On Monday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending the Sommelier Wine Expo in Tel Aviv at the Nokia Arena. You may recall that I wrote about the lovely wine festival in Be’er Sheva a few months back, but the event in Tel Aviv is the big leagues. Dozens of Israeli wineries were represented, each offering at least three wines each. Thankfully I took extensive notes throughout the night because in the morning I did a tally and in my six hours or so at the expo I tasted over 60 – yes, you read that right, 60 – wines. I admit to suffering from a severe case of palate fatigue by the end of the evening, although my notes tell a surprisingly in-depth story of each wine I sampled. For the five wines I thought stood out from the crowd, check out my article in the Jew and the Carrot.
I was joined by fellow bloggers Beth of Beth Michelle, Liz of Cafe Liz, Miriam of Israeli Kitchen, and Yael of Appelsiineja Hhunajaa (Apples and Oranges), as well as Ben of Israel Food Tours. We had a ton of fun tasting wine, eating cheese, comparing notes, and tasting more wine.
I tasted wines from the following wineries: Alexander, Assemblage (a new series by Barkan), Avidan, Bazelet HaGolan, Binyamina, Carmel, Dadah, Domaine Ventura, Galil, Gamla, Gat Shomron, Livni, Mount Blessing, Or Haganuz, Ramot Naftaly, Recanati, Rehasim Dovev (owned by Barkan), Rimon, Sassy, Shoshana, Tanya, Teperberg 1870, Tishbi, Yarden, and Yatir.
Many, but not all were kosher, and the wineries were located all over the country, representing a range of Israeli terroir. Israel is a country of red wine drinkers and as such most wineries produce primarily red wine with just a few whites. I’m a huge fan and proponent of Israeli wine, but the reds tend towards the big, bold, overly aggressive New World style. You know the kind. Those high alcohol fruit bombs that explode in your mouth and are hard to pair with anything but red meat. Honestly, I have nothing against this style, and when done well it can be quite satisfying. But because that is what saturates the market here I was more interested in the unusual offerings: the ice wines and ports, roses and distinct whites. Of course a few excellent reds caught my attention as well. Again, for tasting notes on my top five picks in a range of styles visit my article in the Jew and the Carrot.
In addition to wine, there was also Israeli cheese, chocolate, and olive oil to be sampled. I was really impressed with De Karina Artisan Gourmet Chocolates from Ein Zeven in the Golan Heights. A dark chocolate bark with raisins was particularly up my alley, but I also enjoyed their adorable chocolate cups filled with coffee liqueur. I quite liked the various olive oils from Eretz Gshur in the Golan as well as the array of products from Olia. In particular we all fell in love with their olive oil “butter,” a creamy, whipped concoction that I’m just dying to play with (for a full report check out Yael’s post on it here). I also nibbled on some delicious cheese from Jacob’s Farm, which had an impressive selection available.
All in all it was a great event that was very well produced. It was a unique opportunity to be able to sample so many wines from so many wineries under one roof, and I was impressed with the level of knowledge that each wine steward possessed. Often the winemakers themselves were the ones behind the table pouring the wines and sharing their passion. The 2011 Sommelier Wine Expo was an excellent experience and already I’m looking forward to next year!
For some other perspectives on and write-ups of the event you can read Liz’s blog post and Yael’s review (translated from Finnish).
Nice article Katherine, and lovely pictures. I’m glad that you had a good time. I will try the Recanati, what a fabulous colour!
Thank you Eri! Definitely give the Recanati a try if you can find it. It was quite lovely.
Great pictures Katherine and it was really nice to meet you in person,finally:)
The picture I took of you and Beth turned great and can be seen in my post about the exhibition here
http://appelsiinipuunalla.blogspot.com/2011/11/sommelier-2011-viinimessuilla.html
Thank you Yael! It was so wonderful to meet you as well! Headed over to check out your post 😀
This looks like a lot of fun. I have never been to a wine expo-sounds like there is way too much to sample! Glad you were able to meet up with some fellow foodies for this event. Thanks for sharing your wine adventure!
It was a ton of fun Tina! Yes, it was a lot of wines to try in one night… but it was great to meet up with other bloggers.
I wish I could have been there. Your photos are so inviting and I can only imagine how delicious the food and wine was. Maybe someday….
Lori you would have LOVED this event! Seriously, you’ll have to come and do a tasting of Israeli wines! 🙂
It sounds like you had a great time at the expo. 60 wines and great company. I’m not much of a wine (or any alcohol) drinker, but I’d be happy with the gourmet chocolates you highly mentioned and bread and cheese… 😉 I checked your article on the wines too. You are such a great writer. 🙂
Aww thank you Nami! You are so sweet. The expo was a lot of fun and it was great to enjoy it with fellow foodies 😀
Awesome article and love your pictures – sounds like a fabulous time!
Thanks Ewa! It was a ton of fun.
I don’t think I’ve ever tried an Israeli wine – this expo sounds like such a fun event to have attended!
I had never tried an Israeli wine before moving to Israel! I was shocked to learn about the number of wineries here – over 300! Many great Israeli wines don’t seem to make it to the States, but there’s a ton of good ones out there.
What a great experience – so happy you took notes!
It was a fabulous experience! And I too am happy I took notes – I learned that one the hard way after the last wine expo I attended 😉
Wow, I’m glad you documented the list of places where we tasted, since I lost track! And to think we started before you 😀
I’m disappointed that I missed one or two of the wines you included on your best-of list. Oh well, next year.
Hahaha I know! I’m seriously glad I took such extensive notes, even if my handwriting did deteriorate by the end of the evening. There were so many wines we couldn’t taste them all! We tried so many good ones. Can’t wait for next year! And the Beer Expo!
Wow, what a terrific time (and list of wines)! I can imagine you had palate fatigue! Lovely photos, too.
Have you ever had any from the Pelter winery? The last time were in Israel we had a Pelter sauvignon blanc (while having lunch at Uri Buri in Acco – amazing) and really enjoyed it. I look forward to trying some from your list the next time we are in Israel.
Thanks Hannah! I’ve heard of Pelter but I don’t think I’ve had it. I’ll have to check it out. I also have yet to eat at Uri Buri, which I need to remedy!