The Jewish High Holy Days are here and what better way to celebrate the New Year than by sipping wine with friends and family? The holiday seasons starts on September 20, with the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.
Here are some ideas for wines to sip this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – or to enjoy all year long.
Carmel Winery SELECTED Mediterranean Blend 2016
Carmel is one of Israel’s very best wineries, and they recently released a line-up of eight wines in its Selected series – including the 2016 SELECTED Mediterranean Blend that is “very much affordable and quite pleasantly drinkable,” explains Gabriel Geller, Director of Public Relations and Client Services at The Royal Wine Corporation.
The Mediterranean Blend, in particular, is a “delicious, inexpensive, food-friendly” follow-up to Carmel’s successful, award-winning and high-end Mediterranean – and a top choice for the High Holy Days. “If there was a single winery that has always known how to reinvent itself while retaining the lessons from its rich history,” Geller says, “Carmel is the one.”
Yarden Blanc de Blanc
This Chardonnay from the Northern Golan Heights makes our list for its traditional methods and floral and citurs notes. “For years the Golan Heights and Galil Mountain wineries have led the way in cultivating a new Israeli wine culture to the world,” says Dorit Ben-Simon, business manager of the Golan Heights and Galil Mountain wineries.
The grapes are whole-cluster pressed, and the wine is aged for a minimum of four years with the tirage yeast, while the tropical fruit notes are balanced with “nuances of toasted bread and minerals.”
“This wine is elegant, crisp and dry, and will age gracefully for up to ten years from harvest.”
Galil Yiron
Looking for something hearty and red? Look no further than the Galil Yiron, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot which is aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, with strong aromas of berry, blueberry and cassis on a background of vanilla and toasted oak.
Says Ben-Simon: “These varietals for Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year – celebrate our commitment to innovation and sustainability and evoke the ancient topography, soil and climate of Israel’s most breathtaking wine regions.”
Hermon White
A zesty white will keep you in the holiday spirit. Try the Hermon White, a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier and Semillon blend made with grapes from the North Golan Heights and a cold fermentation which helps preserve the liveliness.
Straightforward and light – it’s best served with goat-milk cheeses and roast chicken – with hints of citrus, melon, peach, green apple and tropical fruits, this wine will be a hit with all of your dinner guests.
Herzog Chenin Blanc 2015
In order to have a sweet New Year, we eat sweet fruits and treats (apples and honey, anyone?) on Rosh Hashanah. A nice boozy version is the Herzog Chenin Blanc 2015, a dessert wine from the Herzog Late Harvest series dessert wines that Geller recommends for any New Year celebration.
Grown in the Herzog Family’s vineyard in Clarksburg, California from a variety originating in France’s Loire Valley, Geller says this wine has “a luscious, almost oily texture reminiscent of quince jam, pear, and lemon drops with hints of dried apricots and honeysuckle,” making it the perfect companion for an apple pie.
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