In a recent piece highlighted by gorgeous full-color photography of Israel’s vineyards, grapes, and wine culture, The Mediterranean Lifestyle recently took a closer look at the lengthy history and diverse landscapes that define the Mediterranean nation’s noted winemaking tradition.
Read moreTracing the history of Israel’s modern wine industry to the founding of Carmel Winery in the late 19th century by Baron Edmond de Rothschild - then-owner of Bordeaux’s famed Château Lafite - SommJournal recently explored the history, heritage, and distinctiveness of the Mediterranean nation’s hallmark Bordeaux-style reds.
Read moreProclaiming 2019 “The Year of The Curious Wine Drinker,” Vivino, the world’s most downloaded wine app, has recognized Wines of Israel’s rise to prominence among wine lovers intent on discovering new and unconventional regions, varieties, and winemaking philosophies.
Read moreNaming the white wines of Israeli the “hidden gems of the Mediterranean,” Tasting Panel magazine recently highlighted the country’s world-class winemaking work with white varieties.
Read moreTracing Israel’s millennia-long history of internationally-exported fine wine production, Wine Enthusiast recently explored the Mediterranean nation’s roots, legacy, and innovations for the future. Breaking down the country’s viticultural development into three major eras—the ancient period, in which Israel was the center of the Mediterranean wine trade.
Read moreComparing the wines of Israel to those of France’s prestigious appellations of Bordeaux and the Rhône, The Epoch Times recently published an exploration of the country’s numerous regions and long history, with writer Melanie Young noting that “Israeli wines are still a new discovery” for most American wine lovers.
Read moreAnnouncing a series of upcoming educational master classes in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Austin, GuildSomm—one of the wine industry’s top educational organizations for sommeliers—continues into its second year of educational coverage of Israel.
Read moreSpotlighting Israel as "one of the most exciting, vibrant wine-producing countries in the world" noted wine writer Brian Freedman delves into the Eastern Mediterranean nation's history, terroir, and ongoing "Fifth Wave" of cutting-edge producers experimenting with new locations, grapes, and technologies.
Read moreIn a high-profile, long-form piece for Guildsomm entitled “Indigenous Grapes: Our Past, Our Future?” top wine writer Bryce Wiatrak devotes an entire section to examining the Eastern Mediterranean, centering his study of that area on the wines of Israel.
Read moreNoting that Israel is a “remarkable region” for wine with a climate more on par with Southern Italy or Greece than the Middle East, Tasting Panel recently published its exploration of this past fall’s Wines of Israel US launch, which saw more than two dozen producers from all of the country’s major wine regions come together to impress wine-loving New Yorkers at Union Park Events.
Read moreCovering a dinner from this past fall’s Full Circle Beverage Conference in Chicago which brought together top sommeliers, wine buyers, and industry professionals to taste and learn about Israeli wines, Tasting Panel asserted that this once-overlooked ancient wine region is now “on an exciting path to international renown for its high-quality expressions of noble and native varieties alike.”
Read moreIn a detailed cover article for SommJornal, Advanced Sommelier Erik Segelbaum explores the history, winemaking styles, native grapes, producers, climatic diversity, and evolving market position of Israeli wines, noting that the category “has it all.”
Read moreThis December saw Wines of Israel join top-shelf travel brand Away and the “Humans of Tel Aviv” photography project — authored by noted photographer Erez Kaganovitz —at The Hoxton Hotel in Chicago for a travel-focused celebration of Israeli culture bringing together the food, wine, and music of the vibrant Israeli city.
Read moreSpeaking to key industry players from almost all sides of the world of wine—producers to importers, retailers to aficionados—Tasting Panel recently profiled the amazing ascendance of Israeli wines, contextualizing their rise as a new wave in the history of wine itself, which, the magazine mentioned, could be traced back five millennia in the region.
Read moreBarkan Winery’s 2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon came in at an impressive #58 on the Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2019 list—beating out dozens of other, often pricier wines from significantly better-known countries, regions, and producers.
Read moreThe focus of a series of educational master classes held in New York, Orlando, and Los Angeles, Israeli wine took another important step in November as the region received official recognition from Guildsomm —one of the sommelier community’s top educational organizations—and inclusion in Guildsomm’s study guide.
Read moreNovember was another notable month for Wines of Israel, with winemakers, educators, and sommeliers touching down in sunny San Diego for a full schedule of successful events designed to share the country’s wines with serious enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Highlighting the increased prominence of Israeli winemaking, Boston Herald wine writer Jim Campanini recently characterized the small Mediterranean country as a “burgeoning wine paradise.”
Read moreA three day celebration of the world’s finest wines, New York Wine Experience 2019 — hosted by Wine Spectator — was held at the Times Square Marriot Marquis on October 17th-19th and featured sit-down seminars, wine-pairing luncheons, a Grand Award Banquet, a Champagne reception, and Grand Tastings of 273 highly-regarded wines.
Read moreNaming Israel one of 2019’s top ten wine travel destinations, VinePair highlighted the country’s rising new generation of internationally-trained winemakers, its full-on embrace of cutting-edge technology, its renewed focus on native grapes, and its accessibility as a hub of tourism.
Read moreEarning an excited, inquisitive response from a crowd of more than one thousand wine-loving consumers, hospitality and beverage professionals, journalists, and local attendees, Wines of Israel delivered an exceptional, memorable showing at the 2019 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, with top visibility from the Welcome Reception and Wine Seminars all the way through to Sunday's final pour.
Read moreAttended by a crowd of hundreds of wine-savvy consumers, curious New Yorkers, top sommeliers, journalists, restaurateurs, and members of the retail and wholesale beverage trade, Wines of Israel presented its first-ever public exposition of the country’s fine wines in New York City on September 10th, 2019, to an overwhelmingly warm reception.
Read moreOn September 12th, Wines of Israel hosted simultaneous masterclasses in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, with a theme of “Exploring the Unknown side of the Mediterranean.” Boston’s event was held at City Winery and led by WEST Diploma-holder and CMS Certified Sommelier Erika Frey, with wines from Golan Heights Winery, Tabor Winery, Kishor Winery, Jacques Capsouto Vineyards, Gva’ot Winery, Lueria Winery, Arza Winery, Yatir Winery, Tura Winery, and Alexander Winery.
Read moreInaugural consumer-focused Grand Tasting on September 10th at Union Park Events in New York City. Breads and mezze provided by a lineup of outstanding local restaurants, including Breads Bakery, Nur, and Lamalo.
Read moreAs the effects of climate change on the vineyards of Europe come into greater focus, many winemakers are looking to Israel for its expertise on navigating the challenges of warm-climate viticulture. From the mountains to the desert, Israeli winemakers are well-positioned to dispense advice, knowing, as they do, how to manage grape-growing under extreme and often erratic conditions.
Read moreOn August 16th, freelance wine journalist and WSET Diploma-holder Cathrine Todd gave a seminar at the Society of Wine Educators Conference entitled “The New Israel: Biblical Grapes Meet Orange Wines in a Bubbling Mediterranean Melting Pot.”
Read moreWhile a gulf may separate the American perception of Israeli wine from its high quality level, progress in recent decades has earned the wines of Israeli a place at the international table. On a recent trip to Israel, Master of Wine Sandy Block assessed hundreds of wines and found them to be world-class and well-tuned to the palates of knowledgeable American consumers.
Read moreQuality wine production is rapidly rising in Israel, but challenges still impede the adoption of the country’s wine exports by American consumers. For starters, Israel is quite small—even smaller than New Jersey—and is home to only 14,000 acres of vines, which is less than a third of Napa Valley alone.
Read moreConsidered the first official viticulturist in Israel, Michal Akerman is a pioneer in supporting ecological balance in the nation’s vineyards—and is now leading a revolution in vine health, biodiversity, and organic agriculture. She is also the winemaker at Tabor Winery, the fifth largest producer in Israel, where, in the Lower Galilee’s Kfar Tabor village, the same families have been growing grapes uninterrupted for five generations.
Read moreAfter a recent trip to Israel to taste hundreds of wines and to assess the state of the country’s modern wine industry, Master of Wine Sandy Block came away with the understanding that there is a significant disparity between the exceptionally high quality level of Israeli wines and their relative invisibility in the American marketplace.
Read moreWines of Israel had a strong presence at 2019’s SommCon in Washington, D.C., a leading conference for sommelier-level education and training of wine professionals and serious enthusiasts. On June 25th, Wines of Israel presented an educational seminar, “The Unknown Side of the Mediteranean,” hosted by Master of Wine Sandy Block.
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