Last week I attended the annual Jerusalem wine festival. of course it was a purely professional evening and maximum restraint and temperance was practiced!
I had a wonderful evening and on the whole , I am generally impressed with the standard of wines this year. I think that in antiquity the Holy Land was known for producing fine wines and recently much has been done to restore Israel to its former glory in terms of wine production. I genuinely think that a trip to Israel is missing something if it does not include a trip to one of the fantastic wineries.
I have created a list of wines and wineries that I would recommend on a tour this year.
Yaffo Winery
website: yaffowinery.co.il
Formerly situated near the ancient city of Jaffa, this family business has relocated to the beautiful surroundings of the Ella valley. This winery specializes in blends of grape. I especially like the ‘Sauvage‘ blend, which was a blend of Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Merlot. It was a set apart from the other wines at the festival, with a very different more fruity taste than some of the rather plain Merlots and Merlot based wines that the other wineries were offering. It actually had a distinctive floral nose, that even my poor allergy prone schnoz could discern. You can drink a good Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon anywhere in the world, this wine is something special.
Jerusalem Wineries
website: jerusalemwineries.co.il
This stand attracted my attention for 2 reasons. Firstly for quite sometime I’ve been looking for a good winery inside the city, located in the Atarot industrial estate, they are just inside Jerusalem municipal boundaries and , as it happens, near some good limestone hills, perfect for a good vineyard.
Secondly when I ask a proprietor of a winery for a recommendation I normally get a stream of pretentious gibberish; as they slowly explain the topography, their family history, and anything from anthropology of wine drinking cultures to their latest invention to avoid using oak barrels. There’s pretty much one thing that makes a good wine; its taste. I waited for ages at other company stands while their proprietors jabbered a way and told me to go away if I was not willing to listen to their long lecture (and I had my child care needing to go home before midnight). The Jerusalem winery was a different story entirely; I asked him for a good wine, he said he ‘didn’t really know but try this Syrah, it tastes great’ and it did. Even after drinking 10 mediocre Syrah’s the Jerusalem winery’s Syrah shone, it was strong, it was rich and even my date for the night who hates dry wine liked it.
Har Bracha
Visitor Centre telephone number: 0528070798
The Har Bracha faux ‘Bordeaux’ style wine is a beautifully light and fruity wine with a delicate fragrance. This is no suprise as the winery holds a reputation for selling interesting ‘out of the box’ wines that other Israeli companies tend to avoid. They have a good restaurant too by all reports.
Tulip
Telephone Number: 049830573
I have seen this brand slowly make its way onto the shelves in the mainstream Israeli stores. I have to say that I’m impressed with the maturity of the label, their Cabernet Franc bland was another impressive ‘out of the ordinary’ wine. I went to a winery recently where all they really had was the generic heavy Merlots Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs, most of their wines were indistinguishable one from the other, none tasted that bad, but there wasn’t anything that the friend I went with (a lot more knowledgeable than I was) could really say that was different and distinctive. The Tulip winery clearly uses its knowledge to really showcase the surroundings of the Lower Galilee and Judean Hills where its grapes are grown. I felt that the Cabernet Franc that I tasted, was unique and something you don’t really get anywhere else.
.
If you would like to visit any of these or the many other fine wineries in Israel or you want to visit but want some good touring for the rest of the day, you can e-mail me here!
