Not kvetching

No rest for the wicked. Went to an Israeli wine-tasting last night, co-hosted by a local Israeli restaurant. Very importantly, I learned something about hummus - the Israeli version is a 1:1 blend of garbanzos to tahini, or at least their version is. What a great taste, and spiked with a bit of cumin. I'm committing that to memory, it was excellent.

N.V. Golan Heights Winery "Yarden" Brut (Galilee): 1:1 PN/Chardonnay, 12% abv. Actually, quite a nice sparkler, made in methode champenoise, but devoid of toastiness. I'd place this somewhere between a Prosecco (has that juicy sweet side) and Cava (has a bit of presence, nice stoniness and bitters). This went so well with the hummus. Really, really well. Kosher wine.

2007 Flam Sauvignon Blanc/ Chardonnay (Judean Hills): a 70:30 blend, 13.5% abv, unoaked. I... I... liked this. Lush, but nicely balanced and very clean. I'm always a bit afraid of S.B., but there was nothing offensive here. Instead, there was an interesting sake-like melon component on both the nose and the palate. Nice minerality, touches of smoke. Ok, it was a little bit sweet, but there were some nice bitters and good acidity, like springwater. Not Kosher wine. Served with something called Tavor Konafi, a very stinky unpasteurised cheese, seared, topped with a sort of pastry netting, and accompanied by a spring pea puree. Another nice combo.

2005 Clos de Gat Chardonnay (no, Hills of Judea): 14% and lotsa oak. The vanilla was everywhere, but no butter. Juicy and on the sweet side, decent acidity, but not a style I'd go for. One element I did enjoy here though... mandarin orange segments in light syrup. I've not seen it anywhere but Japan or Korea. Well, this had that. And I thought that neat. This was served with a very tasty borekas - phyllo dough pastry, stuffed, I believe, with something vegetable.

2007 Sea Horse Winery "Gaudi" (no, no, Judean Hills): a 60:20:20 blend of Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah, 13% abv. Nose was a bit jammy, piles of black cherries, absolutely piles. Palate was much more restrained, light, clean, pretty brambly sweet and peppery, a touch stemmy perhaps. No savoury elements for me. It seems that this has just made it to US shores for the first time in the past couple of months, but it isn't yet with retailers. Served with a very tasty kibbeh.

2005 Saslove Winery "Adom" (Upper Galilee): a 14% 60:40 shiraz/cabernet blend. It was funny to hear them contrast this winemaker ("ultimate interventionist") with the former ("uncertified biodynamic"). Despite what anyone says, I think of this as Aussie fruit-bomb-lite. It's purple, it's vanilla and chocolate... yes, it's a bit bombish. And served with chopped liver and chicken cracklings? Something wayward here...

2006 Carmel "Sha'al" Late Harvest Gewürztraminer (Galilee): 9.5% abv, definitely botrytised. Primarily apricot, orange peel and honey, with actually a quite subtle lychee note. Lighter than I expected, really not heavy concentration at all, which, actually, since the acidity wasn't so high, made this quite nice for a sticky. A cooling sweetness, and a touch of "levant" spice. Imagined or not, I was tasting a bit of clove there. Served with roasted apricot and a very pungent ash-rolled goat cheese.

All in all, an interesting tasting. I was rather expecting it to be more like all the bad side of Lebanon, but it wasn't. I wonder the prices though. Another interesting factoid... it seems that no indigenous varietals are used in Israel at present (nor do they know about historical vines - i.e., biblical varietals).