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 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 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.
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.
