In 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.” Examining the paradox of Israel being neither truly New World or Old World, Segelbaum suggests something different altogether: considering the country to be “oldest world.” After all, Segelbaum notes, Israel can trace its winemaking tradition back over 5,000 years, with archaeological evidence demonstrating that the area was both producing and exporting wine thousands of years before Europe. With mentions of numerous producers—Dalton, Jezreel Valley, Recanati, Gva’ot, Barkan, Carmel, Yatir, Tabor, Yarden, Golan Heights, Covenant, and Jerusalem Wineries—SommJournal also explores Israel’s use of a range of grapes from classic to indigenous to Mediterranean, and how each one can express a different aspect of the country’s countless microclimates.
Source: The SOMM Journal December/January 2019-2020 (pages 84-89)