Israeli Wine Tasting with Golan Heights Winery

Meet Bill Mendel, a representative of Golan Heights Winery for a special tasting.

Israel, part of the Cradle of Civilization, started in the wine business more than 2000 years before the Greeks and Romans took the vine to Europe. They never became the epicenter of wine, but in the last 40 years the wineries have been revived. Now their long history of winemaking is finally matched by the high quality of its wines. Golan Heights has three labels, which we’ll explore.

Yarden: each year the finest grapes from the best vineyards are reserved for 
Yarden wines. Yarden is the Hebrew for Jordan River, which bisects the 

Golan Heights from the Galilee. The label features a symbol of ancient Israel: an oil lamp decorated with mosaic tile. 

Gamla: quality aged varietal wines which are fruit forward and expressive. They are produced with the same care and attention to quality as Yarden wines. "Gamla" is the name of an ancient Israeli town on the Golan, which withstood the conquering Romans for a number of years. Recent excavations represented by the coin on the label, tell an exciting and heroic story. 

Golan: representing affordable, young, quality wines providing excellent value for money. The painting on the label is an artist's impression of the Golan Heights in the spring.