Carmel Winery Carmel Ridge Red, Shomron 2010
A dry red wine made mainly from Carignan, with a little Shiraz, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon, all grown in vineyards in the valleys surrounding Zichron Ya'acov. Bright red color, with an aroma of cherries and plums, a little vanilla in the background, and a satisfyingly long finish. Goes well with meat dishes, pasta, or baked salmon.
Carmel Winery is a historic winery in Israel. It was founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Lafite in France, and has the two largest wineries in Israel: at Rishon Le Zion (south of Tel Aviv) and at Zichron Ya'acov (south of Haifa). Each winery has deep underground cellars built by Rothschild in the 19th century. Carmel Winery also has two small, state-of-the-art wineries close to key vineyards to allow production of small quantities of handcrafted wines: Kayoumi Winery (Upper Galilee) and Yatir Winery (northeastern Negev). Its 3,472 acres of vineyards cover the land of Israel from the cool climate of the Upper Galilee in the north to the Negev in the south, giving its winemakers an extensive choice of vineyards from all the wine regions in Israel. Carmel Winery represents the story of Israel and symbolizes the revolution of Israeli wine—Baron Edmond de Rothschild is not only its founder, but the founder of Israeli wine as well.