This is a peak time of year for both the wine trade and Jewish wine drinkers in New York, London, Paris and in Israel. Rosh Hashanah rivals Passover as the wine buying peak of the year. Wineries are geared to sales, even whilst being frantically busy with the harvest, and supermarkets and wine stores will be cooking up attractive promotions. It is a wine buyers dream. Large family meals will be arranged. It is one of those occasions which is an opportunity to meet and get-together, as much as anything else. Wine is central. Much of the Jewish religion is celebrated around a table with your nearest and dearest and wine is used both to sanctify the festival and celebrate the occasion.
Those buying wines will almost certainly be looking for something special to share with their guests, in order to honor to the occasion. However, what they see as special will differ according to their budget, their regular wine buying purchases and the number of people they are entertaining. Maybe there is a special bottle they have saved in their private cellar or wine fridge, exactly for this moment.
Wine drinkers looking for the value, or the best quality per price ratio, will inevitably alight on wines in the “Wine Lovers” category. Then, there are those that don’t regularly purchase wine, but at Rosh Hashanah they will. For them to put what I call a “Drinkers Wine” on the table may also be a statement.
Normally wine lovers frown at those choosing to drink sweet Kiddush wines. However, Rosh Hashanah is the right time for a sweet wine. A toast for a sweet New Year deserves a sweet wine, but in honor of the holiday, make it a good one. Choose a quality dessert wine.
My recommendations are as follows.
WINE DRINKERS: Up to NIS 50
Hayotzer, Sketch Gewurztraminer 2024. Always wise to have a semi-dry wine on the festive table. There are always those that will be grateful in any family. This is an aromatic Gewurztraminer grown in the Lower Galilee. Hayotzer is the quality brand of Arza Winery. Those that like a touch of sweetness will like this.
Barkan, Gold Cabernet Sauvignon 2024. The Gold Edition is a value label in the Barkan portfolio. Barkan founded in 1990, vies with Carmel as our largest winery. The wine is lightish, but fruity, flavorful, easy drinking and approachable. Probably best to serve it chilled. Good value.
WINE LOVERS: NIS 51-99
Golan Heights, Gamla Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Gamla has been a shining star in the QPR (quality per price) for decades. It still is across the range. This Sauvignon Blanc shows good varietal typicity. It is crisp, aromatic, steely with a fresh acidity. Great value white from the Golan Heights Winery.
Recanati, Galilee Vineyards Chardonnay 2024. A modern style Chardonnay. Rich, buttery Chardonnays are rarer these days. This one is fresh, elegant and precise. Recanati is the largest winery in the Upper Galilee. Btw, it is a beautiful winery to visit.
Galil Mountain, Galil Rose 2025. A lovely rose in a very attractive, innovative package. Made from a blend of Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, all grown in the Eastern Upper Galilee. I believe rose matches the Israeli climate, cuisine, culture and character. It suits the Israeli temperament. This expression is a very good one.
Dalton Estate Rose 2025. This ticks all the boxes. Beautiful color, crisp with generous fruit, balanced finish – and it has a screw cap. For me a big plus! It is made from Shiraz, supplemented by Grenache, Mourvedre and Barbera. This is so drinkable it slips down and before you know it, you have finished the bottle. Dalton Winery, already over 30 years old, are the pioneers of the Galilee.
Tulip Petite Sirah 2025. This is a reasonably new wine from Tulip Winery, who are always inventive with their wines. Petite Sirah, aka Durif, is a variety well suited to Israel. Most are big, beefy wines with everything on an outsize scale. Here this is a more approachable Petite Sirah, tempered by Carignan and Viognier. It is medium bodied, with good fruit and nicely drinkable. Flavorful, but refreshing. Easy to enjoy.
Zion, Capital Lions Gate 2024. An interesting blend of Marselan, Grenache and Caladoc. It is juicy fruity, rough (in a nice way) and rustic, medium bodied with great drinkability. This wine from Israel’s oldest existing winery won a gold medal, and was awarded 95 points at the Decanter WWA, the world’s most famous wine competition. It was the first equal Israeli wine in the competition, yet look at its price category! It has to be best value by any criteria.
Teperberg, Inspire Gewurztraminer 2024. This is a beautiful dessert wine. Luscious and delicious. Serve it ice cold. The perfect sweet wine for Rosh Hashanah, to accompany the traditional starter courses for the festival, to go with fruit-based desserts, blue cheeses or to sip after dinner. Teperberg is the third largest winery in Israel.
CONNOISSEURS: NIS 100-149
Scoria, Tel Phares Vineyard, Bashan 2025. By definition my selection is normally from the larger, more well-known wines because their wines are more accessible. This is a small winery from the Southern Golan Heights. The blend is Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the classic blend for Bordeaux whites, grown at high elevation in the Central Golan. The wine has nice citrus aromas, a good texture and is well balanced. Nice little wine. It is a wine certified by Tzohar Kashrut. I heartily approve that Tzohar now certify about thirty Israeli wineries.
1848 Winery, Orient White 2025. Orient from 1848 Winery is an expression of Israeli Mediterranean blends. The wines are classy and elegant. The Orient Red 2024 just received a Gold Medal and 95 points in the Decanter Competition in London. I wrote about it last time. So, let’s concentrate on the white. It is a blend of Colombard, Chardonnay and Roussanne. It is fragrant, has extended mouth feel and an attractive texture, which leads through to a long well-balanced finish. Very nice wine.
Binyamina, Shoham Chardonnay 2025. This is more classic for Chardonnay lovers. Fermented and aged in barrel for six months. It has tropical, citrus nose, a hint of buttery and vanilla notes but also a fresh acidity running through it. Good quality wine. Binyamina Winery is a 74 year old winery.
Ramat Negev, Exodus White 2025. A desert blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon from high elevation Negev vineyards. It is full bodied, floral with a crisp acidity yet flavorful. Ramat Negev Winery, one of the pioneers of the Negev, is one of the most improved wineries in my book. Their wines are good at different price points.
Yatir, Mt Amasa Rose 2025. A classy rose from Yatir Winery. It has the freshness and liveliness of the genre, but a little more fragrance and a better mouth feel than standard roses. It is made from Grenache Noir, Mourvedre and Grenache Blanc from high elevation Yatir Forest vineyards.
Amphorae, Terroir Capsouto Field Blend 2023. The late Jacques Capsouto was a famous New York restaurateur, who in his seventies came to Israel and planted a vineyard. He was a pioneer of Southern Rhone varieties. Amphorae Winery has made a homage to Capsouto’s vineyard by making a field blend. This means that all the varieties (Cinsault, Cunoise, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre) were harvested, fermented and aged together. It is an enchanting wine with an aroma of strawberry and red cherries and a fruit driven flavor. Definitely chill it. Lovely wine, lovely idea!
Tabor, Artisanal Creation Syrah 2023. This is a varietal Syrah from a single vineyard on the Golan Heights. It has fruit, spice and a smoked meat character. Artisanal is the quality umbrella brand for Tabor winery’s leading labels.
Netofa, Masei Gamay Noir 2025. Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais. I first came across Gamay here with a wine called Golan Village in the 1990s. I remember prime ministers Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak used to order it. Now Netofa have introduced a new expression. It is light and fruity with cherry berry aromas, is easy drinking and is truly gluggable. Serve chilled. A perfect lunchtime or brunch wine.
Carmel Signature, Govrin Vineyard Petite Sirah 2022. Carmel, the historic winery of Israel, are one of the prime pioneers of quality Petite Sirah in Israel. This has deep black fruit with an attractive floral backdrop of violets. It is fruit forward, full of flavor with earthy, meaty notes and a lingering finish. A lovely wine.
Jezreel Valley, Old Vines Carignan 2024. This is an Israeli classic from what I call our adopted variety. It is always robust and bold, with a blend of fruit and spice, a backdrop of oak and a satisfying chewy flavor. The Carignan comes from 48 year old vines and the wine is presented in a new attractive label that represents the earthiness of the wine.
Jerusalem Vineyard Winery, Windmill Project Petit Verdot 2021. Petit Verdot is a variety that just loves Israel. It shows well across the map from the north to the dessert, and is usually a blender, but here is an excellent single vineyard expression. It has aromas of ripe plumb and blackberries, is full bodied with leathery notes, layers of complexity and a long lingering finish. Beautiful wine and it actually represents good value.
FEINSCHMECKERS: NIS 150 +
Tzuba Metzuda 2022. I have recommended a few lighter wines this time. For those that like full body, richness and opulence, this is the ticket. It is basically a Cabernet Sauvignon, fleshed out with Merlot and Syrah, from Tzuba‘s beautiful high elevation vineyards in the Judean Hills. It is sturdy, full in the mouth and it has nice complexity.
Vitkin Grenache Noir, Collector‘s Edition 2024. A special edition wine with Vitkin Winery’s beautiful and stylish new label. This a favorite of mine. Crunchy red fruit, mouthfilling flavor but bright and fresh, and with a fruit driven finish. Excellent summer red, though I am happy to drink it anytime. Vitkin Winery are the pioneers of Mediterranean varieties and ABC (Anything but Cabernet, Chardonnay) in Israel.
Benhaim Cabernet Franc Reserve 2022. 140 years ago, Rothschild’s Lafite advisors told him to plant more Cabernet Franc in the Holy Land than Cabernet Sauvignon. I love Cab Franc. It is more aromatic than its more famous offspring, with lifted green, herbaceous aromas. This wine is well made in its full bodied, oaky style.
Bat Shlomo – Assaf Granit, Alef After Dark 2024. A joint venture between world famous Israeli chef Assaf Granit and Bat Shlomo Vineyards. It is a Cabernet Sauvignon from their own vineyards. Medium bodied, elegant, everything in place, no characteristic (fruit, tannin, acidity, oak) overplayed. Silky drinkability. As you would expect, a good food wine. It is available in Chef Granit’s restaurants, at the winery visitors‘ center and online at the winery shop.
Hevron Heights Special Reserve 2018. If you want to pay a real compliment to your guests, buy a prestige flagship wine from a leading winery. This wine was sent to me. It is big, loud, full bodied, opulent, rich and oaky – a real mouthful of wine. It certainly looks the part. Exaggerated heavy bottle, wax closure and stylish label. Hebron Heights Winery is from Kryat Arba. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. It is also very expensive, but the bottle age works in its favor. It has softened with time. As the label explains, it is from the 2018 – 5778 vintage!
We have had a few tough years. Firstly there was the covid pandemic, and this was followed by three years of war. All of Israel has been under fire at certain times, but the catastrophic attack on the Western Negev and the sustained attacks on the northern Israel have deeply scared the country and its wine industry. So, this year, you have every reason to put Israel at the center of your table. Wine represents the farmers, growers, winemakers and the different regions of the Land of Israel. Every bottle can be a measure of support and believe me, every bottle given as a gift, or drunk during the festival, makes a difference. Shana Tova!
Adam Montefiore is a wine trade veteran and winery insider turned wine writer, who has advanced Israeli wines over four decades. He is referred to as the English voice of Israeli wine and is the Wine Writer for the Jerusalem Post. www.adammontefiore.com
