Winemaker: Eli Ben-Zaken This wine was famous because it was Eli Ben-Zaken’s first vintage, but it was also the one “discovered” by Serena Sutcliffe, a master of wine and head of Sotheby’s Wine Department.She referred to it as the best Israeli wine she had ever tasted. This was international recognition for a new boutique wine start-up, which encouraged Ben-Zaken to build his beautiful winery.Margalit Cabernet Sauvignon 1993 Galilee Region, Margalit Winery Winemaker: Yair Margalit Yair Margalit gained a reputation as Israel’s first really international- class boutique winery.He was Israel’s best-known winemaker at this stage, and this was his greatest wine to date. It drew attention to the quality of a smaller, less commercial style of winery and heralded the boutique winery explosion that was to follow.Castel Grand Vin 1997 Judean Hills Region, Domaine du Castel
Winemaker: Eli Ben-Zaken Castel drew positive attention to Israel when the Grand Vin 1997 became Decanter Wine of the Month. Decanter Wine was the United Kingdom’s most prestigious wine magazine. This was a Bordeaux-style blend.Castel’s success was noteworthy because no Israeli wine had succeeded in being featured in the publication before then.Yatir Forest 2003 Judean Hills Region, Yatir Winery Winemaker: Eran Goldwasser Yatir Winery’s prestige wine was the leading wine in the first-ever tasting by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. It received 93 points. At the time this was the best score for an Israeli, kosher or Eastern Mediterranean wine. Parker remains the world’s most famous and influential wine critic. This first tasting by Parker’s Israel specialist, Mark Squires, was a milestone for Israeli wine.Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 Golan Heights Region, Golan Heights Winery Winemaker: Victor Schoenfeld This became Israel’s first wine to be included on the Wine Spectator’s list of the 100 best wines of the year. Wine Spectator is the world’s most important wine magazine. This prestigious list is compiled annually.The Yarden Cabernet was the first Israeli wine included.Without doubt, the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon has been Israel’s outstanding wine in international competition over the last 30 years.Carmel Single Vineyard Kayoumi Shiraz 2006 Upper Galilee Region, Carmel Winery Winemaker: Lior Lacser This wine was produced from the Kayoumi Vineyard, a vineyard under fire from Hezbollah during the 2006 war. Yet it won both the Regional and International Trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2010. The organizers referred to it as “the sensation of the competition and the sensation of any year’s competition.” An unprecedented award for Israeli wines in one of the world’s most stringent wine competitions.Many Israeli wineries consistently win gold medals and trophies in tasting competitions around the world. The Golan Heights Winery has done it for 30 years. More recently, Barkan Winery and Recanati Winery have been prolific collectors of gold medals. Arguably, the most successful wines have been the aforementioned Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon and, more recently, Yarden Heights Wine, Recanati Special Reserve and Carmel Sha’al Gewurztraminer Late Harvest.However, I believe the wines I have chosen are those that have garnered the most attention and done the most to advance “Brand Israel.”Wishing you all an enjoyable Independence Day, hopefully accompanied by an Israeli wine!Adam Montefiore works for Carmel Winery and regularly writes about wine in Israeli and international publications.adam@carmelwines.co.ilFollow @JPost_Lifestyle