Tabor Chardonnay

This Shabbat of the Summer Solstice, we are featuring a lovely Chardonnay from the Tabor Winery. Occurring between June 20-22, the solstice marks the longest period of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, so more time for drinking delicious wine!

Chardonnay is considered the most versatile grape as it does well in both warm and cool climates. The taste is different, pending on where it is grown, but typically is considered a medium to full bodied wine, with moderate acidity, and flavors ranging from apple and lemon, to tropical fruits like papaya and pineapple. If oaked, the flavor is enhanced with hints of vanilla, and if malolactic fermentation is introduced, will have butter tones. Much creativity is left to the winemaker with Chardonnay which is what makes them so interesting and varied. 

This Chardonnay from Tabor, the one in the yellow bottle, was fermented and stored in stainless steel, leaving it a crisp and bright wine. The grapes were harvested from vineyards in the Lower Galilee, which has warm days, but cools off in the hills at night, allowing for more tropical flavors.

 The 2023 is ready for drinking now, and if you have some older vintages, you might want to gobble them up. This wine is best served chilled – 2 hours in the fridge or ½ hour on ice should do it! It is a perfect sipping wine for appetizers or can be served with a lite lunch of salad with chicken or fish. 

Tabor Winery is one of Israel’s most environmentally friendly wineries. Their creed is “to create fine wines but to do so while preserving a healthy growing environment”. They do this in a variety of ways, one was by creating an eco-friendly pest control method like their famous “owl boxes”. Placed throughout the vineyards, the owls prey on the rodents, restoring the natural “circle of life” to the vineyard environment.  

This Shabbat marks the most hours of daylight, so spend it with some good friends and a bottle or two of Tabor’s Chardonnay. They are easy to spot as their logo includes the barn owl. I picked up the 2023 at the ShopRite in Cherry Hill, NJ; and I’ve also seen it at Beacon Wine and Spirits on the Upper West Side.

Older vintages are available online from Kosher Wine Warehouse, They offer Free Shipping with a purchase of $99. Use the code ISRAELWINEGIRL for 10% off your entire purchase.