B everage

ISRAELI WINE
ON THE RISE By Fabiana Santana

Biblical references to wine are easy to find. Jesus’ first miracle

was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana and in
the Old Testament, the vine is one of the seven species. So
why shouldn’t the wines of Israel have their moment in the
spotlight?
“In the Bible, Israel is referred to as a land of milk and
honey. Grain, fruit and vegetables once grew abundantly,
and some call it the birthplace of wine making. Wine
making started with Noah,” explains Richard Shaffer
of Israeli Wine Direct, a premiere Israeli Wine import
company. “Upon his return to dry land, he planted the first
vineyard (Genesis 9:11).” Avi Hein, editor of HaKerem: The
Israeli Wine Blog, agrees. “Israel is the original ‘old world.’
The Bible writes about the glorious vineyards and lush wine
made in the land of Israel.” So what happened?
derwriting their agricultural resettlement. In
1924, he established the Palestine Jewish Colo-
nization Association (PICA), which acquired
more than 125,000 acres of land and planted
vineyards there. “It is estimated that Edmond
de Rothschild spent over 50 Million dollars
in supporting the settlements, and backed re-
search in electricity by engineers and financed
development of an electric generating sta-
tion”.
In 1890 he built wineries in Rishon le Zion,
south of Tel Aviv and in Zichron Ya’acov, south
of Haifa, in 1892. In 1895, the Carmel Wine
Company was created to market both winer-
ies’ products; in 1900, it opened a New York

W
hen Arab tribes took over Israel in
the Moslem Conquest of 636, local
wine production stopped for 1,200
years. Muslim religious beliefs dic-
tated man should not make or drink wine. So, all
the land was uprooted, the vineyards destroyed.
“This is why no one knows that variety of grape
is indigenous to Israel,” Shaffer explains.
As Jewish settlers began find their way back
into the country during the 19th and 20th centu-
ries, so did an enthusiasm for viticulture. The
new found interest resulted in amateur experi-
mentation of over cropped vines. And that in
turn resulted in an end product with an overly
sweet taste and a reputation that would last for
years.
Richard Schaeffer says it’s time that Israel
shakes that reputation. “There are lots of mis-
conceptions. The first being that all wines from
Israel are kosher. They aren’t. Not that all Kosher
wines are bad, because they aren’t but it is im-
portant for American wine drinkers to know that
not all Israeli wines are Kosher. More important-
ly, not all Israeli wines are bad.”
The wine movement resurged in Israel in
1882 in a big way. Philanthropist, wine legend,
and French Jew Baron Edmond de Rothschild,
owner of Château Lafite in Bordeaux, helped the
body of Jews living in countries outside Pales-
tine or modern Israel to return to home by un-
office. In 1906, Rothschild helped found the
Société Coopérative Vigneronne des Grandes
Caves, a grape-growers’ cooperative, which
managed both wineries. And in 1957, James
Rothschild, Edmond’s son, gave the coopera-
tive both wineries, essentially giving the work-
ers control of the land and vineyards.
During the 1980s, with the advent of the
Golan Heights Winery (a decision influenced
by professors at UC Davis in California who
visited during the wine revolution in Califor-
nia and said the line was perfect for wine mak-
ing), the wine being produced in Israel – by
Carmel Winery and a handful of other produc-
ers – was not of interest to the sophisticated
drinker. In the 1990s, another revolution hap-

42 / FOOD & BEVERAGE • FEBRUARY

B everage
pened with the explosion
of new boutique winer-
ies (Margalit Winery and
Domaine du Castel were
among the first), in a pro-
cess that continues to this
very day. “New winer-
ies are opening up every
day. Older wineries have
made major investments
and radical changes” says
Hein.
Importers like Rich-
ard Schaffer want to see
“There are already 10,000
those changes recognized
in the states. His com-
bottles on the shelves in
pany, Israeli Wine Direct,
is dedicated to import-
your market. Adding an-
ing select Israeli wines
to the states. “There are
other 1000 won’t be easy,
already 10,000 bottles on
the shelves in your mar-
but it is the goal.”
ket. Adding another 1000
won’t be easy, but it is the
goal.” He works specifically with
boutique vineyards in Israel that
range in production from 20 to 100
cases a year. “That is what the big
producers do in a day.” While the
task is a difficult one, he says it will
be easier once the buyers are edu-
cated. “Once the product reaches
the hands of passionate wine
drinkers, it will be an easy sell.”
One such drinker, and buyer,
is Jacques Capsouto, owner and
wine director of New York City’s
Capsouto Freres, one of New York
City’s premiere French restaurants
- which also boasts the city’s largest
Israeli wine list. “I have passion for
wine, period. I’ve been to France,
to Italy. I’ve been to the West coast,
to California and Oregon. All to
taste wine. Then in 2004 I went
to Israel; I hadn’t been there for 20
years. And I tasted the wine. And
now, that’s my passion.” During
that visit in 2004, Capsouto decid-
ed to explore the growing wine in-
dustry in Israel and visited 16 win-
44 / FOOD & BEVERAGE •FEBRUARY
eries. On a return trip a year later,
he examined the land and vines.
Then in 2006, he was invited back
for a wine fair. “The government
and the wineries were in partner-
ship. That was a six day event.
Then I added another five on my
own to taste more. That’s when I
started prospecting. “
Capsouto says that it should
be no surprise that Israeli wine is
good. “Rothschild knew it was
good. He planted Grenache, Gr-
enache Blanc, claret, merlot, and
cabernet. They all took. And by
nature, Israelis are good farmers.
They know technology and learn
fast. And where there are olives
there are vines. So it’s obvious.”
He started adding Israeli selec-
tions to his NYC restaurant list in
2004 and critics like Robert Parker
and Wine Spectator took notice. “It
was an easy decision for me. I like
to drink the quality wines,
instead of quan-
tity wine. Israel is
about quality. And
the wine will hold up to any
food as well as any French,
Italian or new world wine
will.”
Capsouto is still pros-
pecting land in Israel for his
own vineyard. “I’m trying
to make a wine over there.
I already sent granache noir,
mersalnt, granache blanc-
all growing in nurseries.
Now I am waiting for land.”
He says that it is only natu-
ral that the vines and grapes
would grow so eagerly
there. “I’ve researched the
history of wine and I be-
lieve that the chardonnay
came to France from Syria
during the crusades. That
is my belief.” Richard Shaf-
fer agrees, “Wines and vines
were exported from Israel to
France and Italy centuries
ago, before the land in Israel was
destroyed.”
Barry Saslove, a former wine
lecturer who runs his own winery,
is sourcing most of his grapes in
Galilee. “It’s one of the best grow-
ing regions in the world. The basalt
soil is rich, and the roots are drawn
down by limestone. And the cool,
dry mountain air make it ideal
for the cultivation of choice wine
grapes.” He built the Saslove Win-
ery in Kibbutz Eyal in 1998. With
the establishment of the winery,
Saslove planted a new Vineyard in
Kaditah in the upper Galilee. 5.5
acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and
Merlot grapes at 800 meters above
sea-level were first gathered in
2001. The grapes are gathered and
selected by hand at dawn, and are
p l a c e d in special protective
containers. Then they are trans-
ferred via cooled trucks to the
Winery. The Kaditah Vineyard
employs organic growing tech-
niques, thus enabling the vines to
grow naturally. At the moment,
the area is best known for its
Cabernet and Chardonnays, but
Syrah is gaining momentum
The other regions gaining
recognition are the Judean Hills,
– surrounding the city of Jerusa-
lem and full of long, hot summer
days and damp nights courtesy
of its proximity to the sea, per-
fect for Chardonnay grapes, the
Shimson region located between
the Judean Hills and the Coastal
plain (home to Carmel Mizrachi’s
Rishon-le- Zion winery), the
Shomron region , located near
the Mediterranean coast and sur-
rounding the villages of Zichron
Ya’akov and Binyamina (this is
the country’s largest grape grow-
ing region. Wineries in the area
include Baron, Binyamina and
the Zichron Ya’acov winery of
Carmel Mizrachi as well as sev-
eral boutique wineries, and the
Negev region, a semi arid des-
sert region where drip irrigation
makes it possible to grow Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon and Char-
donnay grapes.
“Read your wine’s label,”
says Richard Schaffer. “Look for
as much information as possible
about the region. That is the best
way to learn.”
Another reference is Daniel
Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines.
Avi Hein calls him Israel’s most
important wine critic. Rogov
writes weekly wine and restau-
rant columns in the respected
newspaper Ha’aretz
and contributes reg-
ularly to two presti-
gious international
wine books – Hugh
Johnson’s
Wine Book and
Pocket
Tom Stevenson’s
Wine Report. His
own guide to Israeli
wines is published
annually.
Israel’s top
five producers are
the Golan Heights
Winery (owner of
Yarden - named for
the Jordan River
- its premier label)
– which holds a size-
able majority share
in Galil Mountain –,
Domaine du Castel,
Flam, Margalit and
Yatir. They are fol-
lowed (listed alpha-
betically) by Am-
phorae, Barkan, Carmel, Chateau
Golan, Clos de Gat, Dalton, Ella
Valley, Galil Mountain, Recanati,
Saslove, Tishbi and Tzora.
But Israel has over 9500 acres
under vine. There is an abun-
dance of reds from cabernet franc
to pinot noir and whites ranging
from Chenin Blanc to Riesling and
Muscat canelli. Recently quan-
tities of pinot blanc, malbec and
tempranillo have been planted.
Boutique wineries are prospering
and a new generation of farmers
and wine makers are taking hold
of the reigns. So, it’s obvious that
this old world region still has a lot
it wants to show us.
FOOD & BEVERAGE • DECEMBER / 47
FOOD & BEVERAGE • DECEMBER / 47