Israeli Wines Worth Trying - Levi Shapiro

In the last ten years, technology has helped Israeli wine-makers improve quality and earn global recognition. Kosher wines can now be produced without traditional "mevushal"  methods, whereby wine is boiled and pasteurized to remove impurities. In 2011, the wine world took note. Israel's two largest exporters, Golan Heights and Carmel, each won prestigious awards- "Best Wine Producer in the World" (Vinitaly) and "Best Red Rhone Varietal, over GBP10" (Decanter World Wine Awards) (http://www.decanter.com/dwwa). To mark this week's Israwine Expo 2012, it is worth reviewing recommendations from the 2012 edition of "Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines", the definitive source about Israeli wine. The lists below are in honor of Daniel Rogov, wine critic at Haaretzsince 1984, who recently passed away. As he noted in his own obituary, "Wine and food to me are not simply things that enter our body. They are a reflection of our anthropology, history, psychology, social needs and, of course, pleasure".

Best Israeli Wine Producers (2012 Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines)

1. Golan Heights Winery (Katzrin, Yarden, Gamla) (www.golanwines.co.il)

2. Margalit (www.margalit-winery.com)

3. Yatir (www.yatir.net)

4. Castel (www.castel.co.il)

5. Clos de Gat (www.closdegat.com)

6. Flam (www.flamwinery.com)

7. Chateau Golan (www.chateaugolan.com)

8. Pelter (www.pelterwinery.co.il)

9. Carmel (Limited Edition, Mediterranean, Single Vineyard) (www.carmelwines.co.il)

10. Sea Horse (www.seahorsewines.com)

11. Recanati (www.recanati-winery.com)

12. Tzora (www.tzoravineyards.com)

13. Vitkin (www.vitkin-winery.co.il)

Best Israeli Value Producers

1. Galil Mountain (www.galilmountain.co.il)

2. Tabor (www.taborwinery.co.il)

3. Dalton (www.dalton-winery.com)

4. Golan Heights Winery (Gamla, Golan) (www.golanwines.co.il)

5. Recanati (www.recanati-winery.com)

6. Saslove (www.saslove.com)

7. Barkan (www.barkan-winery.com)

8. Tishbi (www.tishbi.com)

9. Teperberg (www.teperberg1870.co.il)

10. Carmel (Apellation) (www.carmelwines.co.il)

11. Segal (www.segalwines.co.il)

12. Tzora (www.tzoravineyards.com)

13. Chillag (www.chillagwinery.com)

Levi Shapiro is a Partner at TMT Strategic Advisors, a research and strategy firm focusing on the technology, media and telecom sectors. He can be reached at levi@tmtstrat.com or via twitter: @levshapiro

Read all Levi's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Unleavened Media.

Check us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggers.com
Follow our Twitter updates @MediaBizBlogger

The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggers.com management or associated bloggers. MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries.