Rebecca Fineman - All Comments

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Eric Crane — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:57:40 GMT

abcnews.go.com/.../canada-backtracks-labeling-wine-west-bank-48626308

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

guildsomm user — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 22:12:17 GMT

*Will the good wine ever make it past the top Kosher markets of NY and South Florida? Royal having a near monopoly on the imports makes me doubtful.

*Selling the wine as Kosher is another thing that I think hurts Israeli wine on the International stage. There's no harm in it being Kosher, but the winemakers seem to want it to be seen as fine wine first. Indeed, even this article begins with religious references. There's a long, hard road to climb, though. Once you get past the religious aspect, polarizing politics come into play.

*My favorite wine hands down from the recent Guildsomm enrichment trip was The Cave, a label crafted by Binyamina. I found it to be perfectly quenchy, but also extremely complex and reminiscent of top California bordeaux blends. They age the wine in a Rothschild dug cave bought from Carmel.

*There are a lot of mouth burning Cab/Syrah blends being produced. A LOT. Boldness is a prized trait in Israel, and winemakers are often concerned about too little color extraction.

*Gewurtz is up and coming, and the wine that almost every winery said they sell out of first. We saw a ton of promise in aromatic whites.

*It was COLD in the Golan Heights. This is not a hot area, and Sauv Blanc can thrive here.

*Pricing is strange. On the low end of Premium wine, there wasn't a lot of value. On the top end, though, there was value in droves. The price range isn't very wide, sort of like South Africa.

*I drew a ton of parallels to Washington. Stylistically, it's hard to say how WA or Israel are defined, but you do see a lot of bold reds in both, and the "red blend" category seems prolific in both. I saw an industry of acclaim that is still very much in its youth. Hot desert with varying microclimates everywhere exist in both. Locals want very little to nothing that's not local. Winemakers are dialing it back with ripeness, after a period trending in the opposite direction. There is potential for both, but there may be a glass ceiling because of resources (water, land, etc..)

*Other standouts for me:

-A limited production traditional method sparkling wine from Jardin that sees extended lees aging. There was none to buy.

-Sparkling Buzz rose made by Carmel is a great breakfast wine for around $4.

-There are a couple of villages dedicated to employing people with special needs. The story alone was inspiring, but the wines of Tulip add quality to a great story.

-Amphorae Winery reminded me a lot of Jonata. Money buys happiness, but the wines were made with restraint in a really beautiful way.

-Late harvest and fortified wines, along with Brandy, are old school and delicious (and in some of the Carmel bottlings EXPENSIVE)

-Taybeh in Palestine was tasty. I sort of scoffed at native grapes while I was in the region, as most are just table grapes being made into wine, but they made a wine from some obscure grape that isn't in Wine Grapes that blew me away.

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Darla Hoffmann — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 00:31:51 GMT

The state of Arizona is facing very similar issues to that of Israel. It's youth, supply/demand issues, climate and much of the terrain are quite parallel! However, many producers in both locations are making such unique and beautiful wines! I mentioned the similarity in an article I wrote as a guest writer for the Society of Wine Educator's on Wine, Wit & Wisdom.

winewitandwisdomswe.com/.../

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Sadie Flateman — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 11:09:44 GMT

Rebecca, Well done getting the conversation started about Israeli wine on this platform! I agree that "Israel is becoming an important player in the world of wine and deserves newfound interest and respect."

Alongside to the spike in quality Israeli wine over the last thirty years is growth in wine making. There are 250/300 wineries registered with the Wine and Grape Board, and roughly an additional 100 wineries that are unregistered, tiny, home wineries. In a country comparable to the size of New Jersey, this is a lot of wine making activity...Israel is juicy! The wines that are most visible in the US market are the larger, kosher wineries. Kudos to those wineries, but it should be notes that the twenty or so wineries that make up 95% of Israel's wine export to the US is not the complete picture of Israeli wine. The majority of Israeli wineries are boutique and not kosher.

It is wildly exciting that a region with great ancient winemaking is prolific again after a more than 1,300 years hiatus! Wine in Israel is a thriving industry, production has doubled over the past decade, and the energy of the wine revival is felt throughout the country and in restaurants and wine bars in Tel Aviv.

Across the five main regions that you defined so well in your article, climates and wine styles are very diverse. There are very few restrictions in the industry, which gives winemakers tremendous freedom to plant and make what they want. It makes sense that a lot of wineries are still experimenting with what works and the industry is still in a young phase, despite there being many excellent and award wining wines coming out of the country. Because of Rothschild and Bordeaux blends being the basis of Israel's quality wine, we draw the comparison to Bordeaux, and certainly UC Davis consultant winemakers contributed significantly to the quality revolution, but there are also Mediterranean and near-eastern influences to consider, such as in the nature of the grape and point of view/taste of the winemaker.

There are some privately organized winemaker associations like NETO Wine, a group of 35 winemakers who pledge not to use additives other than yeast, bentonite, sulfur, and bacteria (for malo). Organic wine does exist, The Israel Bio-Organic Agriculture Association (IBOAA), though few wineries validate the certification.

A comment on supply and demand...Israel's wine industry is growing very rapidly and most wineries want to export. Penetrating the US market, where an outdated stigma still exists that all Israeli wine is Kosher, and that kosher wines are bad, will take some time. It will take time for Wineries to diversify export into portfolios of non-kosher importers/distributors. Hopefully, importers/distributors will take part in revealing that there is so much to discover in wine from Israeli, and that there is opportunity to find wines that are new and different, and to introduce these wines to the US consumer.

Based on my experience tasting Israeli wine professionally over the past five years, and visiting the wineries, I can say that quality is improving with each vintage, and as Israelis become more wine-savvy, trends grow towards more unique, terroir driven wines, and toning down the oak. I am happy to share whatever information I can and would be thrilled to discuss specific wines. I am familiar with all of the wines available in the North-East market and would like to hear what the experience is with Israeli wine in other locales.

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Guy Wachs (He) Restaurateur/Author/ Consulting — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 07:13:47 GMT

I totally failed a blind tasting at this

amazing winery on the road to Jerusalem called Katlav the Malbec was very young and energetic remineded me of some of the funky Sin Zin from socal. Another boutuqe winery in Israel making killer vino is ELLA

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Matthew Portnoy — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:43:35 GMT

It's awesome to see a post on the wines of Israel! I work at an Israeli restaurant and buy a good amount of these. The one comment I would make is that the higher end, more boutique wineries definitely stay away from the new world style. Kadita and Margalit being two good examples of this. Israel is often a smorgasbord of wine making styles.

RE: An Overview of Israeli Wine

Alicia Wilbur — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 20:57:21 GMT

Regarding Manischewitz, when early Jewish immigrants came to the US, they settled on the East Coast, where Vitis labrusca (native American grapes) were growing and abundant. They made wine with what they had, and if you've eaten a concord grape, you pretty much know it needs to be sweet!

Also, Yair Margalit PHD, has had a lot of influence on modern enology, and his book was published in '96.

When I graduated the three places I wanted to intern were France, for tradition, Australia for innovation, and Israel for Kosher.

Full disclosure - I am a religious Jew and I work for Herzog, we make Kosher wine and our parent company, Royal, imports many, many Israeli wines.

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Evan Davis CWE — Sun, 15 May 2016 00:48:07 GMT

Great read. Good perspective, not swinging to much either way in opinion. Presented well. Nice article, good job!

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Jason Craig — Sun, 08 May 2016 18:13:57 GMT

Troy-

In regards to Sonoma Coast AVA labeled on Kosta Brown's Kanzler Vineyard - They label it according to the vineyard's location, not that they vinify the grapes in Sebastopol (which is in the RRV).

Sonoma Coast and Russian River have always shared a "grey area" of a boarder and some producers tend to choose the most BUZZ worthy AVA when licensing their labels to assist in driving sales and often times the character of the wine produced on that border may swing in one direction or the other creating the deciding factor for which AVA to be placed on the bottle. I have spoken directly with many winemakers in this area in regards to these labeling choices, having been raised and then a Private Wine Tour Guide in this area for several years.

Wait till the split off of Petaluma GAP from Sonoma Coast (in process), I believe 2016 will be the first year you may see bottles labeled so. When that happens a good portion of High End Producers in this area, such as Kosta Brown and their Sunchase Vineyard) will be changing their Labels to rep the new Petaluma GAP AVA.

Another good resource for clarity on this would be the Winemaker's Evan and Brent at Fogline Winery. Evan has been advocating for the new Petaluma Gap AVA for several years now, and they make Pinot's from each of these "neighborhoods"

Giving credit where credit is due and representing the proper terroir accurately Im certain is in everybody's interest. More importantly, it should be paramount to retaining guest/consumer confidence in ordering wine.

IMHO

Jason Craig C.S.

A Russian River Resident

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Troy Tranzow — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 06:45:01 GMT

HELP! Rebecca please excuse my ignorance, after trying to find the answer im still lost. In regards to Kosta Browne sourcing there Pinot Noir from Kanzler Vineyard, why do they lable it Sonoma Coast? Is that where they vinify it? Or something I'm overthinking? Thank you in advance.

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Christopher Gaither — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 02:08:07 GMT

Wow, great writing! Thanks Bec!

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Jeana Mamer — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 20:53:34 GMT

Thank you for this! It'll be interesting to watch how it plays out.

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Allegra Angelo — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 17:15:53 GMT

Thanks Becca for this article!

RE: Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley

Daniel Fitzgerald, CSW — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 03:52:14 GMT

Very insightful! Thank you for putting this together and enabling us to grow our knowledge, keep up the great work!