Daily Archives: March 2, 2008
This past Friday Night’s wine…
This week we had no guests – so fewer bottles 
We had some wonderful spicy food so a Chardonnay filled in nicely.
Four Gates Chardonnay 2004 – Score: A-
The nose on this straw colored wine has lychee, citrus, apple, and wood aromas. The mouth of this medium bodied wine is filled with citrus, peaches, and lychee. The wine is complex with sweet wood and spice that play in tandem with each other and make the long finish quite enjoyable.
Tanya Winery
Tanya Winery
On a clear and cool winter day we meet up with Chaim Feder – one of the investors in the Tanya Winery. The winery is tucked away in Ofra where the wonderful and eccentric wine maker Yoram Cohen lives. When we first met Yoram he was hard at work building a barrel. Yes, he was hand building a barrel that he had just finished shaving down and toasting, and was now applying the finishing touches to a recycled barrel with equal care that he gives his wines. It was fitting that this is how we met Yoram. In an almost poetic manner, Yoram was doing what he does best – recycling, rebuilding. He is one of those ever restless artists on the hunt for his next challenge. The good news for us oenophiles – is that he chose to ply his new trade in the world of wine. Yoram had a very successful photography business and left it all for the ever finicky world of wine making. In 2002 Yoram started to make wine out of his house. In 2007 one of Chaim’s friends tasted Yoram’s wines and was sure that Yoram was the next big thing in wine. Chaim and his partners met Yoram and the rest is history. They upgraded the winery’s future productivity by purchasing new equipment, plantings new vineyards, and leasing more space for the winery. They hope to be producing 40,000 bottles as soon as the newest vineyards come on line sometime next year.
Upon meeting Yoram and the almost completed barrel, Yoram showed us the newly built wine cellar and tasting room – that is behind his house, and that he built by hand. Anchoring the middle of this beautiful hand crafted structure is a 40+ year old vine! The vine was there before Yoram bought the house.
Yoram showed the way to the slightly smaller cellar and gave us a taste of a 2005 Cabernet from a 5 liter wine cask. Chaim said Yoram was hoping to sell them for the seder table. Yet another example of his eccentric but wonderful artistic talents that Yoram brings to the staid and stogy world of wine making – a truly refreshing attitude and perspective that we are sure will do him and the winery well. Upon tasting the wine and some other white vintages we drove to the newly minted headquarters in Ofra’s industrial area. There we were given to taste a myriad of bottles and barrel tasting that gave us an appreciation of the upcoming wines and the up and coming winery’s main talent – Yoram and his artistic spin on wine and life as a whole.
We want to thank Yoram, Chaim Feder and their respective families for their very kind hospitality and time. Following are the tasting notes which we sampled at the winery.
Tanya Cabernet 2005 (Small Cask) – Score: B+
This garnet colored wine (grapes from Har Bracha) has a nose of date, vanilla, and oak. The mouth of this balanced medium bodied wine is filled with cherry and raspberry. The finish is long with a wooden cloak and cherry clinging on.
Tanya Jerba 2003 (fortified desert wine) - Score: A-
The nose of this honey colored wine is packed with honey, pineapples, and dates. The mouth on this full bodied and fortified wine is still a bit too hot. This will calm down as time progresses. Citrus fruit, honey and apple come in early and stay along for the long finish. This is a wine that one can enjoy with almost any desert – once it calms down a bit. Read the rest of this entry
Tzora Winery
We made an unplanned stop at the Tzora Winery on a cold winters day and we are so happy we did. We arrived in the late afternoon and there was quite a party going on. A bunch of kids from America had arrived and they were making the most of the winery’s insanely kind hospitality. When we arrived the party was in full swing and we did not want to bother them or the winery staff. As we were getting ready to leave (please folks – always make reservations in advance – do not expect to be as lucky as we were), the staff was super kind and was able to squeeze us into the wine tasting that was in progress. The sad aspect is that though Tzora has increased the volume of wine – the best wines will continue to stay in Israel and not be imported abroad.
The thing that makes Tzora such a special winery are their vineyards. Ronnie James tends to the vines, and it is a labor of love. Unfortunately, as we write this article we are told that Ronnie has passed away. Ronnie and Tzora wines were built on the ideal that terroir makes the wine. The land that the vineyards sit on are the names given to the wines (Shoresh, Neve Ilan, Givat Hachalukim).
Ronnie was growing grapes since the 50s for himself and many other wineries. We will all miss him and his wine and vines will continue to pay tribute to him and his legacy.
We would like to thank the staff at the winery for allowing us to join in and enjoy the tastings. Following are the tasting notes which we sampled at the winery.
Tzora Judean Hills 2004 - Score: B+
The nose on this ruby red colored wine (60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot) is laden with raspberry, cherry, and oak notes. The mouth on this medium bodied wine fat with tannins and cherries. The finish is medium long and quite enjoyable.
Tzora Givat Hachalukim 2006 - Score: B+
The nose on this garnet colored wine (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is laden with red berries and cherry. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is smooth and balanced with oak and soft tannins giving way to cherry and spice. The finish is not so long, but the wine lingers long on your palate after the wine is gone.
Tzora Shoresh 2004 - Score: A
The nose on this garnet colored wine (100% Merlot) is laden with red berries, mineral aromas, and cherry. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is balanced with integrated tannins giving way to red berries and oak. The finish is medium long with cherry and spice.
Tzora Or 2006 - Score: A+
This wine has quite a story around it as Robert Parker gave it one of the highest scores in a recent Israeli wine expose that he conducting along with Mark Squires. We were able to taste the end of the bottle and it was still quite impressive – none the less. Gewurztraminer grapes are harvested and then deep frozen for two months. Then they are extracted for 24 hours and only the first drips of the grape juice become Or. The nose of this golden wine is filled with honey and tropical fruit. The mouth of this full bodied and almost syrupy wine is fruity with citrus, pineapple and a touch of mint.
Mony Wine
We recently tasted some Mony wines that we liked so we thought we would share them with you.
Mony Chardonnay 2005 - Score: A-
This golden straw colored wine has a nose of apples, lychee, and oak. The mouth of this medium bodied wine is balanced with just enough oak and abundant fruit. The apple, lychee, and citrus jump out at you. The finish is long and laden with spicy oak which makes for quite a nice white wine experience.
Mony Shiraz Reserve 2005 - Score: A-
This ruby colored wine’s nose is earthy, musty, and oaky. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has strong notes of integrated tannins, dirt, leather, and pomegranates. The finish is long and generous with spicy wood and more leather.
Zemora Winery
On a dry but cold winter morning we set out for Zemora Winery. Tucked in Moshav Beit Zayit – just below Jerusalem and in particular, Har Nof can be found a small but budding kosher winery. The winery has been in business for some time now, but only started producing kosher wines as of the 2004 release. We had heard of Zemora from Rogov’s site and we contacted Baruch Yosef and he agreed to meet us at the winery in the morning. Unfortunately he was not available to meet us in the end, but Moshe the masgiach was more than happy to assist. The road into Beit Zayit is quite windy as we came down from Har Nof into the moshav. The road down passes through the Jerusalem Forest – which is a one way road and quite harrowing given the wet roads from the previous days rain. Once down we winded to the entrance only to find out that the road into the moshav was actually the easy part! The road to the winery was a dirt road made for 4 wheel drives – not the low framed Toyota that our friend was driving. In the end, we made it to the winery and it was well worth the trip. The winery overlooks the Moshav’s lake/creek that fills in as the winter rains increase. The lake is home to many a social scene during the late winter and early spring days when the banks are overflowing from the winter’s abundance.
The winery’s output is now around 50,000 bottles and produces wines from the following varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot (for blending), Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Viognier and Chardonnay.
We would like to thank Baruch and Moshe for their hospitality and time when visiting the winery. Following are the tasting notes which we sampled at the winery.
Zemora Viognier 2006 - Score: B-
The nose on this straw colored wine is filled with honey and apricots. The mouth of this medium bodied wine has honey, apricots, citrus, and ripe fruit. The finish is medium long with a nice crisp sensation.
Zemora Chardonnay 2006 - Score: B+
The nose on this straw colored wine is filled a strong aroma of burnt wood and citrus. The mouth of this medium bodied wine is filled with spicy wood, apples, strong acidity and medium structure. The finish is medium long and filled with spice and lychees.
Zemora Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 – Score: A (aged in oak for 15+ months)
The nose on this purple to black colored wine is strong with black cherries, currants, and cassis. The mouth on this medium – full bodied wine is filled with black fruit, spicy wood, and cassis. The finish is long and laden with black cherries and wood.
Zemora Cabernet Franc 2006 (Barrel Tasting) - Score: A
The nose on this light garnet colored wine is green with red fruit. The mouth is floral with strong cherry notes, and more vegetation. The finish is medium long with a bit of acidity and toasted oak.
