This is the second of the three new Barkan Beta Series releases that I am tasting. You can read more about the series and my notes on the Rose here. Going into this, I didn't know what to expect. My experience with Colombard is usually as part of Gewurtz based off-dry blends - I would … Continue reading 2017 Barkan Beta Series Colombard
2017 Carmel 2 Vats Rosé
As any reader of this blog knows, I am a fan of most of Carmels' releases (outside of the Selected and Private Collection lines). I think they are usually well made and well priced - with some wines being outright QPR kings in their categories. Once such wine is the Carmel 4 Vats (a tasting … Continue reading 2017 Carmel 2 Vats Rosé
Andalucia Cocktail Bar – Soft Opening
This is not going to be a wine post - primarily - though we will circle back to wine at some point in this post. This is going to be a review of the newly opened Andalucia Cocktail Bar located in Kikar HaMusika in the center of Jerusalem. My wife Michal & I and another couple … Continue reading Andalucia Cocktail Bar – Soft Opening
2016 Hajdu Clarksburg Teraldego
This might be the first time that I am writing about a Hajdu wine on this blog so a bit of an introduction is necessary. Jonathan Hajdu is the winemaker at Covenant Wines of California - that is his day job and he does it really well. On the side he also runs his own … Continue reading 2016 Hajdu Clarksburg Teraldego
RCC Israel #21
This month Bracha cooked solo as Uri is off traveling with his lovely wife - and she did a wonderful job as usual. My favorite dish of the night was the corn gnocchi served on a puree of lamb bacon and greens topped with a sous vide egg - excellent stuff! My thanks to Andy … Continue reading RCC Israel #21
2017 Barkan Reserve Pink Muscat Rosé
After tasting the Barkan Beta Series Rosé I felt sort of hopeful that things were indeed in turnaround at Barkan which is currently the number 1 wine producer (sales wise) in Israel. Sure, conceptually I knew that the more established lines within the Barkan brand would need to take more minor shifts forward. Still, as Rosés typically … Continue reading 2017 Barkan Reserve Pink Muscat Rosé
2014 Flam Noble Launch Event – 2018 Flam Releases
This past Friday I attended the 2014 Flam Noble launch event at the winery. Sometimes they do this with a full dinner - other times it's wines and cheese to start with the current Blanc and Rose and then a tasting of selected library wines with the pre-release Noble. This year was the latter - which … Continue reading 2014 Flam Noble Launch Event – 2018 Flam Releases
Ya’acov Oryah 2018 Releases
Before I start - a bit of a disclaimer - I consider Ya'acov Oryah a friend. That really does NOT impact what I think of his wines at all - but I think it's important to be up front about that when writing about wine and people expect objectivity. Now that that is out of … Continue reading Ya’acov Oryah 2018 Releases
2017 Barkan Beta Series Vin Gris
Good things come to those who wait. Many of us have been waiting for quite some time for Barkan to return to its former heights of the aughts, with some having given up all hope. But a little over a year ago a amidst a bit of a shakeup in the local wine scene, … Continue reading 2017 Barkan Beta Series Vin Gris
RCC Israel #20 – and on the lack of age-able whites
And now we are out of the teens.... For RCC Israel #20 we decided to go dairy in honor of the upcoming Shavuot holiday. This is always a challenge as most wines that are age-able and RCC worthy are reds. That doesn't mean there aren't excellent choices for whites and Roses - there are and … Continue reading RCC Israel #20 – and on the lack of age-able whites