Trendlines wrote this article for the Federation
of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. It first appeared in the FICC
newsletter and is reprinted here with permission.
(This version has been slightly modified from the original.)
Beyond Syrupy and Sugary
Once upon a time, the words wine and Israel conjured up syrupy,
sugary, red concoctions. But those days — and those wines — are
nearly a thing of the past. Wine is now big business. According to information
on the Israel
Wines website, the country exported nearly $13.8 million worth of wine last
year. More than 80% of the exports go to North America and Western Europe.
An innovator in high tech,
biotech, and electronics has come to define Israel in recent years. Now that
same innovative spirit is coming to the fore in Israel's vineyards.
The Pioneering Spirit
In September, the 30th edition of Hugh
Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2007 appeared in bookstores (and online).
A perennial best-seller, this year's edition contains information on more
than 6,000 wines and wine-growing regions. No less than 24 Israeli wineries
are included in this extremely popular publication. A number of wineries
received stars for the first time, proving that Israeli wines continue to
compete on an international level.
Israeli wineries awarded stars for the first time: Barkan,
Chateau Golan, Clos de Gat, Dalton, Ella Valley, and Recanati.
Israeli w ineries
appearing on the list for the first time: Bazelet Ha Golan, Chillag,
Sea Horse, and Vitkin. (Binyamina and Efrat returned to the list after an
absence of a few years.)
Wine has been a part of Jewish tradition and heritage
for more than 2,000 years, but it wasn't until the 1880s, when agricultural
advisors to Baron Edmond de Rothschild recommended planting vineyards
in the sandy soil of pre-state Israel, that the "modern" era
of Israeli winemaking was ushered in. In 1882, with the support of
the Baron, the Carmel
Wine Company was founded (now known as the Carmel Winery).
Planting some of the first grapes from cuttings
imported from India, those early pioneers battled tremendous odds and
reaped few rewards. It wasn’t
until 1895 that Carmel started marketing wines coming out of wineries in Rishon
Lezion and Zichron Ya’akov. It took nearly another 70 years until
Carmel sold and exported "varietals" such as Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Young Upstart
It's only been in the past 20 years that Israeli wines have liberated themselves
from the sticky corner of the wine shop’s kosher section. The Golan
Heights Winery is not only one of the country’s
top three wineries but is generally credited with spearheading the country’s
"wine revolution" in 1984.
Taking the advice of experts, Golan farmers
from eight kibbutzim and moshavim planted vineyards of white (sauvignon) grapes.
In an article on the winery that appeared in Israel 21c ("Drunk with the
flavor of success," May 2003), "the combination of wide diurnal and
annual temperature ranges, high altitude, and rich volcanic soil created optimal
conditions for [growing] grapes." The rest is history.
The winery today
produces 5.4 million bottles of varietals, blends, and sparkling wines. It
holds an 18% share of the domestic market, and its wines represent 38% of exported
Israeli wines. (According to the company's website, Golan Heights exports
to more than 25 countries around the world.)
The Cabernets and Chardonnays coming out of the winery put Israeli wines in
a new league and paved the way for the next generation — the boutiques.
"The Boutiques":
Innovation in a Bottle
Depending on whom you ask, the number of boutique
wineries in the country ranges from 125 to 200. Names such as Meishar and
Bustan and Margalit and Castel have made the "big guys"
(Carmel, Golan Heights, Binyamina, among others) take notice. The boutique
wineries "have
greatly influenced the bigger producers," notes Oded Shoham, Carmel’s
export manager for Europe, especially "with [their] innovative new changes
in vision and direction."
According to Shoham, the “new generation
of young, world-educated winemakers is at the forefront of production” in
the country. Carmel, which exports to 40 countries, began its Handcrafted
Wines of Israel in early 2004 to provide "marketing and logistics for
10 of Israel's top boutique wineries." Shoham, who also manages Handcrafted
Wines of Israel, says he sees "new styles of wines – French, California,
Italian, Australian, and others – coming out of Israel." This
"new generation has taken the great fruit available and is showing new potential."
“A Labor of Love”
In the low-lying sandy soil only 58 meters (190 feet)
above the Mediterranean Sea at Ashdod, lay the vineyards of the Meishar
Winery. Owned and operated by Ze'ev Smilansky and his family, Meishar
produces grapes on its 9.1 dunams (2.25 acres) that go into its own Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz. "We do everything," Smilansky
remarks, "from the planting and pruning to the harvesting, labeling,
bottling, even corking! It’s a family affair and a labor of love."
Smilansky
says the international wine community is fairly conservative. They have certain
traditions and expectations of what a wine should be and how it should
taste, but "Israel has found ways to innovate, in particular by growing
grapes in locations — and in soil — where no one expects success" (such
as the Negev and Arava).
Despite the success of Golan and Carmel, Smilansky doesn't believe Israeli
wines are well known. Good Israeli wine is a well-kept secret, but the smaller
wineries have actually caused an improvement in the overall quality and "benefited
the larger wineries." As a boutique vintner, Smilansky says it's difficult
to sell profitably. Looking ahead to the next five years, he predicts that
some of the boutique wineries will close or consolidate, but "the ones
that survive will become more business savvy, more professional, and will
cooperate on marketing and sales."
