Top 100 sparkling wines of Galilee

Discover the top 100 best sparkling wines of Galilee as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the sparkling wines that are popular of Galilee and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Galilee

Galilee is an administrative and wine region in Northern Israel. Its name is perhaps most widely recognized in the context of Lake Galilee, via its associations with the Bible, but it is now steadily becoming known as a wine region. 'Water into wine' is not a New theme for the Galilee region as the story of the wedding at Cana, in which Jesus turns water into wine, is widely thought to have its origins here. The Galilee (Galil in Hebrew) is located in the northern most reach of the couunty, with Golan Heights to the east and the Coastal Plains to the west.

The region is (unofficially) subdivided into Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee and the Golan Heights, with the latter confidently emerging as one the most interesting New World regions of the Old World. Lower Galilee is by far the smallest in terms of area under Vine, with just a small viticultural district around Mount Tabor, the iron-rich terra rossa soil of which bears more than a passing resemblance to that of Coonawarra. The vineyards of Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights are considerably more widespread, scattered over almost every Part of Israel's northeast corner. Thus the soil profiles vary considerably, offering greater choice to contemporary vignerons seeking out their preferred terroirs.

Among the soil types in Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights are free-draining gravels, limestone based and mineral-rich volcanic basalt all of which are found throughout reputable wine producing areas of the world. The landscape throughout Galilee is characterized by rocky elevations of well over 450 meters (1,500ft), with the landscape peaking at Mount Meron (1,210m/4,000ft) in the far north of which creates undulating topography. The cool elevations and relatively high rainfall in this area (for what is essentially a semi-desert region) allows for Grapes to retain their Acidity and therefor wine that is atypically fresh and vibrant. Very few wine regions at 33 degrees latitude are capable of producing wine of this quality – those that do are, like Galilee, reliant on high altitude to compensate for their low latitude.

News from the vineyard of Galilee

Northern Rhône 2020: full report and top-scoring wines

Northern Rhône 2020 overall rating: 4.5/5 A reliably fresh, balanced and approachable vintage – a return to classicism after a series of powerful years. Excellent white wines. Northern Rhône 2020 red wine of the vintage: Domaine Rostaing, La Côte Brune, Côte-Rôtie  2020 Northern Rhône 2020 white wine of the vintage: Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage 2020 The main features of the year were drought, heat and a very early harvest. Thankfully there were heavy rains in October, November and December 2019 w ...

Australian wine exports fall as China tariffs bite  

Australian wine exports dropped by 19% to A$2.08bn in the year to 30 June, said trade body Wine Australia this week. While exports to some countries rose, notably the US, the group’s report for the 2021-22 financial year offered fresh insight into a slide in shipments to China. Mainland China imposed varying import tariffs ranging from 116% to more than 200% on Australian bottled wines from late 2020 onwards. Exports to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, dropped by 74% in the 12 months to 30 ...

Glenfiddich launches rare Time Re:Imagined whisky collection

Glenfiddich has released a range of three luxury single malts, themed around time. The Time Re:Imagined collection includes 30-year-old, 40-year-old and 50-year-old expressions, priced from £900 up to £35,000. The whiskies have been matured in Speyside. Each one is presented in packaging designed to interpret different concepts of time. ‘In whisky production, we often talk about the role of malt masters and it is our responsibility to find the delicate balance between the taste of the whisky and ...