Carmel Winery, Galilee (Israel) Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

 The 2020 Cabernet is an inviting purple-red color.  Its aroma offers ripe berries, and the palate has suggestions of toasted oak, gentle hints of vanilla, easy-going tannins and a medium-to-light body.  Like all Carmel wines it is kosher.  While Israel has been producing wine since biblical times the road forward has not always been easy.  Around the year 1300, wine production was virtually extinguished during Islamic rule.  In the 20th century, Israel’s wine production collapsed again when the US embraced Prohibition, and virtually all alcoholic consumption was shut down in Egypt (which had been an important wine consuming country).  The modern era of Israeli winemaking began in the late 19th century with help from Bordeaux’s Rothschild family.  The Carmel Winery, which was founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, now has 3,472 acres of vineyards.  Carmel’s chief winemaker, Yiftah Prets, graduated from Italy’s prestigious Viticultura de Enologia.  Most grapes grown in Israel today are made from native French varieties.  Carmel is the country’s largest winery, producing nearly half of the Israeli wine market.