Yarden from Israel: Leaves Me Wanting More From This Emerging Region...

When I say Israel, the first thing that comes to mind is probably NOT wine. Conflict with the Palestinians? Yes. The Jewish homeland? Sure. Don't Mess With the Zohan? Where's my fizzy-bubbly? But wine? A little more out of the realm...and yet there's plenty being made and exported.

That's right, this nation, which is the size of New Jersey (but probably has fewer Jews...I can say this because I am a Jew, FYI), has a ton of promise for making exceptional wine and has started to live up to it. With a hot, humid, but dry summer to ripen grapes yet still ward off pests, and a diversity of terrain and soil, this small nation has really stepped up its wine A-game in the last few decades. The number of solid boutique wineries has grown, putting Israel on the map in the wine world.

Of course, it's not like wine is new to this area. It was made here in biblical times and the Romans even exported the stuff to their hometown because it was high quality. But as the region changed hands and a new religious regime came in that didn't allow the fermented beverage, production moved to table grapes and raisins.

A few attempts at reviving wine in what is now Israel were short-lived, and it took the most prominent Jew in winemaking -- Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of the famed Bordeaux Château Lafite-Rothschild -- in the late 19th century to bring winemaking to the fore. He imported the mainstay grapes of Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc) and brought in expertise needed to get the Israeli wine industry going, starting the Carmel Winery, which is still thriving today.

That move certainly signaled the launch of the modern industry and minor efforts continued through the years, but beyond Kosher wine, the good stuff really wasn't a factor in the area until the 1960s (A quick note on Kosher v. Israeli wines. Not all Israeli wines are Kosher. Kosher just means the wine is made according to certain principles in the Jewish religion and production is overseen and blessed by a Rabbi. Israeli wine is wine from Israel. Just thought I'd clear that one up.). That was when Australian, American, and French winemakers moved in and brought with them modern technology.

Today there are five winemaking districts: Galilee, Samson, and Shomron, which make up 80% of all the wine made, and Judean Hills and Negev. There are more than 14,000 acres planted to grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.

A few big wineries dominate the scene -- namely Carmel, Barkan, and Golan Heights Winery -- but word on the street is that the real action in Israeli wines is the 140+ boutique wineries that have popped up in the last decade or so. Sadly, these are hard to find and so I haven't had an opportunity to try them.

What did I try that made me write this post? The Golan Heights Winery's premium Yarden label. And although, as you'll soon find, I really disliked this wine, I do have a lot of respect for the Winery.

It's owned by 8 Co-ops (called Kibbutzum) and was established in 1984. 30% of its 6 million bottles (it's big biz) is exported, mostly to the US, and the winemaker is a Napa native. The Winery is ultramodern and regardless of your (or my) opinion of the wine, it is universally accepted that the Golan Heights Winery was the first to spark a quality revolution in Israel, demanding that better grapes and winemaking processes be used.

Without Golan Heights, Israeli wine wouldn't even be on the radar, so I give them credit...I need to preface this review with a shout to them of respect, since I really disliked the juice itself...

The Wine:Yarden Mount Hermon Red Wine
Where It's From: Galilee, Israel
The Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14%
Vintage: 2009
Price: $11.99

Color: What a rich color. The wine was maroon. It was a deep red color with thick legs dripping down the glass from that 14% alcohol. It seemed like it was going to be a pretty flavorful wine from the color. Full of promise.

Smell: The first signs of trouble were 'a brewin' from the smell. Yes, there were the typical black cherry, light green pepper, and wet potting soil smells that you often get in a Bordeaux blend, but then there was other stuff. Bad stuff. Like that Pine Sol scent. And something akin to heated plastic. And a cheap drugstore perfume note to top it off. I was really not looking forward to drinking this.

Taste: Let's start with the positives. The texture of the wine was very nice. It had some mouth-drying tannin, but it wasn't out of control. The tannins blended well with the fruit. Also, I would have expected the wine to feel a little hot and burning with 14% alcohol, but it was so well balanced with the fruit that it was completely in check. In a place where they have to worry about grapes becoming too high in sugar (and therefore too high in alcohol during fermentation) this wasn't an issue at all.

What was an issue? The fact that the wine tasted like a Luden's cherry cough drop and a dose of pine resin. It was medicinal -- like cough syrup. It tasted sweet and, for some reason, the vanilla from the oak didn't mesh well with the cherry and raspberry fruit flavors. This may sound contradictory, but even though the wine tasted sweet, it had a hard, bitter edge after it went down. Although this would normally be a negative, the wine had a really short finish, which was great because it didn't linger and I could forget about it quickly...something I wanted to do.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Down the sink. I am not writing off Israeli wines, but I'm certainly not off to a good start. The flavors were odd, the wine was funky (although I want to be clear that there was nothing wrong with it from a chemical perspective -- it just didn't taste good), and I won't be buying it again...unless my only other option is Manischewitz (nasty, sweet wine that is usually served at Passover tables around the US).