By Fabiana Santana
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Biblical references to wine are easy to find. Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana and in the Old Testament, the vine is one of the seven species. So why shouldn’t the wines of Israel have their moment in the spotlight?

“In the Bible, Israel is referred to as a land of milk and honey. Grain, fruit and vegetables once grew abundantly, and some call it the birthplace of wine making. Wine making started with Noah,” explains Richard Shaffer of Israeli Wine Direct, a premiere Israeli Wine import company. “Upon his return to dry land, he planted the first vineyard (Genesis 9:11).” Avi Hein, editor of HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog, agrees. “Israel is the original ‘old world.’ The Bible writes about the glorious vineyards and lush wine made in the land of Israel.” So what happened?

When Arab tribes took over Israel in the Moslem Conquest of 636, local wine production stopped for 1,200 years. Muslim religious beliefs dictated man should not make or drink wine. So, all the land was uprooted, the vineyards destroyed. “This is why no one knows that variety of grape is indigenous to Israel,” Shaffer explains.

As Jewish settlers began find their way back into the country during the 19th and 20th centuries, so did an enthusiasm for viticulture. The new found interest resulted in amateur experimentation of over cropped vines. And that in turn resulted in an end product with an overly sweet taste and a reputation that would last for years.

Richard Schaeffer says it’s time that Israel shakes that reputation. “There are lots of misconceptions. The first being that all wines from Israel are kosher. They aren’t. Not that all kosher wines are bad, because they aren’t but it is important for American wine drinkers to know that not all Israeli wines are kosher. More importantly, not all Israeli wines are bad.”

The wine movement resurged in Israel in 1882 in a big way. Philanthropist, wine legend, and French Jew Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Château Lafite in Bordeaux, helped the body of Jews living in countries outside Palestine or modern Israel to return to home by underwriting their agricultural resettlement. In 1924, he established the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), which acquired more than 125,000 acres of land and planted vineyards there. “It is estimated that Edmond de Rothschild spent over 50 Million dollars in supporting the settlements, and backed research in electricity by engineers and financed development of an electric generating station.”

In 1890 he built wineries in Rishon le Zion, south of Tel Aviv and in Zichron Ya'acov, south of Haifa, in 1892. In 1895, the Carmel Wine Company was created to market both wineries' products; in 1900, it opened a New York office. In 1906, Rothschild helped found the Société Coopérative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves, a grape-growers' cooperative, which managed both wineries. And in 1957, James Rothschild, Edmond's son, gave the cooperative both wineries, essentially giving the workers control of the land and vineyards.

During the 1980s, with the advent of the Golan Heights Winery (a decision influenced by professors at UC Davis in California who visited during the wine revolution in California and said the line was perfect for wine making), the wine being produced in Israel – primarily by the Carmel Winery and a handful of other producers – was not of interest to the sophisticated drinkers still under the false impression that what they would be drinking would be a saccharine-sweet, kosher wine. In the 1990s, with the explosion of new boutique wineries the Margalit Winery and Domaine du Castel a second revolution occurred that influenced the way wine was produced. Winemaking became a studied art and home winemakers turned their hobby into a business. “Older wineries have made major investments and radical changes” says Hein. The larger wineries like Carmel built boutique wineries at Ramat Dalton in the Upper Galilee and planted new vineyards there. Wineries like Efrat and Eliaz, previously only geared to the religious community’s sacramental needs, started to make wine with a quality objective. Big business, including Tempo Beer Industries – Israel’s largest brewery – decided to invest in Israeli wine. The Heineken and Pepsi distributor bought Barkan, the second largest winery in Israel. And Coca Cola Israel purchased a small winery in the Lower Galilee called Tabor.

Importers like Richard Schaffer want to see those changes recognized in the States. His company, Israeli Wine Direct, is dedicated to importing select Israeli wines to the States. “There are already 10,000 bottles on the shelves in your market. Adding another 1000 won’t be easy, but it is the goal.” He works specifically with boutique vineyards in Israel that range in production from 20 to 100 cases a year. “That is what the big producers do in a day.” While the task is a difficult one, he says it will be easier once the buyers are educated. “Once the product reaches the hands of passionate wine drinkers, it will be an easy sell.”

One such drinker, and buyer, is Jacques Capsouto, owner and wine director of New York City’s Capsouto Frères, one of New York City’s premiere French restaurants - which also boasts the city’s largest Israeli wine list. “I have passion for wine, period. I’ve been to France, to Italy. I’ve been to the West coast, to California and Oregon. All to taste wine. Then in 2004 I went to Israel; I hadn’t been there for 20 years. And I tasted the wine. And now, that’s my passion.” During that visit in 2004, Capsouto decided to explore the growing wine industry in Israel and visited 16 wineries. On a return trip a year later, he examined the land and vines. Then in 2006, he was invited back for a wine fair. “The government and the wineries were in partnership. That was a six day event. Then I added another five on my own to taste more. That’s when I started prospecting.

Capsouto says that it should be no surprise that Israeli wine is good. “Rothschild knew it was good. He planted grenache, grenache blanc, claret, merlot, and cabernet. They all took. And by nature, Israelis are good farmers. They know technology and learn fast. And where there are olives there are vines. So it’s obvious.”

He started adding Israeli selections to his NYC restaurant list in 2004 and critics like Robert Parker and Wine Spectator took notice. “It was an easy decision for me. I like to drink the quality wines, instead of quantity wine. Israel is about quality. And the wine will hold up to any food as well as any French, Italian or new world wine will.”

Capsouto is still prospecting land in Israel for his own vineyard. “I’m trying to make a wine over there. I already sent granache noir, meursault, granache blanc- all growing in nurseries. Now I am waiting for land.” He says that it is only natural that the vines and grapes would grow so eagerly there. “I’ve researched the history of wine and I believe that the chardonnay came to France from Syria during the crusades. That is my belief.” Richard Shaffer agrees, “Wines and vines were exported from Israel to France and Italy centuries ago, before the land in Israel was destroyed.”

The land, specifically, is what attracts new wine makers to Israel. Barry Saslove, a former wine lecturer who runs his own winery, is sourcing most of his grapes in Galilee. “I chose the Upper Galilee to plant my vineyards because I believe it is among the best wine growing regions in the world. The 'terroir" as the French have named it. The basalt soil is rich, and the roots are drawn down by limestone. And the cool, dry mountain air makes it ideal for the cultivation of choice wine grapes. most viticulturists will agree that the growing conditions are ideal.” He built the Saslove Winery in Kibbutz Eyal in 1998. With the establishment of the winery, Saslove planted a new Vineyard in Kaditah in the upper Galilee. 5.5 acres of cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes at 800 meters above sea-level were first gathered in 2001. The grapes are gathered and selected by hand at dawn, and are placed in special protective containers. Then they are transferred via cooled trucks to the winery. The Kaditah Vineyard employs organic growing techniques, thus enabling the vines to grow naturally. At the moment, the area is best known for its cabernet and chardonnays, but Syrah is gaining momentum. Saslove attributes success to the land. “ I am emphatic about the richness of the soil.” He explains that is based primarily upon basalt, terra rossa and limestone. Soil and weather are two of the most important ingredients in winemaking. “When the proud French of Bourgogne talk about their vineyards, their emphasis is on the location of their vineyard. They can easily taste the soil’s composition in the wines of Romanee Contee, Vougeout and Chablis (just to name a few). They attribute the wines "greatness" to its terroir, particularly the soil composition. They will tell you about top soil being deposited from local hills to the particular vineyard. Now, I want to take this analogy one step further. What is basalt? It is the sum total of many of the earth's minerals and chemicals that have been spewed out from the very core of mother earth. It contains so much more than just topsoil. With all due respect that the French hold for their great vineyards, I believe that the terroir of the Upper Galilee, perhaps most important of all the basalt cover layer, makes it even more amiable to the vitis vinifera.”

In addition to Galilee, the other regions gaining recognition in Israel are the Judean Hills, – surrounding the city of Jerusalem and full of long, hot summer days and damp nights courtesy of its proximity to the sea, perfect for chardonnay grapes, the Shimson region located between the Judean Hills and the Coastal plain (home to Carmel Mizrachi's Rishon-le- Zion winery), the Shomron region , located near the Mediterranean coast and surrounding the villages of Zichron

Ya'akov and Binyamina (this is the country’s largest grape growing region. Wineries in the area include Baron, Binyamina and the Zichron Ya'acov winery of Carmel Mizrachi as well as several boutique wineries, and the Negev region, a semi arid dessert region where drip irrigation makes it possible to grow merlot, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay grapes.
“Read your wine’s label,” says Richard Schaffer. “Look for as much information as possible about the region. That is the best way to learn.”

Another reference is Daniel Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines. Avi Hein calls him Israel’s most important wine critic. Rogov writes weekly wine and restaurant columns in the respected newspaper Ha’aretz and contributes regularly to two prestigious international wine books – Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book and Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report. His own guide to Israeli wines is published annually.

Israel's top ten producers, according to Rogov’s 2009 guide, are the Golan Heights Winery (owner of Yarden - named for the Jordan River - its premier label) – which holds a sizeable majority share in Galil Mountain), Margalit, Yatir (owned by Carmel, but operated independently), Castel, Clos de Gat, Flam, Chateau Golan Carmel (Limited Edition, Single Vineyard, Appellation), Galil Mountain and Pelter, Yatir, Clos de Gat, Chateau Golan and Pelter are all new additions to the list and are all new quality, boutique wineries founded in the last 10 years. The fifth ‘newcomer’ is Carmel, founded nearly 126 years ago.

But Israel has over 9,500 acres under vine. There is an abundance of reds from cabernet franc to pinot noir and whites ranging from chenin blanc to riesling and muscat canelli. Recently quantities of pinot blanc, malbec and tempranillo have been planted. Boutique wineries are prospering and a new generation of farmers and wine makers are taking hold of the reigns. So, it’s obvious that this old world region still has a lot it wants to show us.