Adam S. Montefiore
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the jerusalem post

Through the Lens

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JANCIS IN TOWN

Jancis Robinson MW, the English wine critic and wine writer, visited Israel for a private visit but also found time to taste Israeli wines.  She came here in great secrecy. Only a few were in the know. Her husband is Nick Lander, the famous food critic and author of The Art of the Restaurateur, one of the best books on the subject I have read. When he wrote an article about the paradox of finding so much Burgundy in Tel Aviv restaurants, there was a facebook backlash against the sommeliers who hosted her. How dare they show her anything else other than Israeli wines! Little did the talk back critics know that an impressive tasting had been prepared by the same sommeliers, offering what they considered the finest of Israel.
The tasting was put together by the Aviram Katz, the sommelier of Basta Restaurant, who is also the wine critic for Time Out & Al Hashulchan, with the help of fellow sommeliers Uri Caftory, owner of Garrigue Restaurant, Shira Tsiddon, sommelier of the Norman Hotel and international sommelier, WSET educator, wine consultant and author of the New Israeli Wine Guide, Gal Zohar. They selected 55 wines from no less than 40 different wineries covering nearly every possible category, (excluding sparkling wines & dessert wines) and they were divided into flights of four to six wines. This was a great feat of organization. The tasting was held at the Norman Hotel in Tel Aviv, whose wine list, won the award as Israel’s finest and I was pleased to have the opportunity to participate.

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THE BLUE NUN PHENOMENON

At Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we eat sweet foods along with apple and honey, and hope for a ‘sweet year’. So I usually recommend sweet wines to go with the festive meal. As the focus is on sweet, I can’t help but pay attention to the startling rejuvenation of a famous brand in Israel. I also consider afresh the large market for sweet wines, which appears to be hidden from view from many so called experts in the wine business.

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the jerusalem post

Nuns In the Holy Land