Tel Aviv Celebrates 100 Years 

 16.04.2009 

Tel Aviv is this year commemorating 100 years since its founding. It is today the gastronomic center of Israel and is arguably the wine center of Israel too. If the wine consumption in Israel is, at most, 4 liters per head, then in the Tel Aviv area, it is likely to be more than double that paltry figure.
The finest restaurants and grandest hotels, restaurants with the best wine lists, the largest wine shops and the largest variety of Israeli and imported wines are all available in Tel Aviv. The most important wine exhibitions, competitions, tastings, wine courses are also held in the city that never sleeps. However it was not always that way. For a city so steeped in wine culture today, it is hard to find roots, but they do exist.

Montefiore Grove
The first land bought in what was to become Tel Aviv was an orchard bought by Moses Montefiore in 1855, not far from where the Azrielli Towers now stand. It was the beginnings of Israel’s famed citrus industry, which peaked when the Jaffa orange became a world famous brand. It was notable for the fact that Montefiore insisted on Jewish workers, trying to encourage Jews to work the land. The concept of Jewish agriculture, planting vines and olive trees, was then a new concept. Soon it would become part of the first Jewish city.

Vino Cigar is a quality wine shop in the Azrielli Shopping Center. It is possible to sit there, sipping a glass of wine, smoking a quality cigar and sampling some local cheeses whilst contemplating the first Jewish agriculture in the adjacent Montefiore Quarter. In itself the orchard was not a success, being before its time, but it was a forerunner of what was to come: Jewish owned land with Jewish workers.

Sarona Winery
The first winery within the Tel Aviv area was the one set up by the Templars, a Christian society that immigrated to Palestine from Germany. They set up a community called Sarona in 1871. In the late 1880’s they turned to viticulture, set up a winery using simple German varieties, such as Sylvaner, and they sold the resulting wine to the Christian community and exported some of it to Germany as ‘Wine from the Holy Land.’

Two Israeli companies had some involvement with Sarona. The Segal brothers, who later opened a winery called Askalon Wines, operated a distillery there producing Schnapps, Vodka and Arak. The Segal family winery is today owned by Barkan, and operates out of their winery at Hulda.

Also Efrat, owned by the Teperberg family, was distributor of spirits and liqueurs produced there, specializing in the Christian market. The Efrat company became a commercial winery after the founding of the State of Israel. It is now called Teperberg 1870 and their new winery is situated at Tzora.

Today Sarona still exists. An oasis of green amidst the bustle of modern Tel Aviv. It is sandwiched in between the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, the Kyria and the Azrielli Towers. It backs onto Rehov Ha’arba, a street containing some of Israel’s finest restaurants such as Messa, Onami and Tapeo. There in the center of Tel Aviv, it is still possible to see remains of a winery, olive press and wine cellar .

Mikve-Israel
The other winery near Tel Aviv was situated at the Mikve-Israel Agricultural School founded by Karl Netter. It was founded in 1870 and was significant in two ways. It was the first winery to use European varieties. Cuttings from their vineyards, amongst them Carignan, were the first to be used by the Rishon Le Zion and Zichron Ya’acov wine growers. Furthermore, many of the first generation of wine growers learnt their trade at Mikve-Israel, before becoming part of the wine growers co-operative and a supplier to Carmel Mizrahi (aka Carmel Oriental).

Mikve-Israel may be visited today, in between Tel Aviv and Holon. Their winery building still stands and it is well worth a visit, because here lies the roots of the new wine industry which came to fruition at Rishon Le Zion and Zichron Ya’acov Wine Cellars, founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild.

Meir Dizengoff
The main link between Baron Edmond de Rothschild and Tel Aviv was Meir Dizengoff. He was the first Mayor of Tel Aviv, but previously as a young man had been a loyal worker of the Baron. In fact he was the manager of the Glassworks Factory that the Baron wanted to open at Tantura on the coast near Zichron Ya’acov. The idea was doomed because though was an adequate amount of sand, it was not suitable for producing quality glass.

Today what remains in Tel Aviv of these two important figures is the Rothschild Boulevard and Dizengoff Street, two of the most characterful streets in the center of modern Tel Aviv. The two provide a link between early Tel Aviv and the rebirth of Israeli wine.

Haaretz Museum
Baron Edmond de Rothschild’s work as ‘father of the yishuv’ was fraught with disputes and disagreements between the Baron’s administrators and the settlers. However when he visited Israel for the last time in 1925 he travelled through Tel Aviv like a king and was received with genuine warmth. The people of Israel were at last able to show their appreciation and the Baron was finally able to take satisfaction looking back at his immense achievements. His life’s work and story is commemorated at the Haaretz Museum, where there is a fascinating exhibition explaining the life and times of Baron Edmond de Rothschild.

For those wishing to find a link between modern Tel Aviv and Israel’s long history of winemaking, it is recommended to look out for the variety of old presses in the grounds of the museum. These show winemaking techniques at different stages of Ancient Israel’s history.

Tel Aviv Hilton
In the first 60 years of Tel Aviv the main wine drunk was sweet, made from grapes such as Alicante, Grenache or Carignan. In the 1960’s the largest selling wines were Carmel Hock and Adom Atik. However Hock was often drunk as a spritzer with equal amounts of wine and soda water. In the 1970’s Carmel Grenache Rose was the preferred wine and in the 1980’s it was taken over by Carmel’s Selected Emerald Riesling. Today the largest selling brands are red wines like Yarden Mount Hermon Red, Carmel Selected Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. How tastes have changed.

The wine loving inhabitants of Tel Aviv were first exposed to wines of real quality with the launch in the early 1980’s of Carmel’s legendary Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserves of 1976 and 1979. However the real revolution came with the founding of the Golan Heights Winery in 1983. In a masterful marketing ploy, their wines were priced up and initially marketed only in the two places seen as the representing the ultimate in terms of quality at the time: the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel. Tel Avivians interested in the new quality of Israeli wines had to visit the Hilton’s Grill Room to enjoy Yarden & Gamla wines for the first time. The scarcity, and success overseas, helped fuel a new interest in quality wines. Today the connoisseur has a host of boutique wineries to choose from. The quality is now far more available and widespread.

The Hilton, on Hayarkon Street, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, remains the number one quality hotel in Tel Aviv, though the David InterContinental, Dan Tel Aviv and Sheraton Tel Aviv are not far behind. They each list an excellent range of Israel’s finest kosher wines and offer some of the best kosher cuisine in the city. However it was at the Hilton where the quality wine revolution from a consumer point of view was born.

Derech Ha’Yayin
The retail revolution of wine began with the formation of Derech Ha’yayin (The Wine Route) in 1993. This was Israel’s first international style wine store with smart wooden shelving, stocking the finest Israeli kosher or non kosher wines and imports from all over the world. It was the perfect encapsulation of the new maturity of the Israeli wine industry. In the downstairs cellar, they operated Israel’s first Wine School.

Today Derech Ha’Yayin remains the outstanding wine shop in Tel Aviv and it has become a successful chain. Situated at 90, Hashomonaim Street, it is worth a pilgrimage for wine lovers, whether to buy or browse. It is especially worthwhile to visit the cellar which today is a treasure trove of some of the world’s most expensive wines, imported for collectors.

Just over the road lies the main wine store of Hinawi known as ‘Wine & More’. Situated on Carlebach Street, it comprises a butcher, has a selection of imported cheeses and offers wine, beer & spirits from all over the world. It is situated near The Wine & Grapes Board, which is also on Carlebach Street. Visit Derech Ha‎’yayin and Hinawi and the wine buyer will see the best of what is available in Israel.

Tapuach Zahav & Keren Restaurant
As far as restaurants are concerned, the first quality operation was the King Solomon Grill Room at the Hilton followed by the Casbah Restaurant. However the wine revolution in Israel really kicked in from the 1990’s onwards. This was the same time as the culinary revolution. Restaurants like Tapuach Zahav with celebrity chef Israel Aharoni and Keren with Chef Haim Cohen, brought international standards of cuisine to Tel Aviv for the first time. They were the first restaurants to make international style wine lists and to appoint sommelier/wine waiters. Sadly neither restaurant is in existence today, but they set a new level of attention to wine and wine service in the local restaurant scene.

The finest restaurant wine list today belongs to Mul Yam, situated in the Tel Aviv Port. They have imported wines and a selected of aged Israeli wines unmatched by any other restaurants. Also worth visiting just for the wine are Messa, which has a serious wine program and Carmela b’Nahala, the first leading Israeli restaurant to insist on having a wine list of only Israeli wines. Other restaurants providing the finest quality with high quality wine service are Meir Adoni’s Catit, Rafi Cohen’s Raphael and Yonatan Roshfeld’s Herbert Samuel. The best wine bar is Yo’ezer Bar near the clock tower in Jaffa, where Shaul Evron holds court.

For those needing to eat kosher, the finest restaurants in Tel Aviv today are Lilith (meat) or Deca (diary). Rivals include the Olive Leaf in the Sheraton, Meatos and Bruno. There are many more quality kosher restaurants than there used to be and as many of the finest Israeli wines are also kosher, many of them have excellent wine lists too.

Competitions & Exhibitions
As far as being a center for wine, Tel Aviv hosts Israel’s first major wine tasting competition called Eshkol Hazahav (Golden Cluster). Held annually just before Pesach with a Gala Dinner and presentations at David InterContinental Hotel, it is attended by the cream of Israel’s wine industry. It is organized by Avi Ben Ami, himself one of Israel’s first and most famous sommeliers.

Israel’s main wine exhibition is IsraWinExpo held at the Tel Aviv Convention Center every two years. This is usually an opportunity for the world’s wine press to visit and taste Israeli wine. Israel’s main trade exhibition called Sommelier is an annual event. It takes place in the Mann Auditorium and is also organized by Avi Ben Ami.

For wine courses and regular tastings, the most popular venue is ‘Ish Anavim-The Grape Man’ run by Haim Gan in Jaffa. Their auction house named ‘Claret’, also hold Israel’s main auction of fine wines in Tel Aviv.

Wineries to Visit
Tel Aviv is a place to eat well and drink good Israeli wine, but it is not a place to visit wineries. To visit wineries and vineyards, it is better to travel to Zichron Ya’acov, the Judean Wine Route or even to the Galilee and Golan. There are however three small boutique wineries in the outskirts of Tel Aviv. These are:
Yaffo Winery (tel 03 6474834), situated in Ramat Hahayal and owned by Moshe and Anne Celniker. Benhaim Winery (tel 03 6762656), situated at Kfar Azar and run by Elie and Ruth Benhaim. Their wines are kosher. Chillag Winery (054 456 2057) owned and run by Orna Chillag, Israel’s most prominent women winemaker. It is situated at Yehud.

So visitors to Tel Aviv are recommended to visit Sarona, Mikve-Israel and Haaretz Museum for a taste of history. It is worth checking what tastings are being held at Ish Anavim or if there is a wine exhibition taking place. For a more contemporary taste they are simply advised to eat in local restaurants, visit the wine stores.
There is no better place than to sample the results of the quality wine revolution than with a glass in hand on the streets and beaches of Tel Aviv, which in recent years has become a throbbing center of Israeli wine culture.