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

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

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The BIG Israeli Wine review – Wine Advocate

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.

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Wine Glasses – does it REALLY matter which shape one uses???

December 20th, 2007

I recently read a very interesting article on the topic. I believe the article was written by Mark Phillips and can be found http://www.winetasting.org/wineglass.html.

In a nutshell, Mr. Phillips cites his own experiments as well as those of the Monell Chemical Senses Center (“one of the world’s most prestigious laboratories studying taste and smell”) as written by Daniel Zwerdling, an NPR reporter in an article about Riedel, published in Gourmet Magazine in August 2004.

All experiments basically proved that “subjects couldn’t tell any difference from one glass to another”.

So what of these Reidel studies or tastings where people claim to appreciate certain wines much more from certain glasses?

That question is addressed by Mark as having 2 possible answers, both I believe are quite compelling and extend beyond wine glasses, to a lot of wine in general. His answers were:

1: great salesmanship
2: power of suggestion

A wine’s label, price tag, “expert” score – just some of the many factors that influence how people react to & appreciate wine.

As someone with a wide and eclectic taste in music, I have often compared wine appreciation to music appreciation. Most people can recognize whether music (or wine) is just plain BAD. But when it comes to all other MUSIC (wine) the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One may like it while the other does not. One might insist it is the best they have even heard (tasted) while the other thinks it is absolute crap.  And BOTH are right.

Same thing with wine glasses. Yes – small, thick & poorly shaped glasses stink for wine tasting/drinking/appreciation. But once one gets to the larger, thin, quality crystal wine glasses, is there really that much of a difference? And who is to say which is “BETTER”??

As always, drink YOUR wine YOUR way from a glass YOU like & ENJOY!!!!

WTG.

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Evolution of wine appreciation

December 18th, 2007

I have recently been realizing that my preferred wine style is evolving. Which has me thinking back to the evolution of my wine appreciation.

When I first began drinking wines, it was the sweet white stuff that did it for me. Funny how Europeans poke fun at Americans, indicating that Coca Cola and its thick sweet flavors have influenced our taste preferences to such an extent that all we like are sweet (or seemingly sweet) wines. (When i say seemingly sweet, it is because fruit forward wines are often interpreted by the brain as sweet wines.)

My first REAL appreciation of red wines (I think of it as my wine epiphany) happened at a steak house. I will never forget the moment, nor will I forget the wine. I was trading stocks at the time and a bunch of guys went out to celebrate a friends birthday. We all ordered our steaks, and one guy decided we should order a bottle of wine. Knowing that I would be chipping in for said bottle I poured myself a nice glass and gave it a shot. BAMMM. It was Hagafen Napa Merlot & my life would never be the same. People talk about remembering their “firsts”- I will never forget mine.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. “Sweeter” & softer Merlots were what I initially preferred to the tannic & cloyingly dry Cabernets I had the opportunity to taste. Until somewhere along the line I grew tired of one-dimensional Merlots and began to appreciate Cabernets. For a while, it was Cab or nothing.

The next step in my “Wine appreciation evolution” was when I re-discovered whites. NO, not the sweet ones (although I had an amazing 23 year old Sauternes), but the dry, floral acidic ones. Wow, these guys complement food. It was not easy to admit it, but they actually complemented many of the foods I eat better than the Cabs I had developed a love affair with.

The most recent evolution I am starting to notice is a shift away from fruit bombs. Fear not, I am not becoming a Francophile. But I am shying away from some Australian Shiraz’s that seem to either have some residual sugar in them or were just SOO extracted (possibly by rotary fermenters) that there is nothing but fruit there. I like a little earth &/or minerality. These punch in the face fruit bomb wines were nice for a while. But I now need more.

I’m still learning and my palate is ever evolving. I bet YOURS is too. let me know…

Happy drinking!

WTG.

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DUI OFFENDER PROMOTES SPARKLING WINE

December 15th, 2007

The weather outside it frightful…and as such I did not make it out to a a wine bar this evening. I did finish up a bottle of home-vintnered white made by my friend Todd. It was actually not half bad. Very nice bouquet, some floral, notes & lots of melon. A missing mid-palate & a finish that turned a little bitter as it warmed to room temp, but for home made wine – not bad at all…

OK, on to the headline. Credit to Megan Haverkorn of Wine & Spirits daily for this one…

“America’s favorite ex-con, Paris Hilton, is launching a new sparkling wine in a can. In the ads, Paris is nude, covered in gold paint and crawling across a desert to market her brand, Rich Prosecco. Characterized as “The perfect ‘starter drink’ for your night or a special pleasure as a reward at the end of the day,” Rich Prosecco will launch in Germany this week and the U.S. next year. The brand comes in original, passion fruit and strawberry flavors.

As you’ll recall, Paris spent 23 days in jail this June for driving with a suspended license after receiving probation from a previous DUI charge.”

Hmmm…is this a pathetic attempt at capitalizing on “celebrity” & “sex”, or is it further proof of the proliferation of (sparkling) wine, and as such maybe not the worst thing in the world…????? OK, yes it’s bad…

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Wine bar proliferation – can the market become saturated??

December 11th, 2007

I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Upon returning from a 4 month stay in Napa, CA about 10 months ago I discovered “wine bars” for the first time. As it turned out, there were 2 in my neighborhood. One which had been around for about a year, and another which had just recently opened up.

Fast forward 10 months. One stretch, 3 blocks long on Columbus Ave now contains 4 wine bars, another stretch on Broadway just south of the Columbus stretch contains another 2, and further uptown there is at least 1 other I am aware of which is preparing to open up.

So in about a 1 year time frame the number went from 1 wine bar to 7.

So the question is, will wine bars simply be a fad and will all these places opening up go out of business quickly?? OR will they become like the Pizzaria’s on the 50’s & 60’s & the Sushi places of the 90’s & early 2000’s, where there seems to be another pizza shop or sushi place on every corner and enough business for all of them????

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Wine Ingredients – should they be posted on the label???

December 10th, 2007

Bonny Doon, of Santa Cruz CA thinks so. I’m a fan of Bonny Doon wines and I LOVE this move!

“Randall (Grahm – owner of Bonny Doon) feels that it’s important to openly share with consumers any additions made to the wine, and by extension to make other winemakers responsible for [acknowledging] their own additions and interventions,” explained Alison Davies, marketing associate at Bonny Doon. “We hope for a number of results: by stating all the ingredients, this could lead the industry in the direction of full disclosure and encourage winemakers to be more hands-off and less interventionist.”

I’ve stated on several occasions that I observe kosher dietary laws, but when it comes to wine, whose production MAY include problematic products (used for clarifying wines) I have looked the other way, figuring these problematic ingredients are removed from the wine before bottling. And there is virtually no way of knowing which wines are made using some of these problematic items. Until now!

I’ll be thrilled if Bonny Doon is in fact successful in getting other wineries to follow suit and begin to list ingredients on their wines. And who knows, this may become law – which would be GREAT for vegetarians, vegans, kosher consumers, etc…

Have a wonderful week!

WTG

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape – blind tasting & results

December 7th, 2007

I could list the 7 Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s that we tried and my corresponding tasting notes for each. But that would be boring. I’d rather make fun of myself and the group.

There were 10 of us in attendance last night, 7 women & 3 guys (gotta love the ratio). The wines we tried were from the ’04 & ’05 vintages. Included in the tasting was the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Beaucastel ’04 – a $100 wine that is considered to be one of the best. And the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Clos des Papes ’04, a $75 bottle and another stalwart.

We do our tastings blind and one of the things we typically find ourselves doing is trying to guess which is the “fancy” or expensive wine. Sure enough we unanimously chose a $35 bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Dom. Saint Prefert ’05 as our favorite.

The point of this post is simply that wine is something we all should have fun with. Don’t listen to critics, bloggers, sommeliers, or snobby know-it-all friends. Go to wine bars, wine shops, restaurants & try as much wine as you can. And when you find one you like, WRITE IT DOWN. To hell with what the critics tell you you should like. Do you listen to critics about what movies to like (ok, maybe) what music to listen to (OK, maybe), or what politician to vote for??? OK, so I guess critics do hold a prominent role in our society. And the bottom line is, these people gain the status of critic because they devote a TON of time to a specific topic and become (so-called) experts on that topic. But when it comes down to it, it is YOU who is buying the wine, YOU who is drinking the wine & YOU who needs to enjoy the wine.

Have fun – Drink wine. And don’t let anyone tell you what you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT like!!!!!
-WTG.

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Wining and even some dining

December 6th, 2007

Too “tired” from all the wine last night to blog. But I was out at a couple of important places and there is lots to write. So without further ado…

I was to have drinks with a gentleman who was interested in being involved with the Israel Wine project I am working on. Given that the project involves wine from a specific region, we decided to check out a wine bar in NYC that has wines (and food style) exclusively from a non-traditional wine region – South Africa. In a nutshell, this large wine bar has done so much right, but seems to be missing “it”.

Upon arriving at the bar the place was quite crowded – but what wine bars aren’t these days. It took several minutes for someone to even acknowledge our presence, and once that was done, it took several more minutes before we were assured we would be seated shortly.

Once we were (finally) seated, we quickly picked out two S. African wines that had a little age to them. MISTAKE. Now I know, I must do a better job documenting the exact wines, but I do remember that we ordered a 2000 Merlot & a 2001 Cabernet. The merlot was either oxidized, past its prime (yet still tannic?), blended with Pinotage (I’m not a fan), or full of Brett (brettanomyces). The Cab seemed better, but it was the type of wine where the nose did not carry over to the palate. It had an unusual candied/sour cherry & cherry wood nose while the palate was more dark fruit and oak driven. Better than the merlot, but not great.

Now I must admit, there is 1 thing I love about this wine bar. Upon receiving your wine, customers get an empty glass & a small carafe of the wine they ordered. This allows the drinker(s) to pour as much or as little as they want at a time. It also makes sharing easier.

After the wine bar we were off to Capsouto Freres in Tribeca. CF is known for their wines, and it just so happens that there was an article in yesterdays NY Sun about Jacques, the proprietor, and his ambassador-ship for Israeli wines in particular ( http://www.nysun.com/article/67518 ).

Upon arriving at CF we informed Jacques that we read the article in the paper and I reminded him that we had previously met. I think he was pleased that we had seen the piece and he graciously engaged us in conversation about Israeli wine. Not only does Jacques have a fine palate, but he is a shrewd businessman. He selects fine wines for his wine list, but also seeks out deals and is consequently able to offer wines at very fair prices.

At Jacques’ recommendation we selected the 2001 Yatir blend – made from 60% Cab & 40% Merlot. This wine was made from fruit from the Judean Hills region & 2001 was (I believe) the first vintage released by Yatir. Sadly the wine was not overly impressive. While it was better than the South African wines we had earlier in the evening, it possessed some heat, and tasted a bit “cooked”. What might once have been nice fresh plums, was both smelling and tasting a bit like cooked plums & other jammy fruit.

All in all a wonderful evening with a new friend and possible business partner, but somewhat disappointing wines.

TONIGHT I will be tasting Châteauneuf-du-Pape with my tasting group. Very much looking forward & I hope to post a full tasting report at my earliest convenience…

Happy drinking!

WTG.

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Wine Bar food options

December 5th, 2007

A quick post tonight.

I was out at a wine bar last night with a business contact. We each ordered a glass of Ridge 3 vineyards Zinfandel. Those Ridge people really know their Zin.

Anyway, we also decided to go with their 4 cheese platter. We got to pick 4 cheeses from about 10 different options. And it came with some sort of dried date thing. All very nice, and still good so far.

HOWEVER, the platter also came with fruit. Fruit goes with wine, right? One thing. It had a very aesthetically pleasing granny smith apple cut into nice skinny slices. Now HOLD EVERYTHING. A wine bar served an apple, let alone granny smith??? PLEASE, anyone out their, correct me if I am wrong (which is entirely possible), but aren’t apples loaded with malic acid? Isn’t malic acid something which clashes with wines? Especially wines that have undergone malolactic fermentation (a process whereby the more harsh malic acid in wine is converted into the smoother lactic acid)???

This is just one example. But what I’d REALLY LOVE to hear (from anyone out there) is how you feel about food served at wine bars. Should all the food “complement” the wine, or does it not really matter???

Happy Hanukah to all who are celebrating!

WTG.

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