“As the temperatures continue to rise, “Adom Kehe” (Hebrew for ‘Dark Red’) partnered with several restaurants (Maraboo, Bistro HaCovshim and Bistro Tamara) to offer wine tasting specials throughout the months of May, June and July…” Yonatan Sternberg samples the goods at restaurants around the country.
As I’ve written in the past, when presented with the opportunity (and when I don’t have to drive back to the office) I enjoy drinking a couple of different wines with my meal. Unfortunately, I often find that restaurants overprice the wines on their wine menu, forcing me to order a glass at most and only indulge in a bottle or two if I have the right partners. Another frustrating limitation, in many cases, is the quality and selection of wines served by the glass.
Luckily, several wineries and restaurants recently partnered in welcome initiatives which will allow (or at least make it easier) for diners to enjoy and pair excellent food with the wine it deserves.
If you want to join in on the fun, don't pass on the special “Boutique Winery Festival” at Chloely’s which started on the 15th of May and will run through mid June. Established 8 years ago, Chloely’s, an excellent Ramat Gan restaurant under the management of Chef Victor Gloger, partnered with leading boutique wineries and will be offering a wide array of excellent boutique wines for reasonable prices. Gloger is considered by many Israeli foodies as one of the leading chefs in the country as well as a fish and seafood expert; after tasting several dishes from his menu, I must say, I too share these feelings.
Participating wineries include: Bravdo, Domain du Castel, Margalit, Tzora, Tulip, Saslove, Pelter, The Cave, Clos de Gat, Maor, Trio, Flam and Yatir.
At the festival’s opening event, I sampled some of the wines and highly recommend: Castel’s “C” 08 and their limited edition rose wine, Tzora’s Cab titled Shoresh of the 07 vintage, Flam Merlot Reserve, Pelter’s refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, Margalit’s concentrated blend titled Enigma and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. I’m not sure which of these will be offered at reduced prices but either way they are all worth trying at least once. Enjoy!
As the temperatures continue to rise, “Adom Kehe” (Hebrew for ‘Dark Red’) partnered with several restaurants (Maraboo, Bistro HaCovshim and Bistro Tamara) to offer wine tasting specials throughout the months of May, June and July. An assortment of wines will be offered in glass carafes, allowing diners to mix and match three different wines while paying a price equivalent to one bottle.
For those who aren’t familiar with the company, “Adom Kehe” is a leading wine marketing and distribution firm focusing on boutique wineries. The company’s portfolio includes: Tulip Winery, Saslove, Fusion Global Winery, Yaffo Winery, Agur and the Shiloh Winery.
At a recent wine and culinary festival in the Herzliya Marina I also sampled a few good white, rose and dessert wines. Recanati’s Rose 2009 – produced using Barbera (70%) and Merlot (30%) grapes, is showing pleasant aromas of strawberries, cherries and just a touch of citrus. Serve chilled, the winery suggests serving the wine alongside Asian style dishes or potent cheeses.
The event titled “White on the Beach” was organized by Israel’s Wine & Gourmet Magazine, Haim Gan of Yaffo’s Grape Man and the Herzliya Municipality. Though the festival was well organized, I was slightly disappointed with the limited number of exhibiting wineries.
I also enjoyed Binyamina’s Yogev Aromatic Blend 2009, light, refreshing and not complex at all, but when served chilled on a warm summer evening it really hits the spot. Teperberg’s late harvest dessert wine is also very enjoyable and in my opinion is one of the best dessert wines in its price range.
L’Chaim!
