Deep discussion about wines with the vinter.  He had some serious issues with his wine rating from Rogov.  I remember his wines as very good but as luck would have it I forgot the name of the winery.  Perhaps Rogov was correct after all.

 

 

Tasting in Southern Israel with my good friends Orit and Kahlman.

 

 

 

 

Sampling Israeli Moonshine at the Herzberg Winery with Kahlman my ever present drinking buddy.  As with many boutique wineries in Israel the owner was retired and grew a very limited amount of grapes on a small plot behind his home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh. The Kadma Winery in the Judean Hills.  The only winery I have visited that age their wines in clay vessels or casks.  Unique process said to be thousands of years old.  The wines were quite good.  Unfortunately they are not available in the states. From left to right and obviously enjoying the wines are Phyllis, myself, Kahlman and the owner Lina.

 

The Kafir Winery.  What was most surprising to me was that we pulled into a residential neighborhood, knocked on this fellows door and entered a house that had been transformed into a winery.  There were barrels and bottles and equipment everywhere.  The tasting was in his basement at a little table as you can see.

 

Mony Winery is located in the foothills of the Jerusalem Mountains.  Notice the policeman in the this photo taking a break at the tasting counter.

 

 

 

This second photo shows how Mony stores it’s casks in an adjacent cave.  The atmosphere was better than their wine.

 

 

 

The Seahorse Winery might be the most unique wine operation that I have visited.  Without my guides, thank you Orit and Kahlman, I never would have visited this small boutique winery. Located on a moshav in the Jerusalem Hills the production is very limited (under 20,000 bottles).   We drove to the rear of the property having called in advance and had to rouse the guy out of his house.  The tasting was conducted in a detached garage behind his house. He was quite hospitable and knowledgable.  Our tastings here were unique in that he did not open or pour from bottles but rather used a wine thief, essentially a suction hose, inserted into the wine barrel to draw out the luscious wines.  The wines were excellent but because of the small runs they are not available in the states.

Brunch at the Villa Wilhema Winery just minutes from Ben Gurion Airport. I had tasted their wines earlier in the week at the Israel Wine Festival in Tel Aviv and was impressed with their wine. We decided on a wine brunch at their vineyard the morning of our departure.  Great food and very good wines.  (l-r:  Orit, Kahlman, Phyllis and myself).  It’s worth a visit.  The Timeless 929 Cab-Merlot is quite good.

The Karmei Yosef (Bravdo) Vineyards are a  family affair.  Founded by Ben-Ami Bravdo (seated in the middle) , a professor at Hebrew University,  the wines are grown on the western slopes of the Judean Mountains. This family was extremely hospitable to us.  We drove a short distance back to their vineyards over a lone dirt road dodging the occasional pothole from recent rains. Although we were the only guests they treated us like royalty.  Their wines are very good.  I try to keep one of their Cabs handy for special occasions.

 

The Tulip Winery is located near Haifa in a town called Kfar Tikva.  We had no guides for this visit and boy did we get lost.  We finally had to call the owners and they piloted us into town.  But the confusion was worth the visit.  What strikes you first is that many of the workers are special needs.  The winery serves as a special needs workshop for the community.  Quite extraordinary really.  I read that it took them some time to get their Kosher certification because of the staffing.  Great people and better than average wine.

 

The Amphorae Winery is located near Herzliya on the slopes of the Carmel Mountains on the tip of adormant volcano.   This was also a self guided trip but was relatively easy to find. 

We did not call ahead but thought we’d take a chance.  When we arrived the door was open but no one could be found.  At some point  they must have heard us and we were welcomed graciously and given a private tour and tasting.  I love these wines.  I still have two cellared and awaiting a special occasion.  I usually have the wine makes sign a Israel Wine Guide but this fine man signed the wine bottle label.

A stop at the Binyamina Winery resulted in a nice visit with the winemaker who you can see was on active reserve duty at the time.  The winery has a large assortment of wines and a mix of releases to fit most any drinker. The winery is located in the foothills of the Carmel Mountains.

 

 

 

 

Located near Zichron Ya’akov the Tishbi Winery has a range of wines and all are kosher.  This is the owner and winemaker Golan Tishbi.  Small shop but quite a bit of variety.  I particularly liked the serving of local olives and breads with the tastings.  Tishbi is available in the states.