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On, July 18th Esther and Sherry, both knowledgeable in wine from around the World, enjoyed a beautiful day at 3 Jerusalem Wineries.  We first tasted the wines of Tzora Winery. Shula, the manager of the Visitors Center, explained the different regions where they grow their grapes, and how each label represents the taste of that region.
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Next we visited Flam Winery where Israel Flam, an expert winemaker took us on a personal tour of the facilities, including their oak barrel room. We then tasted their variety of wines, from the Classico, which is simple and enjoyable to the Reserve Merlot and Cabernet, which are full-bodied, flavorful, and balanced.  

On our way back to Jerusalem we stopped at Abu Gosh and ate delicious hummus, salad, pita, chicken shlishik and a rice/lamb dish at the Caravan Restaurant.
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Our final destination was Castel Winery. As per a request from Esther, since she loves Castel wines and buys them frequently in New York, we had a private tour with Ruti, the manager of Castel, and enjoyed a matching cheese and wine tasting
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On Sunday, July 11th, Allen, his wife and their friends, enjoyed their wine experience in Zichron Yaakov.  Our first winery was Tishbi Winery, where they had a private tour and tasting with me and met Golan and Jonathan Tishbi. They also had a tasting of the wine jams by Oshra Tishbi and loved her Mango Chardonnay jam. 

We walked around Ramat HaNadiv and they were all taken away with the beautifully organized Botanical Gardens.  
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We then traveled into Zichron Yaakov, to the house of Barak Dahan, the owner and winemaker of Somek Winery. They loved his dry-oaked, French traditional wines and the quaint atmosphere of Barak's home that has been in his family for 5 generations. 

At this point we were all very hungry and enjoyed Pizza at Café Nili on the Midrachov
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As you can see from this picture, at the last winery, Amphorae Vineyards, Allen's group was spoiled by Reba with a wide selection of reds, including their newly released Unica label.  

They all enjoyed themselves immensely and had a nice nap on the ride back to Tel Aviv.
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On Friday, July 9th, twenty-two young adults from the Tel Aviv area had a blast on a day wine tour to Zichron Yaakov wineries.  We first visited Tishbi Winery where I took them on a personal tour of the facilities, which included the oak barrel room and brandy distillery room.  They loved all the wines they tasted and even got to fill up their empty wine bottles with the Tishbi wine-on-tap Cabernet Petit Syrah.  

A few people in the group even bought the 2-liter jug of wine-on-tap!

Even though it was very hot and they just drank a lot of wine, we took a nice stroll around Ramat HaNadiv, Rothschild's Botanical Gardens, and smelled the variety of herbs in the fragrance garden.
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We then toured Somek Winery with winemaker and owner, Barak Dahan, a fifth generation Sabra who makes his wine with all his heart and passion. Everyone loved his oaked dry-red and white wines and Port-style wine.  We also had fun playing with his 2 dogs, puppy and Gusha. 

After a hot day and drinking, everyone enjoyed a lunch on the Midrachov in Zichron Yaakov.  The trip was enjoyed by all and by the end of the day, everyone made a new friend.
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On Thursday, July 1st, Jonathan and Adena from Ohio, experienced a wine tour in the Upper Galilee.  We started the tour at the Galil Mountain Winery where they received an hour tour of the facilities and got an explanation of the wine making process. They tasted the Viognier, Barbera and Yiron, which they enjoyed all of them
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We then visited Adir Winery where they got a bit tipsy on all 9 tastings of Adir Wines. They loved all their wines and were pleasantly surprised by the high-quality of wines coming from Israel.
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Rimon Winery is the only winery in the world that produces wine from pomegranates, so they really were interested in the process and health benefits of  pomegranate wine. 

We then enjoyed a kibbutz style lunch in Rosh Pina.  By the end of the day, both Jonny and Adena fell in love with the wines from the Upper Galilee.
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On Wednesday, June 30th, Ruth and Lenny from New York, experienced a wine tour in the Jerusalem Hills Region. We traveled to Ella Valley Winery and Flam Winery.  At Flam Winery they loved the private tour and tasting with Israel Flam, a winemaker in Israel for over 40 years.  Lenny had a connection to the Flam family in New York so maybe they are connected through the network of Flams in Israel and America.

After drinking a lot of wine, we were ready to eat in Abu Gosh where we enjoyed their delicious hummas, pita, and kabobs
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On Tuesday June 29th, four wine lovers from Los Angeles and Phoenix traveled to Zichron Yaakov to explore the wines of the Mediterranean climate.  We visited Tishbi Winery and enjoyed a sit down tasting with the winemaker, Golan Tishbi. He served us his not-ye-released Sde Bokar Special Reserve which is a blend of 5 Bordeaux grapes.  

Even though it was approximately 105 degree out, we still took a nice stroll around Ramat HaNadiv and smelled the lovely rose garden and herbs.
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They all enjoyed an intimate tasting with Barak Dahan, the owner and winemaker of Somek Winery, in his backyard.   

We then traveled to Carmel Winery to meet Valerie Hecht, the manager of the Wine and Culture Center. She showed us the accounting books from the time of 1893 where all the records are kept in French and even the Baksheesh is recorded. 

After a lot of wine drinking and education about Rothschild's influence on the wine industry and society in Israel, we enjoyed a nice lunch at HaNishika along the Midrachov in Zichron Yaakov.
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