EVENTS AND NEWS

Golan Heights Winery Premiers 4x4 Tasting of its Yarden Wines

May 15, 2007

 

Four wines times four vintages, but no math skills were needed to appreciate the 16 Israeli wines showcased at a recent seminar and tasting led by Victor Schoenfeld, Chief Winemaker of the Golan Heights Winery, at New York’s Porter House restaurant.  

Taking inspiration from the four-wheel drive atop which Victor combs the vineyards, the winery created a showcase for four of its most elegant wines – the award-winning Yarden Blanc de Blancs, Yarden Viognier, Yarden El-Rom Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and Yarden Syrah.   

 

GETTING THE MOTOR RUNNING

The event kicked off with a roar of 4x4s in action and a slideshow of Northern Israel’s diverse Golan Heights vineyards, an undiscovered region for many US wine drinkers.  Victor Schoenfeld, an American-born graduate of UC Davis who cut his winemaking chops in California and France before heading to Israel, summed up the formula for Golan Heights Winery’s success in three T’s – terroir, technology, and a world-class winemaking team.

ROAD-TESTED REGION

The Golan Heights, Israel’s coolest region with cold, wet winters, and warm, dry summers, is considered the country’s best for producing high-quality wine grapes — what Schoenfeld called a veritable “Garden of Eden”.  Gently rolling green hills are dotted by extinct volcanoes and well-drained volcanic basalt soil.  The winery has “taken the high road”, moving vineyards away from the coastal plain to elevations ranging from 1,300 to 3,900 feet –where there is an ideal combination of geography, geology, and climate.

SUPREME FUNCTIONALITY

Climatic monitoring is crucial in this region. Summer evening temperatures in plots located in a volcanic crater can reach 78°F during the day and drop to 43°F at night.  Schoenfeld commented that the “Golan Heights Winery’s vineyards are the most intensely monitored in all of Israel.” A network of micro-sensors and meteorological stations throughout the vineyards track elements such as rain, wind, soil temperature, and leaf wetness to ensure maximum grape quality.  Another technique used to improve vineyard quality is the normalized difference vegetation index or “NDVI”, developed as a joint venture between NASA and Mondavi.  NDVI technology uses infrared images to distinguish small differences in plant growth patterns due to differences in soil, nutrients, drainage, pests, etc.  

SENSATIONAL STYLE

Crown caps literally flew when Schoenfeld kicked off the tasting portion of the seminar by manually disgorging bottles of the not-yet-released 2001 Yarden Blanc de Blancs.  The “vertical” tasting also included the Yarden Blanc de Blancs from the 1998, 1999, and 2000 vintages - the last two recent recipients of Grand Gold medals at VinItaly. Next up was the Yarden Viognier 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, followed by the Yarden El-Rom Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and capped off with the Yarden Syrah 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 vintages.  

After this comprehensive introduction to the Golan Heights Winery, guests were treated to a steakhouse lunch in the Porter House restaurant, hearty fare for Yarden’s powerful wines. Starting the meal off was the richly balanced 2003 Katzrin Chardonnay, with a complex layering of figs, tangerines, summer fruits and hazelnuts, perfectly offsetting the appetizer of Smoked Trout Filet with Asparagus and Fava Bean Salad.  Slated for release in August, the velvety 2003 Katzrin Red, ripe with black fruit, peppery and herbal flavors, stole the show when paired with the Filet Mignon with Roast Shallot-Cabernet Reduction.  Katzrin wines are produced only in outstanding vintages, 2000 being the last bottling before this brand new vintage. The event ended on a sweet note, with the 100% Gewürztraminer 2004 Yarden HeightsWine paired with Apple Brown Betty.  

The Golan Heights Winery produces premium varietals, proprietary blends and traditional method sparkling wines, marketed under the labels Yarden, Gamla and Golan. Founded in 1983, the winery is located in the small town of Katzrin, high up on the Golan Heights. By combining state-of-the-art technology and vinification techniques, the company has succeeded in producing award-winning wines, firmly placing Israel on the international wine map.

 

Contact

Golan Heights Winery
Yarden, Inc.
575 Madison Ave., Suite 1006
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212-605-0478
Fax: 212-605-0479
Email: hhassin@aol.com

Visit their Website:
www.yardenwines.com

 

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