Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all Israeli wines are kosher, many are but many are not. Once upon a time Israeli wine relied on lesser quality grape varieties such as Carignan and Colombard. Happily those days are over. Actually, I’m told that some of the old Carignan fields have been nurtured to produce high-quality wines. In any case, the wine reviewed below is based on the Cabernet Sauvignon grape that stars in Bordeaux France, California, and increasingly elsewhere including Israel. This bottle comes from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, said to be the country’s region best region for winemaking.

This wine is not only Kosher, it is Mevushal (flash-pasteurized) which essentially means it retains its Kosher quality no matter who serves it. Once upon a time Mevushal was synonymous with tasteless, the process essentially boiled the guts out of the wine. This is clearly no longer the case. Let’s give it a try.

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Wine Reviewed
Dalton Safsufa Cabernet Sauvignon K/P 2007 13.5% Alcohol About $ 19.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials.
Tasting Note: Medium garnet with ruby color; big nose of black current, plum and spice with earthy notes; dry, medium to full bodied, with ripe black fruit and vanilla flavores and a lingering finish. Serving Suggestion: Roast beef, grilled lamb or chicken. And now for my review.

The first sips were mouth filling. The wine was long and rich. The initial food pairing involved a commercially barbecued chicken accompanied by potatoes roasted in chicken fat. The plum taste was dominant but not unpleasant and I also tasted tobacco. This Cab showed a fine balance of fruit, acidity, and light tannins. It was palate cleansing, especially for the greasy roasted potatoes. If I had to look for something negative I suppose that it could have been more subtle.

Then I went with a slow-cooked beef stew with potatoes. Once again the wine was mouth filling. I was tasting dark fruit and dreaming of Bordeaux. Actually I was tasting dark fruit and chocolate with a lot of extract. I added some green jalapeno sauce that didn’t seem to make a difference except to intensify the chocolate.

The final meal centered around packaged meatless baked Ziti Siciliano with eggplant that I generously doused with grated Parmesan cheese. The Cabernet was chewy and refreshing but a bit flat at first. It became better later.

I finished with the cheese pairings. With a Provolone the wine was quite present, powerful, and long but it didn’t really mesh with the cheese. Translation, this wine was too good for this cheese. Then I went to a skim milk Mozzarella cheese. The wine showed good balance and length with a nice touch of oak. To inject a personal note, I wouldn’t waste a $ 20 bottle of wine on a low-market cheese.

Final verdict I would buy this wine again but definitely pay attention to the food pairings. This wine seems to go better with higher quality food. I won’t say that’s a bad sign.

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