browsing deer
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Most wine produced in the area these days are french and italian varieties. Anthropologists and botanists and folke who like wines are trying out grape varieties that are indigenous to the region to sample wine grown 2000 and 3000 years ago.
Some of the wines are pretty good, according to researchers.
Try the wine that King David and Jesus may have sipped
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For the first time ever, an Israeli vintner is making wine from a nearly extinct species of indigenous grapes used in biblical winemaking thousands of years ago.
Recanati Marawi wines mark a turning point in modern Israeli winemaking – which until now has used varieties of grapes transplanted in Israel from European wine regions such as Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
The new-old Israeli wine was introduced to the world in Italy at the recent international Expo Milano, during a tasting hosted by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) and the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
Where did these varieties disappear to? We hypothesized that our ancestors’ vines became neglected when Muslim regimes took over around the seventh century. Later on, the Mamluk rulers prohibited wine production and cut down all the vineyards. Thus, people started growing only table grapes,” says Drori. “Yet we believed that because of the strong resilience of the grapevine some would still be found in nature in the wild.”
Drori’s students Yaakov Henig, Hodaya Brauner and Oshrit Rahimi went around Israel collecting 480 wild grapevines. After sampling the leaves, extracting their DNA and analyzing them to find similarities to 3,000 varieties listed in American and European databases, the lab identified more than 150 unique Israeli varieties including around 60 unknown to local growers.
Over the course of two years, they produced whites and reds from these varieties in Ariel’s research winery. Chemical analysis and expert tastings revealed a few with great potential for high-level production, including Jandali and Marawi. Food historian Zohar Amar, associate professor in Land of Israel studies at Bar-Ilan University, confirmed that these varieties’ features matched those described in the ancient rabbinic literature.
“Marawi is a tasty grape to eat but it also makes a very good wine similar to Chenin Blanc,” says Drori. “A few winemakers tasted it and decided they want to produce white wines with it.”
Among those tasters was Ido Lewinsohn of Recanati. He tells ISRAEL21c that the winery contracted with a Palestinian grower near Bethlehem to grow the grapes for 2,480 bottles of Recanati Marawi 2014, commercially available in restaurants only. The 2015 vintage, now aging in barrels for release next year, may be retailed if the quantity is sufficient.
"
Some of the wines are pretty good, according to researchers.
Try the wine that King David and Jesus may have sipped
"
For the first time ever, an Israeli vintner is making wine from a nearly extinct species of indigenous grapes used in biblical winemaking thousands of years ago.
Recanati Marawi wines mark a turning point in modern Israeli winemaking – which until now has used varieties of grapes transplanted in Israel from European wine regions such as Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
The new-old Israeli wine was introduced to the world in Italy at the recent international Expo Milano, during a tasting hosted by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) and the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
Where did these varieties disappear to? We hypothesized that our ancestors’ vines became neglected when Muslim regimes took over around the seventh century. Later on, the Mamluk rulers prohibited wine production and cut down all the vineyards. Thus, people started growing only table grapes,” says Drori. “Yet we believed that because of the strong resilience of the grapevine some would still be found in nature in the wild.”
Drori’s students Yaakov Henig, Hodaya Brauner and Oshrit Rahimi went around Israel collecting 480 wild grapevines. After sampling the leaves, extracting their DNA and analyzing them to find similarities to 3,000 varieties listed in American and European databases, the lab identified more than 150 unique Israeli varieties including around 60 unknown to local growers.
Over the course of two years, they produced whites and reds from these varieties in Ariel’s research winery. Chemical analysis and expert tastings revealed a few with great potential for high-level production, including Jandali and Marawi. Food historian Zohar Amar, associate professor in Land of Israel studies at Bar-Ilan University, confirmed that these varieties’ features matched those described in the ancient rabbinic literature.
“Marawi is a tasty grape to eat but it also makes a very good wine similar to Chenin Blanc,” says Drori. “A few winemakers tasted it and decided they want to produce white wines with it.”
Among those tasters was Ido Lewinsohn of Recanati. He tells ISRAEL21c that the winery contracted with a Palestinian grower near Bethlehem to grow the grapes for 2,480 bottles of Recanati Marawi 2014, commercially available in restaurants only. The 2015 vintage, now aging in barrels for release next year, may be retailed if the quantity is sufficient.
"
