Israel often finds itself alone. It is true in politics, culture and no less in sport. Is it closer to Europe or Asia? To the Middle East or the Mediterranean? To America or the diaspora? Even in wine, Israel is alone. What region is Israel part of ? This why Israeli wines seem to either to end up on the kosher shelves of retail stores or do not feature at all.

However, Israel is part of a wine growing region and surprisingly, it has a lot more in common with other, neighboring wine producing countries than you would think. Lets look at the similarities and differences of the Israeli & Lebanese wine industries, and then compare theirs, with the other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 The Region

The region is known as the Levant by the British, the Near East in Europe and the Middle East by others. Israel & Lebanon are two of the smallest of all wine producing countries. However they are representatives of the Eastern Mediterranean, one of the very earliest regions to make wine. During what was a golden age of wine culture, the Levant may be justly regarded as the France of ancient times.
The terroir of the two countries is so similar: if Israel & Lebanon were a growing region, they would be bracketed together as one wine region. If the best growing regions in Israel are the Upper Galilee & Golan Heights, think how close they are to the Bekaa Valley, where the Lebanese wine industry is centered. The distances are miniscule compared, for instance, to the distance between California’s northern & southernmost vineyard areas.

In terms of wine style, the two countries are opposites. In Israel, the beginnings were indisputably French, but from the 1980’s onwards most of the expertise imported was from the University of California at Davis and the wines were generally made in a more ‘new world’ style. Today more of Israel’s internationally trained winemakers have studied or worked in California & Australia, than France or Italy. The Lebanese though, are more influenced by making wines in the French style. Their winemakers are almost exclusively trained in France & their wines reflect this.

 The Founders

The modern wine industry in Israel & Lebanon began with the founding of Carmel in 1882 & Chateau Ksara in 1857. Carmel was established in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, an owner of Chateau Lafite.  Chateau Ksara, situated between Tanail & Zahleh, was established by Jesuits. Both are unique in that they have impressive, deep underground cellars. Carmel’s extensive cellars at Rishon Le Zion & Zichron Ya’acov, were dug at enormous expense by Rothschild, after the first vintages went sour because of the hot climate. Ksara’s cellars, which were originally built by the Romans, extend for two kilometers.

They were respectively the founders of their respective wine industries and remain up to today, the largest wineries in their respective countries. However they both fell on bad times. Carmel suffered from the recession & an unstable economy and was too big & slow to react to the wine boom in Israel. Ownership problems and the 1975 to 1990 civil war in the Lebanon, heralded a sharp downturn in Ksara’s fortunes.

Wine & War

There are no two countries in the world whose wine industry has been so battered by the internal & external disputes of the region. Lebanon has had its own civil war, there have been five Arab Israeli wars, intifadas & suicide bombings. Even today Lebanon is suffering from a series of assassinations and Israel from suicide bombings following on from a second intifada.

However economically, it was not always clear that the planting of vineyards was the most rewarding agricultural pursuit in this violent neigborhood. In the Bekaa Valley, opium & hashish were far more profitable and in the early years of the State of Israel, the focus was more on the fruit & citrus industry rather than grapes. However, the shortage of water and booming wine industry has encouraged farmers to invest in vineyards and the wine industry has bloomed at the same time as the citrus industry has declined.

The Pioneers

Thirty years ago most wine lovers barely knew Israel & Lebanon produced wine at all, let alone anything approaching quality. Then two pioneering wineries started to produce the region’s first world-class wines. They changed the way wine lovers thought about Israeli & Lebanese wines & lit the torch, which others would follow.

Chateau Musar, though founded in the 1930’s, first came to the world’s attention in 1979 at the Bristol Wine Fair in England. The wines were ‘discovered’ by Michael Broadbent, MW, Director of Christies Wine Department, the famous auction house. Chateau Musar was referred to as one of the finest & most exotic wines in the world.

The Golan Heights Winery, founded in 1983, was quicker to make an international impression. They were referred to in the USA as ‘Israel’s first world class wines.’ In 1987, the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1984 won not only a Gold Medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London, but also the Winiarski Trophy for the best red wine in the competition.

Both Musar & the Golan are direct opposites. Musar’s wines are conceptually Bordeaux wines but they turn out almost syrupy, always slightly oxidized, with a unique dried fruit character. The owner, Serge Hochar is a laisser-faire winemaker, relying on nature to make his wine, in his own, totally idiosyncratic way. Golan Heights Winery is a new world, state of the art winery, making technically perfect wines, usually the most up-to-date technology available. One of the most advanced hi-tec wineries in the world.

For 20 years both Musar & the Golan Heights Winery were the main ambassadors of the region, and wine drinkers would normally taste the wines & then express astonishment that world-class wines could be made in Israel or the Lebanon. Both wineries are still regularly invited to the New York Wine Experience, organized by the Wine Spectator, open to only the finest wineries in the world. Chateau Musar has succeeded in being listed on many of the world’s finest restaurants, while Yarden wines, Golan’s premier label, won the Grand Prix d’Honneur Trophy at Vinexpo three times in a row. If Chateau Musar became the most famous wine of the Eastern Mediterranean, Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon became the most awarded wine in the region, winning a host of gold medals at the highest level of international tasting competitions.

The Beginnings of a Quality Revolution.

Both wineries were the catalyst to create a quality driven revolution. The better economy bought about by the Oslo peace process in Israel and the end of the civil war in Lebanon created the right climate.

In the 1990’s there was a blossoming of boutique wineries in Israel, which was led by Domaine du Castel, a small family estate winery in the Jerusalem hills. They were discovered by Serena Sutcliffe, MW, Director of Sotheby’s Wine Department. Their wines, Castel Grand Vin & ‘C’ Blanc du Castel, became Decanter Wine of the Month no less than three times.

Boutique wineries began to open continuously – there are now over 150 in Israel. Other wineries began to gain international notice. Flam wines were selected by Tom Stevenson as among the top 100 most exciting wines in the world.

In the 1990’s Chateau Kefraya emerged from under Musar’s shadow. Kefraya, the second largest winery in Lebanon, became the main challenger to Musar when its Comte de M 1996 became the first of the region’s wines to be recognized by Robert Parker. It received 91 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – no other Israeli or Lebanese wine has scored over 90.

Massaya wines were launched to rave reviews. This winery is a joint venture between a Lebanese family and the owners of Chateau Cheval Blanc and Domaine le Vieux Telegraphe. Their wines were soon listed in a number of three star Michelin restaurants.

Rejuvenation of Largest Wineries.

In recent years there has been an astonishing turn around in the fortunes of the two large wineries that were there in the beginning. Ksara appointed a new General Manager, who instigated a whole new investment program to upgrade quality & efficiency. Carmel planted vineyards in the Upper Galilee, Golan Heights & Judean Hills, appointed five new young, highly qualified winemakers, all of whom had studied or trained in Australia and built three new boutique wineries at Ramat Dalton, in the Zichron Ya’acov facility & Yatir Winery at Tel Arad. The improvement in the wines of both companies was striking. Ksara & Carmel were rewarded by being selected as their country’s ‘Fastest Improving Winery’ in Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report 2006.

The Industry Today.

Today the largest wineries in Lebanon are Ksara & Kefraya. These two and Musar, are being challenged by a whole array of new, small, quality driven wineries. The best of these are Clos St. Thomas, Massaya &  Domaine Wardy. Some of the older wineries such as Nakad & Domaine des Tourelles are undergoing rejuvenation and there are a number of exciting new, boutique wineries like Chateau Fakra, Chateau Belle-Vue & Karam Winery.

The largest wineries in Israel are Carmel, Barkan, & Golan Heights Winery. There are new medium size wineries such as Galil Mountain, Recanati, Dalton and high quality boutique wineries such as Castel, Clos de Gat, Margalit & Yatir.

The trend for innovation, quality & change has swept both countries.

One of the problems is one of size and weight. Lebanon produces only 6 million bottles of wine a year and Israel’s three largest wineries all produce more than that. However to put everything in perspective, even little Cyprus produces nearly twice as much as Israel. Also, New Zealand, the smallest of the famous fine wine countries, produces more than double the production of Israel. There are something like 35 countries who produce more wine a year than Israel! Therefore to make a noise and draw attention with that sort of competition, the story, quality and value have to be good.

Wine & Religion

The Levant is the only place in the world where religion features so strongly in the wine industry. It is not really surprising as these are countries of the Bible, where the roots of the world’s wine culture were first planted. It was after all because of the importance of wine in those days, that wine became such an integral part of Jewish & Christian ritual.

Today the Lebanese industry is predominately run by Maronite Christians. However a new winery, with the capacity to being the largest in Lebanon, Cave Kouroum, is owned by a Muslim. Chateau Kefraya is owned by the Druse politician, Walid Jumblatt.

Israeli wines are mainly produced by Israelis, who are Jews. Most of the large wineries produce kosher wines, but some of the good, smaller wineries, like Flam, Margalit, Saslove & Clos de Gat produce wines that are not kosher.

However there is also Latroun, a winery run by Trappist monks, Cremisan, a winery run by Salesian monks, and even Mony, owned by an Arab family, which produces kosher wines at Dir Rafat monastery!

This is the only place in the world where the religion of a winery owner, even merits a discussion. However if a Muslim, Druse, Christian & Jew, in a state of war at home, can discuss their wines at international fairs, then maybe one day they can do it in their home territory too. Wine is a bridge, which could be a force for good, if they ever started tasting together.

The Export Problems.

Both Lebanon & Israel suffer from the same lack of government help, the same lack of cohesion and organization between leaders of the industry and the same disorganization. It is a tragedy that when both wine industries are developing so fast, that they have been so incapable of capitalizing on the new quality.

Both countries have an image problem. Most of Lebanon’s exports are to France, which is not surprising considering both France’s large Arab population & their country’s historic relationship with Lebanon. However in Paris, London & New York, Lebanese wines, apart from Musar, are sadly normally found only in Arabic or ethnic restaurants.

Likewise, Israel’s main exports are to America, where there is a community of 6 million Jews. However both there & elsewhere, Israeli wines are seen as kosher for a Jewish public, rather than good wines in their own right. Infuriatingly, they are too often confused with sweet kiddush or sacramental wines.

However there are new hopes. Lebanon established the UVL – Union Vinicole du Liban, an umbrella group of wineries. Ksara, Kefraya, Kouroum, Musar, Wardy & Clos St Thomas started to exhibit together at major exhibitions such Vinexpo and London Wine Trade Fair. They are now pushing for a Wine Institute.

In Israel, the main exporting wineries: Carmel, Golan Heights, Barkan, Efrat, Binyamina, Tishbi, Galil Mountain, Dalton, Recanati & Castel, started to exhibit together at Vinexpo under the banner of the Israel Export Institute and organizing generic tastings in places like London & Paris. Furthermore, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Olmert, put forward funds for the first time to encourage wineries to work together to increase exports.

Not Just Israel & Lebanon.

The most developed wine producing country in the Eastern Mediterranean is Greece. Their wine production is larger than the other Eastern Mediterranean countries combined. It is therefore surprising that the recent history of their wine industry is astonishingly similar to both Israel & Lebanon.

Their industry was dominated by four large, monopoly sized companies, as big or larger than Carmel: Achaia Clauss, Boutari, Kourtakis & Tsantalis. The wines were exceedingly poor and neither international or local styles were successful.

Chateau Carras was the first Greek winery to invest in quality & lead the way in the 1980’s, in the same way as Musar & the Golan did. In the 1990’s the quality revolution began & numerous boutique & small wineries blossomed, superceding both Carras & the large wineries. The best of these are Gerovassiliou, Gaia, Biblia Hora & Alpha. Then, like in Israel & Lebanon, the large wineries, Boutari & Tsantalis in particular, responded. Boutari for instance built a number of smaller, boutique wineries close to key vineyards, in a similar way to Carmel. Similarly to Israel & Lebanon, there has been a revolution in wine quality, which followed the roughly same pattern. Today Greek wines are unrecognizable from 15 years ago.

However like Lebanon & Israel, the Greek wine industry is chronically disorganized – even unable to make something of the opportunity presented by the staging the Olympics in Athens.

Greek wines also have same export problems. Most of their exports are to ex-patriot Greeks and Greek-Cypriots, therefore it is not surprising that Germany is by far their dominant export market. In the same way as the consumer stereotypes Israeli wines as being sweet & kosher for Jews, Greek wines are thought of as being like Retsina or the two-liter bottles of Domestica, seen on the back shelf of Kebab restaurants.

Incidentally, the revolution that has occurred in Greece, Israel & Lebanon has not reached Cyprus & Turkey - yet. Cyprus’ large wine industry, (it has the largest percentage of vines per capita in the world), was built on supplying bulk wines to the Soviet Union & on the production of Cyprus Sherry to Europe. Both these markets have collapsed and Cyprus will have to revert to quality, especially now, as a member of the EU, it will be more open to imports than before. Turkey, (the country with the 5^th largest area under vine in the world), is also slowly changing. Small, private wineries are opening as Tekel’s (the alcohol monopoly) power wanes. Certainly both Cyprus & Turkey also have the potential to make great wines from indigenous varieties. The terroir & climate is ideal and the expertise can be imported. What has been lacking, is the finance & the will. 

Dreams For The Future

So the wines of the Eastern Mediterranean, which gave wine culture to the world, today suffer from similar image problems. However in the last few years, Israel & Lebanon, like Greece, have undergone nothing less than a wine revolution and are making their best wines for two thousand years.

If Israeli wines are to get out of the kosher category, they should be placed on the shelves near the wines of the neighbouring countries. The wines of Carmel & Yarden, Boutari & Gerovassiliou, Kefraya & Ksara, should be together. Castel, Gaia and Musar should be on the same sub section of a restaurant’s international wine list. Hopefully in future, the wines of KEO from Cyprus, Kavaklidere or Doluca from Turkey, will be of a standard to join them. A serious category of the Eastern Mediterranean would create more interest as a group than any individual winery or country can make alone.

One of the problems is that Israel & Lebanon are insignificant in wine terms because of their size. Greece at least has the volume to mount an effective generic campaign in supermarkets. Israel & Lebanon’s best hope is to aim for quality wine stores & restaurant listings. In future, ‘when’ there is peace, it would be incredibly effective if the Levant could sell itself as one region offering enormous variety, excellent quality, with its unbeatable story. However the chances of the Eastern Mediterranean countries, or the two countries of the Levant, working together in the near future, is regrettably nothing more than an unrealistic dream. This makes it all the more crucial that Israeli wineries work together in the meantime, in order to advance Israeli wine as a brand. However in order to find its place, Israel has a choice. It is either part of a wine-growing region, or part of the ‘kosher’category, where it is firmly entrenched today. The similiarities Israel has with its neighbors is certainly surprising, and many of the differences are complimentary – so who knows what will be in the future?