The weather in Israel around Chanukah time can be hit or miss. Some years, it is rainy - with temperatures varying anywhere from 15 to 20 C or even as high as 24. Some years, you can simply have a streak of beautiful days - 20-25C and sunny.
This was one of those warm, sunny years. So with the beautiful weather - and my Dad visiting - our family set out to see some of Israel's fine wineries.
Our first stop was the Adir Winery. This is a family run boutique winery which produces some delicious wines. It is situated in northern Israel in the upper Galilee - not too far from Kiryat Shmona - off route 886. Established in 2003 - the winery uses grapes from vines that were first planted in the 1980s and 1990s. We were able to taste a number of Cabernets - from 2008, 2007 and 2005. We also tasted Shiraz, Merlot and one white wine. The wines were exquisite and we wound up buying our share to take with us.
The fun thing about the Visitor Centre at the Adir Winery is that it is a joint project with the Adir dairy farm - a goat dairy farm. Adir raises hundreds of dairy goats and produces a variety of cheeses, yogurts, ice creams and other dairy products. This makes for a fine combination when enjoying the wines. Kids can enjoy the dairy side of the visitor centre. Non-drinkers can get a coffee / cappuccino- or a yogurt while the others are sampling the wines.
Adir has been increasing its production though it is still relatively local and not yet widely distributed outside of Israel. http://www.adir-winery.co.il
From Adir - we drove over to Dalton Winery - which was very close by and stopped at the visitor centre. Dalton is a much larger winery with a wider selection and range of wines. Some of Dalton's wines - like the "Canaan" lines - in white and red - are easy drinking blends. But Dalton also has some much more complex, aged Cabernets - that you can taste in the visitor centre. The staff are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We worked our way up to some of the finer wines that Dalton stocks at the centre - and some of these complex wines were irresistable- such as the Cabernet - Meron - Single Vineyard. So we added some Dalton to our collection...Dalton is more widely available - sold in the U.S. and Canada as well as various parts of Israel. Dalton was established in 1995 and now produces more than 800,000 bottles of wine a year.
www.dalton-winery.com.
Both Dalton and Adir wineries produce kosher wines.
Two wineries were enough for this trip - though I could easily spend weeks visiting the various up and coming wineries that have been sprouting up in many parts of Israel. The quality of Israeli wine has been steadily increasing - as has the appreciation in Israel for these products.
While in the north - we were also able to try another exciting activity. We travelled to the Hula Nature Reserve - which is just south of Kiryat Shmona in the upper galilee. The Nature Reserve is a huge park - which includes an enormous bird sanctuary. Many different birds stop here in the course of their migratory routes. Some decide to stay though most are "passing through." We were able to see thousands of cranes - as well as many other kinds of birds.
To travel through the park - you can rent a 3 or 6 person bicycle, a golf cart - or you can use you own bike. We used two different 3-person bikes. So we were able to get some exercise, enjoy some nice weather and also pedal through the park enjoying the views. (Make sure to take your binoculars or rent a pair from the visitor centre). The best time to come is apparently early spring - particularly March or April - or early Fall - late September/early October - as these times are when you find the largest collection of birds.
December was also quite nice. In case you are wondering - we did not tour the wineries and the nature reserve - on the same day... That would not have been a good scene - given the number of wines we were able to taste. For more information about the park - http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~355534781.
These three things are a very small sample of the activities in the Upper Galilee. We'll canvas some more shortly.