Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000, Although this wine is $5 over my usual $15 mark, having been to Israel and spent some time on the winery and in the Golan Heights area, I felt compelled to buy it. I remember the first time I drank a Yarden wine, some friends and I had spent the day canoeing, and later on swimming in the Jordan River. As we went more up-stream, we found a place where you could jump from about 40 feet into the water. Of course, none of us were sure of how deep the water was or what exactly our medical aid policies covered, so we resisted the impulse and decided to have a picnic. One of the German girls had brought along two bottles of Yarden Sauvignon Blanc, which we proceeded to drink. Though I don’t remember that wine specifically, I do know that as we drank it, the 40 foot drop into the water seemed far less intimidating. Soon after lunch we spent the whole day jumping into the water, some of us going as far as doing backflips and somersaults.

The following month, we were inspired to take a trip to the winery. The soil and climate reminded me very much of parts of Paarl and Stellenbosch, which meant their red wines must have been their best wine with the hard clay-rich soils and relentless day time sunshine.

I think Israeli wines suffer from being labeled kosher wines. They should be Israeli first and kosher second. Wine to me is the ability to taste the essence of a country in its produce, drinking wine allows one the opportunity to travel the world in a glass without the price of a plane ticket.

The 2000 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon is rich in black cherry and dark fruit notes. It has a wonderful silk texture with subtle hints of cocoa and anisette, bowing out with a graceful and elegant finish.

It’s amazing how sometimes the regions we don’t expect to produce wine can surprise us and show up the inefficiency of our pre-conceptions.

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