KosherWineReport.com

Wine Advocate's Report on Israeli Wines!

The Wine Advocates' Mark Squire Held a historic tasting of Israeli wines- the results were released last week in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate- with glowing results for the Israeli wine industry. I have posted the article from the Israeli wine growers’ web site www.israelwines.co.il

The Wine Advocate’s first generic tasting of Israeli wines resulted in a resounding success, which will encourage the whole industry. The Wine Advocate is the mouthpiece of Robert Parker, the world’s most powerful and influential wine critic. No less than 14 wines scored over 90 points. This has always been the mythical barrier between a good international class and a world class wine. Much to the frustration of Israeli wineries, the Wine Spectator magazine has only once scored an Israeli wine with more than 89 points. Furthermore, Robert Parker has not formally tasted and written about Israeli wines until now. According to the Wine Advocate, a wine scoring between 90 – 95 points, is: “An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.” So the tasting represented a real breakthrough. It showed that Israeli wines have arrived on the world map as quality wines in their own right. Also the top six wines and eleven of the leading fourteen were all kosher. This has finally laid to rest, once and for all, the prevailing stereotype that a kosher wine, by definition, cannot be a world class wine. The best red wine of the tasting was Yatir Forest 2003, Judean Hills, Yatir Winery with 93 points. The best white wine was ‘C’ Blanc du Castel 2005, Judean Hills, Domaine du Castel with 91 points.

Hagafen Cellars announces release of 2007 Rieslings

         In February, fans of Riesling's are in for a great treat. Hagafen Cellars has announced that in February 2008 it will release both their 2007 Estate Bottled White Riesling as well as their 2007 Lake County White Riesling to the general public.

         Adam Strum in the December 31^st 2007 issue of the Wine Enthusiast calls for the “Rise of Rieslings”. He reports that according to  U.S. Supermarket data sales in 2005 Riesling sales jumped 172%. According to Neilson, the popularity of the Rieslings in 2006 grew another 24%. “The Riesling renaissance that the media has been predicting for a decade is now truly here”.

          Riesling wines are often consumed when young, when they create a fruity and aromatic wine. The Rielsling will sometimes have a crisp taste due to the acidity found in the wine. Hagafen's winemaker reports that the estate bottled white Riesling shows aromas of litchi, Royal Anne cherries, and white peach. He adds that the Lake County Riesling offers several aromas of citrus including peach, cherry, and honeysuckle.

     Rieslings are typically served with fish and dishes needing a slight hint of sweetness to offset spicy or succulent foods.

These wines are all available on Hagafen’s web site. www.hagafen.com