Israeli Wine

Israel is located in the western Middle East (or Near East), at the very eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The Jewish state’s famously controversial borders, created in the wake of WW2, abut those of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Despite a long, turbulent history, this region is often cited as one of the ‘cradles of civilization’, the birthplaces of man’s agricultural and urban development. Modern-day Israel occupies the land described in the Bible as ‘flowing with milk and honey’, a phrase analogous with our current concept of the Fertile Crescent. Once the seeds of civilization had been sown in these fertile lands, it was only a matter of time before man began to turn them first into grapes, then into wine. The Bible progresses just nine chapters before mentioning wine, citing the moment some hold to be the dawn of winemaking: 'Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard' (Genesis 9, 20-21).

Although tiny compared to most modern wine-producing nations, Israel's annual wine production has attracted attention from all corners of the wine world in recent years. This is not only due to the development of new cooler-climate terroirs such as the Golan Heights, but also to the quality-conscious approach of the nation's wine producers.

The demand for kosher wines throughout the world, particularly in the USA, has underpinned the development of the Israeli wine industry over the past few decades, bringing some very New World styles and techniques to this definitively Old World country. Not all wine made in Israel is kosher, however. Modern Orthodox Jews believe that to be considered truly kosher, various products (wine and dairy among them) should be prepared only by Jews. Some Jews consider non-Jewish wine (known as yayin nasekh) to be kosher if it has been heated, the reason being that heated wine was not used as a religious libation in biblical times, and its consumption is therefore not sacrilegious. Thus mulling, cooking and pasteurizing wine renders it kosher in the eyes of many Jews. In the 1960s Rabbit Israel Silverman argued that wine made by automated processes (of which there are an ever-increasing number) are kosher on the grounds that they are not made by gentiles (non-Jews). Thus, as time goes on and winemaking becomes increasingly automated, the consumer base for Israeli wines will continue to grow. (For more information, please see Kosher Wine.)

Various 'international' wine grape varieties have proved successful in Israel's better vineyard sites, among them Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay and even Gewurztraminer. Several members of the extensive Muscat family, which retains its historic links with this part of the world, are also to be found here. Alexandria, home of Muscat of Alexandria, lies 315 miles (500km) west of the Israeli capital Jerusalem.

Although the majority of Israel's terroirs are too hot and dry to reliably produce wine of high quality, there are patches of viticultural promise in the Judean Hills and Carmel Valley. Israel's finest wine region is arguably Galilee, particularly at the cool elevations of the Golan Heights.

It has been observed by several wine authorities that Israel's approach to winemaking is stylistically quite New World, while neighboring Lebanon has retained an Old World feel due to its French colonial history. This is borne out by Israel's proactive approach to wine marketing and tourism. There are grand designs for a national wine center, intended to promote and develop Israel's wine industry throughout the world. The proposed site will cover roughly 150 acres (60ha) near Binyamina, at the heart of the Shomron wine region. Rather appropriately, Binyamina (which was founded in 1922) was officially named by Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild, former owner of the eponymous Medoc wine estate. If one choses to observe the auspices of this coincidence, the future of Israeli wine tourism looks very bright indeed.