While celebrating 64 years of independence, Israel is a country still in search for identity. On the one hand, there are great achievements in almost every aspect (infrastructure, agriculture, science and hi-tech), not a small task for a country which started almost from scratch, growing from less than half a million inhabitants on its date of foundation, to approximately 8 million today, mostly immigrants from entirely different backgrounds and orientations; on the other hand, a country constantly in turmoil, wars and terrorism threats from the outside, and quite an unstable political system from the inside.The situation of the Israeli wine scene is by no means different, though developing rapidly, the relatively young industry remains unsecure of its future goals. While modern wine production began in the 1850's, about 100 years before the foundation of the Jewish state (wine was of course produced in abundance in the Holy Land during ancient times), for more than a hundred years, the local wine industry concentrated almost entirely on plain Kiddush wines (mostly sweet) with sacramental interest only, and there was no wine culture to be found.The 1980's brought none less than a revolution to the Israeli wine industry, with the foundation of the then ultra-modern "Golan Heights Wineries", which shifted the whole industry including Israel's historic mega winery "Carmel", to search for quality before quantity. Modernization came to the veteran wineries, numerous boutique wineries where founded and also some very quality orientated medium sized ones, young wine makers who have completed their studies abroad entered the scene and a wine culture appeared, complete with tastings, wine education, fairs and competitions, magazines and later - specialized portals on the web.Although most wine produced today in Israel is Kosher, there is less and less "Mevushal" (boiled) wine to be found. "Mevushal" wine, produced mainly for the ultra-orthodox community, is brought during the production process to almost boiling temperatures for a very short period, definitely damaging the wine, especially the aging potential. This type of wine is however not to be confused with Kosher wine, which basically is a wine processed "regularly", though containing Kosher ingredients solely and with only Sabbath observing Jews participating in the production process, having of course no effect whatsoever on the wine's quality.Numerous Israeli Wines have to this day gained reputation as fine quality wines, competing on terms of winemaking with most "New World" styled wines, from the US, Australia, etc. Wines from a score of wineries have been awarded medals in important international competitions, and those and others have received top scores from practically all prominent wine critics. Noting the most interesting wineries, we can mention Carmel – still the largest, Golan Heights, Yatir of the Negev region, Castel, Margalit, Tzora, Clos de Gat, Chateau Golan, Galil (Galilee) Mountains, Tabor, Binyamina, Barkan, Tulip, and many more developing and mostly very small wineries.However, the Israeli wine scene is currently witnessing an identity crisis, struggling with quite a handful of problems and difficulties, the main ones being low values of wine consumption, high prices, insufficient infra-structure and governmental attention, problematic export figures due mainly to high pricing and Kosher Wine stigmas, no indigenous grape varieties, and very lacking wine laws. No doubt there is still much to be done, in order that Israel may become a serious, however small (only about 5,000 Hectares of wine grape vines, approx. 40 million bottles a year including grape juice and distilled grapes, according to 2010 data) contender on the international wine market.It is of common belief, that Israel's indigenous grape varieties had disappeared during the seven hundred years plus of Islamic conquest, when wine production was virtually stopped and most of the vines uprooted. However, some international Vinifera vines are said to have origins in this region, e.g. some believe the word "Chardonnay" comes from the Hebrew words "Sha'ar Adonay", meaning God's Gate and apparently mispronounced by the crusaders who imported the vine from the Holy Land to Europe.The first grapes planted in Israel in modern times were brought from France and until this day "French" varieties are by far the most planted, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Merlot and Syrah leading the dark grapes category, and French Colombard, Muscat of Alexandria, Emerald Riesling (a product of the Davis University breeding program), Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay - the most planted amongst the "white" varieties. Interesting work is being done lately with Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Malbec and Viognier. Dessert wines, especially from Gewurtztraminer grapes have been highly successful in the past few years. Nevertheless, an "Israeli" variety, even if imported, is yet to be designated.Israel is a hot and mostly arid country, except the mountainous regions in the Center and especially the North, which receive approx. 700 ml. of rainfall yearly, during a short 4 month rainy season, summer rains are an extreme rarity. Mean August temperatures may reach 26 degrees Celsius in the higher and therefore cooler vine planted regions, whilst mean January temperatures drop to approx. 8 degrees, altitude is therefore a central factor for wine grapes growing. Almost all vines are at least partially irrigated. The best viticultural areas are Galilee, Golan Heights and the Central (Judea and Jerusalem) Mountains, though the arid Negev desert is also showing serious potential.Israel lacks an official appellation system, although there is hardly any argument about the need for one. In fact, there is no supervision whatsoever with regards to grape region origins, and although many wineries have discovered the commercial virtues of stating the supposed region of origin on wine labels, labeling is almost entirely free of rules. Lately a few wine regions (Judea Mountains particularly) have been experimenting to set out joint growing and production rules, however without governmental intervention, these will be very hard to enforce. The touristic benefits of wine regions have been discovered in the past few years and some wine routes are now being developed, but only on a local basis. The official Israeli wine regions map is seriously outdated.Grave legal infrastructure problems serve as a barrier for development, e.g. wineries – not including boutique and garage ones - are not considered by law to be agricultural enterprises, and so are obliged to operate only in industrial areas and therefore not permitted in rural settlements. Vine planting is virtually unregulated and there are serious fears of over planting during the recent years, which may cause future wine surpluses. Although control on imported wine and on Israeli wine exports is strict, the actual control on Israeli wines meant for marketing in Israel is close to none, the Israeli Wine Institute is largely irrelevant with regards to wines not intended for export, in fact, only the large commercial wineries - who control the Wine Institute - submit their wines for analyzing and inspection on a regular basis. Needless to say, lack of official control is not necessarily treated as a problem by the wineries, especially the larger ones, so there is no direct motivation for change in this context.The main problem is sheer absence of governmental interest in the industry, for good or for bad, nonetheless funding. Yet another committee regarding the restructuring of the Israeli wine industry was appointed in 2011, however in Israel there is a saying that if you wish to bury a topic – appoint a committee to tackle it. The industry itself is also to blame for the current situation, due to hardly any cooperation and joint venturing between wineries and wine organizations, for marketing "Israeli Wines" as such. Wine consumption is yet another headache for the industry, for years not rising above the low values of approximately 4.5-6 liters of wine per year per capita (there is no official data).Nevertheless, certainly not all is bad and there is much room for optimism concerning the Israeli wine industry, especially if the industry finally decides to take itself more seriously. Many fine men and women are involved today in Israeli wine, young enthusiastic and professional winemakers are producing serious wines, the terroir has been proved excellent since biblical times, Israeli agriculture meets the highest possible standards, modern technology is apparent in vineyards and wineries, new varieties are being constantly experimented with, and the local consumers are becoming more and more quality minded, as wine culture develops. More than anything, the industry is in desperate need for more and stricter regulations, a competent regulatory board or entity, an official appellation system and a label integrity program. More cooperation from within is also much required, specifically - a joint effort to create a national and international image for Israeli wine. More innovation with regards to choosing suitable grape varieties is another must. Last but not least, prices must drop dramatically. In general, Israeli wine is indeed an intriguing quality wine, gradually but surely improving. Hopefully, the much needed changes to the industry shall be at least partly achieved in the near future, in order to prevent unwanted stagnation and maybe even regression, and so that international recognition is duly acquired.
