the critic resides (so they can’t simply go to the store and buy a bottle). One such method can be perpetrated when the winery, during the barrel aging process, discovers that one barrel is responding particularly well to a given wine. Rather then blending that barrel in with the rest of the batch, the barrel might be bottled separately, and those bottles might be put aside for personal use AND WINE REVIEWS.

Again, there were no accusations & knowing many of the winemakers & wineries I do not believe that this took place. I am simply blogging about something which COULD take place and that is much more interesting than telling you about how great the winemakers are, how beautiful the country is, and how darn COLD it has been here since I arrived.

OK, enough controversy stirring for me for one night. Have a fabulous weekend wine drinkers of the world. I will be enjoying lots of Israeli wine this weekend with all kinds of special friends. I suggest you do the same!!!

WTG.

I arrived in Israel a little more than 36 hours ago and I’ve already begun to run around the country to meet with my wonderful friends in the wine business out here. I’ll be heading into the Judean Hills region today but I wanted to put together a real quick post before leaving.

A recently really an interesting piece written by Dr Vino (drvino.com) AKA Tyler Colman that I found in the NYT published on Dec 30, 2007 called Red, White or Green?

In the article Colman discusses the “carbon footprint” of a bottle of wine or as he explains it the “amount of carbon dioxide (that) is emitted in its production and transportation”. While I will not get into the politics or personal preference for saving the environment, I do want to quote some interesting facts Colman points out.

• A Napa Valley wine can emit 2.6 pounds of carbon dioxide on its journey from growing the grapes, making the wine and transport to San Francisco
• The same bottle making the truck trip to Connecticut (or elsewhere on the east coast, say New York City) would emit 5.7 pounds of carbon dioxide in total.
• Holding the growing method, winery practices and bottle size constant, it is more carbon-efficient for people in Connecticut to drink a bottle of wine from Bordeaux than from Sonoma. The short truck route on both ends of the efficient miles of container shipping means the French wine has 50 percent less carbon dioxide emissions, about three pounds.

Now, the French and many of their European counterparts are selling us wine at exorbitant prices already, and the weakening dollar is making those already expensive bottles even MORE expensive.

SO, we should not be buying wine from California because of carbon emissions, we can’t afford to be buying French and other European wines (let along wait for them to be mature, or ready to be drunk), so where does that leave us???

GOOD QUESTION! I think this is where the concept of drinking wines from lesser known winemaking regions comes into play. And I bet you know where I’m going now….yup, DRINK ISRAELI WINE!!!! Most israeli wines are made in a New World Style so you don’t have to lay them down and wait 10+ years to soften and be ready to drink. And Israeli wines are more carbon friendly than our own domestic Napa wines - at least for those of us residing on the East Coast.

Remember, drink Israeli wine!!!

Have a fabulous weekend.

WTG.