The following wines are recommended from this region for purchase, though everyone is encouraged to support and purchase any bottles they can find from these wineries.
Dalton Estate Merlot: The number one wine in our most competitive category in the 2024 Jewish Link Wine Guide was Dalton’s stunning estate merlot. This $19.99 mevushal bottle punches way above its price point, with lush black and red fruit in abundance, great acid, balance, and a lustrous enjoyable finish. It’s a wonderful choice for a kiddush or weekdays. While I can easily recommend every Dalton bottle I have ever tried, the estate line presents an excellent and reliable option for delicious wines at an entry level price point.
Adir Kerem ben Zimra Sauvignon Blanc 2023 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2021: Both of these wines are easy to drink and varietally correct. The sauvignon blanc is fresh and fruity, with aromas of lemon, grapefruit and lime. It’s been one of my favorite wines of the summer. The cabernet needs a bit of air to open up (decant it if you’re feeling fancy), but then its fruit concentrates into blueberry notes and vanilla and the high alcohol blows off. These are great wines worth buying to support this region and the people working there. These two are on sale for $31.99 at FillerUp Kosher Wines.
Lueria Unoaked Chardonnay: This 2023 golden wine doesn’t present classic chardonnay flavors, rather more of a modern/new world chardonnay. It has a gorgeous nose of golden delicious apple and lemon. This wine is on sale at FillerUp Kosher Wines for $34.99. Don’t miss Lueria’s roussanne wine too.
Tabernacle Winery Pa’amon: The 2020 blend currently on shelves is an intriguing blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon and 30% malbec, and aged in French oak for 10 months. It’s a high-alcohol wine at 15% alcohol, so decant it in advance of kiddush or pour a little into a glass to coax the best fruit and spice notes out of it. It has notes of blackberry, bramble and blueberry. Available at The Vineyard for $21.99. Tabernacle’s reserve series cabernet sauvignon and syrah are also available at FillerUp for $35.99 and $34.99, respectively.
Recanati Cabernet Sauvignon: This 2021 wine was aged eight months in French oak, with a stunning nose of blackberry, black plum and baking spices. This wine is available at The Vineyard for $19.99.
Yarden 2T: The Yarden 2T 2020 is a lucious blend of two Portuguese grapes. This is one of my favorite wines from Israel. It’s a blend of 50 Tourigna Nacional and 50% tinta cao. It’s been aged for 18 months and has notes of strawberry jam, cherry liquor, plum and blossom. I found it at The Vineyard for $39.99.
