Israeli Adventures: Pt. 1, Wine

We’re at it again! Matt and I are out of the country on a grand adventure, this time galavanting cross the Israeli countryside.

Matt’s father, an archaeologist for 50+ years, is directing a last dig at Tell Summeily. We decided to follow him the over 6,000 miles away from home and put ourselves to use with trowels, sunscreen, and a lot of water.

I know little of the cultural customs of that area, and even less about the local food and drink. I’ve taken some personal time to prepare myself for the former, but let’s take some time together below to learn about the latter. This will be a three-part series throughout July, starting with Israeli wine, then moving through beer and spirits.

I’m prepping this prior to leaving so that while I tirelessly (HA! Just kidding, I’m always tired.) dig away in the dirt, I can dream of the nice, crisp… Chardonnay? Pinot Gris? …Glass of whatever the local variety is!

Viticultural Early History

As I got to researching Israeli wine (of which there is a lot more information out there than I thought there’d be!) one of the first things almost every website mentioned was the fact that the region has a history of winemaking going back to biblical times.

While that’s true - wine is mentioned several times in the Torah and King James' Bible - and it plays an important role in many different religions, proof of wine in the region dates back much further than that! Wine has been produced in the Middle East for over 5,000+ years.

However, the history of winemaking in the region is a tumultuous one. In 600 CE most vineyards were completely uprooted, and viticulture was restricted to monastic oversight, for use strictly for sacramental purposes.

Shortly after this time, winemaking was making a comeback throughout the region and vineyards had just begun thriving again when, in the early 16th century, the region was conquered and the Ottoman Empire began its 400 year reign.

The Empire ruled from 1517-1917, and while there were still Jews, Christians, and other religious minorities living within the Empires boundaries (which were extensive), the predominate religion during this time and space was Islamic Caliphate.

Within the Moslem faith, it was forbidden to drink wine or cultivate vineyards, which lead to some of the more extreme measure implemented by the Ottomans, including completely destroying vineyards. In less extreme areas and times however, some vineyards and winemaking was still allowed, provided the inhabitants pay a fealty tax on the wine and land to the ruling Ottomans. And thus specific areas of now Israel, Greece, and Turkey still had working vineyards.

The Modern Wine Scene

The turning point came in 1882 when French winemaker Baron Edmond de Rothschild turned up, fell in love with the southern Mount Carmel area, and attempted to bring the Bordeaux style wines to the region.

He invested time and money into the industry, planting vineyards (mainly consisting of Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, and Malbec varietals), dug underground cellars, and even had commissioned a land study to help understand how and where to best cultivate the wine industry there.

However during the early and mid 1900s, the wine industry still remained low yielding, as the region went through more tumultuous changes and the vineyards remained only along the coastline.

It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that Golan Heights was discovered to have an ideal terroir for wine production. It has a higher altitude and fairly cool climates, which helps create a desired diurnal shift, a big factor in producing high quality wines.

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s more international winemakers flooded into the region, and boutique wineries started popping up everywhere. Today, there are over 250 boutique and 70 commercial wineries in the country!

Ever since the 21st century, Israel has been an up-and-coming wine star. In 2012 Golan Heights winery won New World Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and Galil Mountain winery won two awards at the 2011 Vinexpo in France. Since 2007, 14 wines from Israel have been awarded over a rating of 90 out of 100, by The Wine Advocate Robert Parker, marking them as world-class wines.

What To Look For

So now that a solid viticulture exists in the country, what wines are most popular in the region? What varietals are best to grow? What could we be looking for, over here in the States?

Well, thanks the Rothschild being a Bordeaux-Boy, classic Bordeaux varietals still dominate the fields in Israel. Cabernet Sauvignon still makes up a big part of the crop; 60,000 tons of grapes are harvested in the country each year, and 11,400 of those are Cab Sauv.

The Cabs and Cab-based blends - especially from Upper Galilee and Golan Heights - are some of the most celebrated wines from the region. They’ll show as deeply colored with ripe dark fruit flavors and strong tannins. However, Cabs from the Mediterranean microclimates will present as very jammy, so be aware of where the Cab is from when you’re reaching for it.

Both Merlot and Syrah are other red varietals that do particularly well in the area. Merlot is a class blending partner with Cabs for Bordeaux blends, and by itself will be quite soft and mild. Syrah is relatively new to the area but is considered “the grape to watch”. It does beautifully both in the mediterranean climates and the higher elevation foothills and upper Galilee.

As for whites, both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are the leading contenders. Both are being planted in the higher elevation areas and both are being used to make more light, crisp, fruity whites. This is a shift in the classic expression of Chardonnay, which historically is heavier in alcohol and overly oaked (personally, I vehemently disliked an oaked Chardonnay - bleh! Tastes like drinking butter!). But thanks in part to the use of stainless steel instead of barrels, crispy, green apple-y Chardonnays are on the rise.

There has been recent research into the indigenous grapes of the are, including what are called “biblical varieties”. These include: Marawi, Jandali, and Dabouki, Baladi Asmar, and Bittuni. While there are a few winemakers who are attempting to bring these native varieties back into the yearly growth, it will be a while before we see these on the International market.

That being said, of the more class varieties, you will definitely be able to find them in your area. 55% of Israel’s exported wine goes to North America. With a simple google search, I was able to find multiple stores that have Israeli wine in stock.

Weekly Adventure

So as you’re reading this, who knows, I may be sipping on an apple-y Chardonnay or finding a fun, tannic Cab to try! Or I might be running in fright from a scorpion. Or perhaps just covered in archaeological dig dust and thinking longingly of said crisp white wine.

For your own sake, I hope you are not experiencing the latter two options. Instead, head over to Total Wine, wine.com, or your local shop, and see if they have any Israeli wine! That way, we can sip together from 6,000+ miles away.

Cheers,

Molly

References

https://winesofgreece.org/historicals/ottoman-rule/

https://www.ice.edu/blog/wines-of-israel

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/regions/wines-of-israel/

https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/article-692450

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_wine

https://www.hudin.com/an-introduction-to-israeli-wine/