Chillag Wine & Saslove Winery are two boutique wineries producing some of Israel’s best wines. Their wines are non kosher with good reason – both Orna Chillag & Barry Saslove believe in hands-on winemaking in a way which is not always possible in kosher winemaking.

In 2003 they were invited by Carmel Winery to become guest winemakers. The result has been released in February 2005 – three new kosher wines produced by Orna Chillag & Barry Saslove. This gives the two wineries the opportunity to supply kosher wines to the export markets where there are large Jewish communities, whilst allowing them not to compromise their winemaking principles in their own wineries.

These two joint ventures took root at different wineries. Orna Chillag produced her wine at Carmel’s Rishon Le Zion Winery with the help & co-operation of Lior Laxer, the chief winemaker of Rishon.  Her grapes came from the Zarit vineyard in the Kadesh Valley, Upper Galilee.

Barry Saslove’s grapes were sourced from the Kayumi vineyard – also in the Upper Galilee, and the wine was produced at Carmel’s Zichron Ya’acov Winery, with the assistance of Zichron’s chief winemaker Philippe Lichtenstein.

The wines are:

Orna Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Upper Galiee

K by Saslove Mediterranean Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Upper Galilee

K by Saslove Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Upper Galilee

The three wines have been exported to the three largest kosher wine markets: the United States, the United Kingdom & France, where they will shortly be launched. They will be marketed as part of the consortium Handcrafted Wines of Israel, a group of Israel’s finest boutique & small wineries set up & managed by Carmel Winery in order to advance the brand ‘Israel’ in the main wine importing countries.

Feb 2005