EVENTS AND NEWS

Yarden Takes Top Awards at Vinexpo 2003

July 11, 2003

 

Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 received the prestigious Citadelle Trophy at Vinexpo 2003, held in Bordeaux, France in June. The Citadelle Trophy is the top award in Vinexpo’s highest competition, called Les Citadelles du Vin.

The trophy is bestowed on the most outstanding Gold Medal winners from the Challenge International du Vin, which is Vinexpo’s main competition.

In addition, the UK’s International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) announced at this year’s Vinexpo that Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1997 was named “Best Bottle-Fermented Sparkling Wine, Worldwide,” a higher award than the IWSC’s Gold Medal (this category of competition excluded France’s traditional Champagne). This is the second IWSC win for Yarden Blanc de Blancs, which also earned the award in 1996.

“Many Champenoise come to taste our sparkling wine at each Vinexpo,” says Victor Schoenfeld, head winemaker at the Golan Heights Winery—which produces Yarden as its flagship brand—“but this was the first time that three different Champagne producers told me that our Blanc de Blancs is better than most produced in the Champagne area. It’s hard to get a bigger compliment than that, as the French tend to be reserved.” But getting a trophy for Cabernet Sauvignon from a Bordeaux-based competition is also a thrill for Schoenfeld. “Yes,” he says with a wink, “I hear they have some decent Cabs in Bordeaux, as well…”

Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon has been winning international wine competitions year after year, including three previous Trophy performances at Vinexpo. The 1999 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon is complex and deep, layering ripe cherry, blackberry, and plum notes, with oak, vanilla, cocoa, and hints of earthiness. The wine is full-bodied yet elegant, with rich yet smooth tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Suggested retail price is $26.

The IWSC award-winning Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1997 possesses a delicate, yet complex mixture of flavors, including lemon, apple, and floral notes, all layered with a hint of rich toast. The wine’s bright acidity leads into a fresh finish. While ready to drink, Yarden Blanc de Blancs will age gracefully for a few years after disgorging. Suggested retail price is $20.

Vinexpo’s Les Citadelles du Vin and the IWSC are considered the most important wine competitions in the world. Vinexpo is a wine trade exhibition held every two years in Bordeaux, France and in the interim years in the Far East and US. Approximately 2,500 wineries from 40 countries, offering some 30,000 wines, participated in this year’s Vinexpo.

The only Israeli winery to ever win Vinexpo’s top award (previously called the Trophée Or), the Golan Heights Winery has won six to date, all for Yarden. Past Trophée Or awards include: Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1985; Yarden Merlot 1988; Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1989; Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1997; Yarden HeightsWine 1999; and now…the Citadelle Trophy for Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 1999.

Founded in 1983 in the village of Katzrin in northeastern Israel, the Golan Heights Winery ushered in a new era in Israel’s 6,000-year-old wine culture by bringing in expert consultants from California, trained in modern winemaking technology and adhering to international quality standards and focusing exclusively on high quality, classic vinifera varieties. Today, Yarden’s growing international prominence reflects the winery’s vision of Israel as a producer of modern, world-class wines.

 

Available for Download:   Yarden Takes Top Awards at Vinexpo 2003 ( Word-Format)

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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