While the Israeli heat tends to push red wines to the winter months in favor of light whites and rosés, Feldstein Boutique Winery is undertaking an ambitious move that seeks to change the rules of the game. The winery is launching the “Summer Reds” series for 2025 – a collection of red wines offering a refreshing drinking experience adapted to the Israeli climate, without compromising the depth and complexity characteristic of quality red wine.
In confronting the challenges of global warming and Israel’s hot climate, Avi Feldstein, one of Israel’s leading winemakers, offers an innovative approach: “We can see that the past decade, marked by global warming, has seen a rise in consumption of white and rosé wines and a search for a refreshing and fitting drinking experience,” explains Feldstein. “I cannot help but leave a mark on the world of red wines as well. At first came a wave of redefining familiar reds as candidates for being placed in an ice bucket. Pinot, Tempranillo, or Poulsard wines, Portuguese varieties, found themselves served adorned with cold droplets. But the next stage was inevitable – the understanding that if white invades winter, red must penetrate summer.”
The new series includes four red wines and one white wine, each with unique characteristics reflecting the winery’s philosophy: wines that are “sculpted rather than muscular, acidic without fear, like whites when they are not light in the weak sense of the word but rather drinkable, refreshing, and energetic,” as Feldstein puts it.
Argaman 2022: A True Local Expression
Feldstein’s Argaman, produced since 2006, expresses a deep connection to the Israeli identity of wine. The variety, an Israeli hybrid, comes from old vineyards in regions such as Nahal Toth, Shfeya, and the Judean slopes, and undergoes a unique process that includes drying half of the grapes under controlled conditions, similar to the Italian Amarone tradition. The aging process includes 18 months in clay amphorae, concrete tanks, and old Portuguese barrels, preserving its lively and balanced character. The result is a medium-light-bodied wine with aromas of raspberry, cherry, espresso, and spices, combining depth and freshness. Its recommended retail price is NIS 110.
Shemesh 2022: The Red That Brightens the Summer
Shemesh is a GSA blend, with Argaman replacing Mourvèdre, produced using restrained traditional extraction and whole-cluster fermentation, and aged in concrete tanks and clay amphorae. This wine is described as “floral with orchard and spice aromas, ripe yet fresh blueberry-like fruit and a slim, sculpted, and acidic body.” Its recommended retail price is NIS 130.
Red Grenache 2022: Tradition Meets Innovation
Feldstein’s Grenache draws inspiration from global tradition but is precisely adapted to the local climate. The grapes are grown in the Peki’in vineyard on limestone and terra rossa slopes and undergo a double fermentation process – part traditionally with two yeast strains and part with whole clusters. The wine is aged for 14 months in old Burgundy barrels to preserve the varietal character. The result is a balanced, easy-to-drink, and complex wine with aromas of strawberry, raspberry, and blossoms, alongside touches of Mediterranean spices. Its recommended retail price is NIS 130.
Gilgamesh 2021: Epic and Name
A wine named after the hero of the ancient Assyrian epic, based on six local and Mediterranean varieties, from five vineyards across three different regions: Eastern and Western Galilee, the Judean lowlands, and Shfeya. The production process is diverse and includes long fermentations, separate skin macerations, whole-cluster fermentations, and traditional aging in barrels alongside aging in concrete tanks. The result is a wine that reflects “the aspiration for locality, while maintaining a balance between modern style and local wine heritage.” Its recommended retail price is NIS 125.
Semillon 2022: Minerality and Depth
Alongside the red wines, the winery is also launching a white wine – Semillon 2022, offering a mineral and precise expression of the Bordeaux variety. The grapes come from the Elkosh vineyard in the Upper Galilee and undergo fermentation in soft Burgundy barrels and aging on full lees for a year. The result is “a firm and simultaneously delicate wine, with subtle citrus fruit notes interwoven with stone aromas, also pursuing reductive notes – the kind that arise only through fermentation in wood.” Its recommended retail price is NIS 125.
