A few weeks ago,
my piece on food trends in Israel ran in John Mariani's Virtual Gourmet.
This week is Part 2, with a focus on the wines. Writing about the wines of Israel is more fraught politically than it is perhaps anywhere in the world, and most of this difficulty is the result not of anything typical of the wines themselves, but of all the misinformation about them. Not all Israeli wines, for example, are kosher...and even if they were, that fact has absolutely nothing to do with their quality. (When consumers think of uninspired, flat-tasting Israeli wine, they're probably referring to
mevushal bottlings, which have been flash pasteurized and, in my opinion, indeed are inferior.) But again, they are a small percentage of what is an otherwise seriously impressive wine culture in Israel--one that managed to surprise, delight, and impress me throughout my time there this past February.
Click here for the full article.
Also, my recent Wine of the Week for The Good Life Report is an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon from Pine Ridge Vineyards.
Click here for the full tasting note.
And finally, my CityDrinks column last week focused on the rise of Scottish gins--which, given that we are firmly in gin-and-tonic season right now, is timed perfectly.
Click here for the column.
