Israeli wine

File:Golan Heights Winery.jpg

Chardonnay from the Golan Heights Winery

Israeli wine is produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique enterprises to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year. Wine has been produced in the Land of Israel since biblical times. Israel now exports over $22 million worth of wine annually.

History

The modern Israeli wine industry was founded by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, owner of the Bordeaux estate Château Lafite-Rothschild. Today the country is divided into six vine-growing regions: Galil (Galilee) is the region most suited for viticulture in Israel due to its high elevation, cool breezes, marked day and night temperature changes and rich, well-drained soils; Judean Hills which surrounds the city of Jerusalem; Shimshon (Samson) which is located between the Judean Hills and the Coastal Plain; Negev which has seen drip irrigation open up the possibility to grow grapes in this semi-arid desert region; Sharon plain which is located near the Mediterranean coast and just south of Haifa - surrounding the towns of Zichron Ya'akov and Binyamina - is the largest grape growing area in the country and the Golan Heights located in the north of Israel along the Syrian border.

The most common grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Others include Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Syrah/Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Viognier and Zinfindel. There are no longer any indigenous varieties, as the vineyards of antiquity were uprooted early during the first period of Muslim rule, although the Muscat of Alexandria, prominent in the Eastern Mediterranean and used to make dessert wines, comes closest.

History

See also: History of Israel and Alcohol in the Bible

Ruins of an ancient Israeli wine press dating to the Talmudic period (100 - 400 CE)

Viticulture has existed in the land of Israel since biblical times. In the book of Deuteronomy, the fruit of the vine was listed as one of the seven blessed species of fruit found in the land of Israel.(Deut. 8:8) The location of Israel along a historic wine trading route between Mesopotamia and Egypt brought winemaking knowledge and influence to the area. Wine played a significant role in the religion of the early Israelis with images of grape growing, harvesting and winemaking often being used to illustrate religious ideals.In Roman times, wine from Israel was exported to Rome with the most sought after wines being vintage dated with the name of the winemaker inscribed on the amphora. In the 7th century AD, the Islamic conquest of the Middle East virtually wiped out the region's wine industry with wineries closing down and vineyards, planted with now lost indigenous grape varieties, pulled out. During the Crusades, Christian Crusaders and entourages temporarily revived winemaking between 1100 to 1300 AD but the return of Islamic rule and the subsequent Jewish Diaspora extinguished the industry once again.

In 1848, a rabbi in Jerusalem founded the first documented winery in modern times but its establishment was short lived. In 1870, the first Jewish agricultural college, Mikveh Israel, was founded and featured a course on viticulture. The root of the modern Israeli wine industry can be traced to the late 19th century when the French Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of the Bordeaux estate Château Lafite-Rothschild, began importing French grape varieties and technical know how to the region. In 1882, he help establish Carmel Winery with vineyards and wine production facilities in Rishon LeZion and Zikhron Ya'akov near Haifa. Still in operation today, Carmel is the largest producer of Israeli wine and has been at the forefront of many technical and historical advances in both winemaking and Israeli history. One of the first telephones in Israel was installed at Carmel and the country's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, worked in Carmel's cellars in his youth.

For most of its history in the modern era, the Israeli wine industry was based predominately on the production of Kosher wines which was exported worldwide to Jewish communities. The quality of these wines were varied with many being produced from high yielding vineyards that valued quantity over quality. Many of these wines were also some what sweet. In the late 1960s, Carmel Winery the first Israeli winery to make a dry table wine. It wouldn't be till the 1980s when the industry as a whole saw a revival in quality winemaking when an influx of winemaking talent from Australia, California and France brought modern technology and technical know how to the growing Israeli wine industry. In 1989, the first boutique winery in Israel, Margalit Winery, was founded. By the 1990s, Israeli estates such as Golan Heights Winery and Domaine du Castel were winning awards at international wine competitions. The 1990s saw a subsequent "boom" in the opening of boutique wineries. By 2000 there 70 wineries in Israel and by 2005 that numbered jumped to 140.

Today, less than 15% of Israeli wine is produced for sacremental purposes with many wineries not producing a separate Kosher line. The three largest producers-Carmel Winery, Barkan Wine Cellars and Golan Heights Winery account for more than 80% of the domestic market. The United States is the largest export destination. Even though it contains only around a quarter of the planted acreage as Lebanon, Israel has emerged as a driving force for winemaking in the Eastern Mediterranean due to its willingness to adopt new technology and its large export market. The country has also seen the emergence of a modern wine culture with up-scale restaurants featuring international wines dedicated to an ever increasing wine-conscious clientele.

Climate and geography

See also: Geography of Israel

Major regions of Israel.

Israel has a distinctly Mediterranean climate, with the country located along roughly the same latitude as San Diego and the US-Mexico border. There are two primary seasons-a hot, humid summer season running from April to October with very little precipitation and a cold, rainy winter season from late October to March. During winter, average precipitation is around 20 inches (50cm) with some areas seeing as much as 35 inches (90 cms) annually. Some vineyards in the higher elevation regions of Golan Heights can see snow in the winter months. The dry growing season, drip irrigation is essentially to sustaining viticulture. Vineyard managers will utilizing pruning and canopy management techniques to maximize shade production from the sunlight. Harvest will often take place during the cooler temperatures of night time. The dryness of the growing seasons serves a protective barrier to many grape diseases that thrive in damp weather and allows vineyard managers to control vigor and yields with by irrigation.

The country of Israel is roughly equal in size to the state of New Jersey and is bordered by the countries of Lebanon and Syria to the north/north east, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the deserts leading to the border with Egypt to the south west, the Jordan River and Dead Sea region along with the border to Jordan comprise the country's eastern boundaries. Vines are grown throughout the country ranging from the mountain ranges along the Lebanon, Syria borders down to Beersheba and Arad in the south. Small plantings are also found on the Mizpe Ramon plateau and at Neot Smadar in the desert north of Eilat. The vast majority of Israeli winemaking takes place in the northern half of the country-which includes the regions of Galilee, Sharon Plain, Samson, Golan Heights and the Judean foothills.

Across Israel there is a wide range of microclimates due to differing soil types and topography. Most areas have limestone based soils with layers of marl and hard dolomites. The color of the soils range from red terra rosa in Judea and Galilee near Mount Tabor to gray in the mountain ranges stretching from Mount Carmel to Zikhron Ya'akov. Marine sediments are found in the loam soils of the coastal plains and at the base of the elevated foothills around Binyamina-Giv'at Ada and Latroun. The Golan Heights and parts of the Upper and Lower Galilee regions have significant layers of basalt deposits of clay and tuff created by centuries of volcanic activity and lava flows. Wind blown sediment deposits help create the loess based and alluvial sand soils of the Negev area.

Wine regions

There are six principal wine producing regions in Israel-the Golan Heights region which is a disputed territory between Israel and Syria, the Upper and Lower region of Galilee, the Judean Hills which surrounds the city of Jerusalem, the Samson region which is located between the Judean Hills and the Coastal Plain, the Negev desert region and the Shomron region which includes Sharon plain located near the Mediterranean coast and just south of Haifa. More than 80% of the vineyards planted in Israel are located in the Shomron, Samson and Galilee regions. As of 2005, there were 14,820 acres (6,000 hectares) under vine.

Golan Heights

The Golan Heights region is located in the far north eastern corner of Israel next to the Syria border. It is considered a sub-region of Galilee and contains some of the highest elevated vineyards in the country with vineyard planted upwards of 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) from the Sea of Galilee towards Mount Hermon.

Grape varieties and wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

During centuries of Islamic rule, alcohol production was banned as part of the Islamic dietary laws. Ancient Israeli vineyards were pulled out along with any indigenous grape varieties. Today, the wine industry produces primarily French grape varieties imported during the late 19th century. The most widely planted varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon blanc. Emerging varieties that have recently been increasing in popularity include Cabernet Franc, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Riesling and Syrah. Other varieties planted to some significant degree include Emerald Riesling, Muscat of Alexandria and the crossing Argaman.

A primary concern in Israeli wine production is maintaining acid levels to balance the naturally high sugars that this warm climate region produces. Vineyards at higher elevations, as opposed to the lower coastal plains, have more consistently produced wines wines with the necessary acid balance. Cabernet Sauvignon has shown the most potential to age and develop. The smooth texture and ripe tannins of Israeli Merlot has increased that wine's popularity in the market. Chardonnay grown in Israeli has shown itself to be highly reflective of terroir and reflective of the particularly characteristics of vineyard soils. It is also the primary grape used in Israeli sparkling wine production made according to the methode champenoise.

Wine industry and tourism

As of 2008, the Israeli wine industry produced an average of 30 million bottles of wine annually in a variety of styles ranging from red, white, rosé, still, sparkling and dessert wines. Large wineries and co-operatives still dominate the industry but there is an emerging culture of small production boutique wineries. The 8 largest wineries in Israel, in terms of production volume, are Carmel, Barkan, Golan Heights, Efrat Wine Cellars, Binyamina Wine Cellar, Baron Wine Cellars, Segal Winery and Dalton Winery.

It was announced in early 2008 that a 150-acre (0.61 km²) wine park would be created on the slopes between Zichron Ya'akov and Binyamina in order to promote tourism in the area and wine tourism in Israel in general.

In 2007, recognized wine critic Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded 14 Israeli wines its highest wine rating of "outstanding."

External links

• Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Kosher Wine Society

Further reading

• ‘The Bible of Israeli Wine’, written by Michael Ben Joseph, published by Modan Publishing, Ben Shemen, Israel, 2002