The winery is tucked away at the edge of the road leading out of Moshav Beit Yitzchak – which is located in the Sharon.  The winery was founded by Yoram Shalom in 1996 when his father (who had injured his hipbone) asked someone in the family to carry on the tradition he had been keeping alive his whole life.  So in 1995 Yoram started to produce small quantities of wine, which his father quite liked.  That gave Yoram the push to keep producing wine.  Yoram was quite an accomplished producer and technician of television programs within Israel.  However, in 1998, based upon the encouraging responses to his wine production – he decided to quit his day job and jumped into the wine business full time.   When we called Yoram to talk about our meeting – he was excited to hear that I was also of Tunisian decent.  Tunisia artwork graces all of his wines along with the label names that are all of family members.  Alexander the great – is named after his father (who unfortunately passed away in 1997).  The other lines are named after his sister, brother and mother.

After many years of highly successful releases for his wine, Yoram decided that the 2006 year would be kosher.  Most of the reds from that year, are either still in barrels or are just being bottled.  Yoram hopes to release them soon.  The whites have already been released and a tasting note for the Sauvignon Blanc Lisa 2006, follows below.

Upon meeting Yoram you quickly see the passion that exudes out of him along with the self confidence to leave a cushy and successful career and jump into the world of wine.  Upon starting the winery Yoram started learning about wine making full time and started with the vineyard managers.  As the edict goes – good wine starts in the vineyard, and Yoram knows that better than most.  Yoram is blessed with having some wonderful vineyards to build his winery upon.  The vineyards are in Dalton Plateau at Kerem Ben Zimra and Kefar Shamay.  Both are situated in the Upper Galilee and highly vaunted in their grape quality.  Besides the location, the vineyards are tended to with great care and quality control is of the utmost importance.  The vineyards are managed to ensure low yield production – which thereby produces grapes of higher quality and concentration.  The vineyards are of great importance to Yoram.  Whenever, we spoke of the wine he would always harken it back in ways to the grapes and their styling.

After we finished our tasting I had a chance to talk with Yoram and Ilana – his wife who is a graphic designer by trade, and the designer of all of Alexander Valley’s labels.  The issues of wine export came up a common theme among Israeli wineries – looking to expand their reach into the global market.  He told us about many a story, where people upon tasting his wines, had offered him a nice business deal – of which kindly declined.  Though he never spoke about it, I believe that to Yoram it is more than just about the money, it is about family and his love for the winery.  I think he would happily take on a opportunity, where the exporter was looking out for the winery as much as they look out for their wallet, a tough thing to find in this global marketplace.

The winery’s wine production is about 45 thousand bottles.  The wines are being released in five different labels.

Sandro which is a blend of Cabernet (70%), Merlot (25%), and Sauvignon Blanc.  The wine is fermented at low temperature and aged in a mix of French and American oak for 14 months.

Alexander which is the varietal line of the winery.  The varieties are;

• Cabernet Sauvignon (aged in American and French oak for 18 months).
• Merlot (aged 18 months in French Oak)
• Syrah (aged in French oak for 18 months)
• Gaston – a blend of Merlot (76%), Syrah (12%), and Grenache (12%) which is aged in a mixture of French and American oak for 12 months.

Alexander the Great the flagship wine that is made out of Cabernet Sauvignon along with a touch of Merlot (5%).  The wine is aged in French and American oak for 30 months.  The barrels are switched at 15 months with new barrels to maximize oak contact with the wine.

Lisa – the white wine line of the winery.

• Chardonnay – which is fermented and then aged in Burgundy barrels for 18 months.
• Sauvignon Blanc which is cold fermented and co contact with wood.

Bruno – a port like wine which is fortified and released every 2 years.  It is made of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah grapes and aged in oak for 36 months.

We want to thank Yoram, Ilana and everyone from the winery who were kind enough to host us for the tasting and after as well – until the cab showed up to take us home.  Following are the tasting notes which we sampled at the winery and afterwards as well.

Alexander the Great 2006 (Barrel Sample) – Score: A-
This dark to almost purple colored wine had just finished malolactic fermentation  and will be placed in new oak barrels for another 15 months.  The nose on the wine is filled with dark berries, chocolate, and oak.  The velvety mouth of this full bodied wine is laden with dark fruits, cassis, and blackberries.  The finish is long and velvety as well with cassis, chocolate, and oak.  This wine is still quite young and has yet to come into its own.

Alexander the Great 2007 (Barrel Sample) – Score: A-
This black colored wine has a story that is sad a wonderful at the same time.  The grapes could not be harvested at their optimal time because of Yom Tov and Shabbos.  When the grapes could finally be harvested – they were at some 30 brixs.  The initial problem was finding yeast that could eat away at that much sugar – after finally finding some – Yoram had to ferment the grape juice in small batches.  After essentially creating his own super yeast – he mixed them all together one more time and fermented them successfully.  The wine could possibly be the first kosher Amarone – like wine.  The nose is filled with an intensely concentrated aroma dates, figs, and honey.  The mouth of this full bodied wine is filled with cassis, chocolate and figs.  The finish is long and tannic.  This young wine has a long way to go and it will be fascinating to watch its development.

Lisa Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – Score: B+
The nose on this light straw colored wine quite expansive.  Aromas of pepper and honeysuckle and grapefruit are ever present.  The mouth of this medium bodied wine is initially acidic in nature.  But then it opens to a complex and crisp mouth that has strong notes of citrus and honeysuckle and finishes in a long stroll with a spicy and peppery flourish.