I absolutely had to visit at least one vineyard while I was in Israel, to understand what Israeli wine was all about. As it happened I landed up at Domaine du Castel, rated as one of the top three in the country.

It�s Kosher wine for you!

Castel is a small winery in the Judean Hills, ten miles west of Jerusalem. It lies on deep green hillsides, 700 meters above sea level in a town called Ramat Ramziel. A leading Israeli boutique winery, Castel produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and a few other varietals, such as Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

I learn that the wines here are so popular they are exported to many corners of the globe and have even received a high recommendation from The Head of Wine Department of Sotheby�s.

No cutting corners, Castel uses the best of equipment.

Eli G. Ben Zaken, who started Castel in 1992, tells me the full story of how Castel wines grew to be so popular. �It all started when in 1988, prompted by intuition, I planted a small vineyard on a hilltop beside my home. It was a hobby, I was curious to know why Israeli wines were not of good quality. I got so involved that by 1992 we were crushing our first Cabernet and Merlot. We aged the wine for 24 months in new French oak barrels and by the spring of 1995 it was bottled. Everything had been done to the highest standards and even the corks were the best that money could buy. I don�t like to cut corners in any way, I am a perfectionist. Either I make it or break it. I made it, I found my market. Let�s say my hobby succeeded very well. We chose the name �Castel� after a Crusader fortress which is in the vicinity.�

Wine tasting.

Eli G�s real break came when a friend took a bottle of Castel to a wine critique of Sotheby, London. The response was a terrific one. �It is quite unlike other Israeli wines and does not have any of those �cooked� and �herbaceous� flavours that are prevalent in Israeli reds. This wine is a real tour de force, brilliantly made and very classic.� It was this response really, that took Eli G�s business soaring. More vineyards were planted, a winery was built and cellars excavated in the rock.

There are a lot of factors that go into making the Domaine Du Castel wines what they are. Eli G. explains: �Some of our wineries are on the slopes of deep valleys facing northwest, enjoying an excellent summer breeze and shorter hours of sunshine, which is very good for slow maturation. Furthermore, our hills are the first high hills facing the sea, which means more than average precipitation in winter (usually over 650mm) and rain as late as the beginning of May. In summer too the average daily temperatures are much lower than is customary and we have a prevailing northwesterly breeze even on the hottest days. The days are very dry (35% average relative humidity) which is excellent for mould prevention. Also the temperature difference between day and night averages 10 degrees centigrade and can be as low as 16 degrees centigrade during the months of ripening. This is very good for acidity and phenolic maturation,� he tells me.

Want to taste my wine? Get it off the painting!

Well, that was quite a mouthful! And what can I say, I am no expert, but I did taste the fine wines of Domaine du Castel and loved them. They were delicate and silky, deep with layers of fruit, well balanced and with a lingering after taste which makes them a true complement to good cuisine. Like Eli says, the world is surprised at his wine coming as it does from such a hard country.

It does seem that the wine industry is pretty much etched on the Israeli landscape. Israel is booming with good wines that also come from many new, small, quality minded wineries such as: Tishbi, Dalton, Tsora, Meron, Bustan, Kfira, Meishar, Sorek, Mirage, Gustavo & Jo.

The stage is certainly set for a fine wine future and the world holds great expectations from Israel. Cheers to that!