Way Beyond Concord

Gone
are the days when traditional kosher wine choice was limited
to sweet Concords grown in New York State. Now we have
available a wide array of wines of all varieties and styles.
Beginning about 25 years ago, there has been a veritable
revolution in the wine scene in Israel, with increasing
recognition of and varied plantings at favored sites,
adoption of technology and talent from the world over,
proliferation of wine magazines, books, schools, competent
restaurant wine lists, and wine imports. All this goes on
alongside a similar ferment elsewhere in the eastern
Mediterranean, but Israeli wines possess a definite
international flair.

There are now at
least 125 wineries in Israel, most of them small, most of
recent birth. Almost any grape you can name is grown. More
than 2O,OOO acres are under vines, a 5O percent increase in
ten years. More than three million cases of wine are now
produced annually.

The vines of
Golan Heights Winery have led the long-delayed reemergence
of world class quality wine production in Israel almost from
the first vintage in 1983. The winery is maintained in a
mutually enhancing relationship with – in fact is owned by –
the four collective farms (kibbutzim) and four cooperative
farms (moshavim) that tend 15 vineyards on the Golan Heights
and one elsewhere in the Upper Galilee, at elevations of
13OO to 39OO feet. The first plantings were in 1976. A total
of 156O acres of vines are located from the Sea of Galilee,
across the Golan Heights to the foothills of Mount Hermon,
often near the borders with Syria and Lebanon (as if the
natural stresses of wine production aren’t enough).
Meticulous viticulture is abetted by the modern winery in
Katzrin, also in the Golan Heights. With a 44O,OOO case
annual production, Golan Heights Winery is Israel’s third
largest producer, and it continues to grow. About 3O percent
of the wide-ranging production is exported. The chief
winemaker is Victor Schoenfeld, American born, UC-Davis
trained, with experience in California, Champagne and
elsewhere in Israel. He has been on the job since
1992.

Three lines of
wines are marketed: Yarden (Jordan), the top line; Golan,
named for an ancient city of refuge and the militarily and
agriculturally important high ground in northeastern Israel;
and Gamla, named for an ancient city of the Upper Galilee
that was a natural stronghold.

The upper
Galilee, which includes the Golan Heights, contains the best
vineyards in the country. The soil is well-drained volcanic
basalt with abundant areas of terra rosa, red-brown loam
directly over limestone, that many vines enjoy – Cabernet
and Syrah for two. Summers are warm and sunny, winters quite
cool. The location in the north, the altitude of the
vineyards, the breezes from Mount Hermon, and the large
day-night temperature drop result in wines as balanced and
elegant as those of more temperate latitudes.

The
uncertainties of a peace settlement with Syria hang over the
Golan Heights. When occupied by Syria before the Six Day War
in 1967, the high ground was used to shell Israeli farmers
below. Much of the area was desolate, and after the Yom
Kippur War of 1973, it became a graveyard of ruined Syrian
tanks. It is now rich in productive vineyards, a
contemporary ‘turning of swords into plowshares’. Should the
land revert to Syria, prime vineyard land will be lost. Some
hope for a lease-back arrangement, but strict interpretation
of Islamic law may prohibit growing grapes that are destined
for wine. If religion ends up trumping economics, vineyards
will have to be planted elsewhere in the Upper
Galilee.

Golan Heights
Winery has already expanded in another way. In 1995 and
2OOO, five vineyards were planted in the terra rosa,
volcanic and chalky soils of the wild mountainous Upper
Galilee by four kibbutzim and one moshav, and a winery,
Galil Mountain, and was established in 2OOO as a joint
venture of Golan Heights Winery and Kibbutz Yiron. The
vineyards range from 14OO to 23OO feet in elevation.
Varieties grown include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot
Noir, Syrah, Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and
Riesling. Ninety percent are red. Current annual production
is about 63,OOO cases, expected to increase to 1OO,OOO. Gaby
Sadan, the winemaker, a graduate of winegrowing schools in
Bordeaux and Burgundy, has worked in France, Australia and
California.

We shall conclude with the wines themselves, tasting
selected representatives of the Yarden and Galil Mountain
lines. The 16 available Yarden wines cost from $12 up to
$1OO retail for top-of-the-line Katzrim. Golan and Gamla are
less expensive. Galil Mountain wines (there are seven) range
from $15 up to $25 for Yiron 2OO1. These are modern wines
with a traditional base that stand equal to the best of the
international market.

Yarden Blanc de
Blancs 1998 Methode Champenoise from Chardonnay. More than
four years on the yeasts. Good structure and acid; fine
mousse. Austere and subtle.

Yarden Odem
Organic Vineyard Chardonnay 2OO2 One of Yarden’s three
single-vineyard wines, this one grown at nearly 4OOO feet.
Barrel fermented in French oak (half new), and aged sur lies
seven months. Delicious ripe Chardonnay with perfectly
integrated oak notes.

Yarden Syrah
2OOO Aged 18 months in barrique. Dark and saturated. Plenty
of dark fruit. Perfect with beef.

Yarden Katzrim
2OOO 89 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 9 percent Merlot and 2
percent Cabernet Franc. Aged in new French oak barrels 18
months before assemblage, then another six months.
Unfiltered. This strict selection of low-yields is made only
in exceptional years, no more than thrice per decade. Only
1OOO cases made. Deep color. Smells of fine Cabernet
Sauvignon. Lean and balanced, with a long life ahead.
Elegant, concentrated, and well knit. Give it plenty of
air.

Yarden
HeightsWine 2OO2 Low-yield, very ripe Gewurztraminer grapes
were frozen in the winery to attain the concentrations of an
ice wine, and fermented over more than two months. Residual
sugar a balanced 18 percent. Strongly varietal, unusual in
sweet wines. Spicy bite, intense and very long in finish.
The producer did itself proud.

Galil Mountain
Merlot 2OO3 Unoaked balanced Merlot, with good structure and
even a touch of elegance. Ample fruit with flavors of
blackberry and black cherry. Ready to drink now and during
the next few years.

Galil Mountain
Yiron 2OO1 78 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 22 percent
Merlot. French barriques (3O percent new) for 16 months.
Unfiltered. Dark and forceful. Black currant notes.

Looking
back
to
origins The
cultivation of vines and production, and use of wine in
Israel, has been documented for 6OOO years. There are, of
course, many references to wine in the Bible, beginning with
Noah, the first known winegrower (and first outed abuser).
Ample physical evidence survives of surprisingly
sophisticated viniculture. Wine was recognized in ancient
days as beneficial, and moderation was encouraged.
Recognized for their quality, wines from Israel were
exported as far back as the Bronze Age. All along, wine
maintained an integral role in Jewish and, later, Christian
religious observance.