This season's offerings

Established in 2000 as a joint venture between the Golan Heights Winery and Kibbutz Yiron, the Galil Mountain Winery is one of Israel's most dynamic wineries.

By OFER ZEMACH
galil wine 88 298 (photo credit: Ofer Zemach)
galil wine 88 298
(photo credit: Ofer Zemach)
Established in 2000 as a joint venture between the Golan Heights Winery and Kibbutz Yiron, the Galil Mountain Winery is one of Israel's most dynamic wineries. The winery has 800 dunams of vineyards located in the country's finest wine-growing areas including Kadesh Valley and the mountains of the Upper Galilee. Each of the five vineyards is characterized by a different climate and topography, offering the winemaker an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the varying grapes and craft unique blends. 90 percent of the harvest consists of red grapes used for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Barbera and Sangiovese. The rest are white grapes grown for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. The first three wines of Galil Mountain were released in July 2001 and immediately won the praise of wine lovers in Israel and around the world. This year, the winery is producing eight different wines in two series (Yiron and Galil Mountain), and expecting a yield of a thousand tons of grapes from the 2006 harvest, an increase of 30% from last year. Graduate of the University of California at Davis, Micha Vaadia has recently being appointed chief winemaker of the Galil Mountain Winery. Vaadia has worked at wineries in California, Argentina and New Zealand; he joined the Golan Heights Winery in 1999. The modern building of the establishment, designed by Micha's brother, is an innovative architectural concept enabling the visitors to enjoy a total experience which includes a view of the long stretches of grapevines covering the local landscape as well as a view of the inner halls with their stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. For Rosh Hashana, the winery has released three new wines in the Galil Mountain series: Shiraz Cabernet 2004: A blend of 64% Shiraz and 36% of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, aged for 10 months in American oak barrels. Very fruity in style, supple in texture and well balanced. Featuring ripe berry, plum and mild oak aromas, this wine is truely excellent value for money. NIS 57. Merlot 2005: Very pleasant and flavorful red wine with modest oak character, and a lightly tannic finish. Tastes of cherry, blackcurrant, toast and herbs with notes of citrus. NIS 43. Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: A fleshy, complex wine that is medium to full-bodied. Richly flavored with blackberry, plums and delicate notes of tobacco and herbs. It has a long finish and it is very easy to drink. NIS 43. Guided tours of the winery including wine tasting take place from Sunday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tel: (04) 686-8748.