This week’s featured wine is Segal Winery’s Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. With a “Special Reserve” label, you might think this wine to be quite pricey, but it actually is under $25, and offers EXCELLENT QPR (quality per ratio).
Made from grapes grown in the Upper Galilee, this wine has excellent tannin structure, good fruit, is well balanced, and can be drunk now or continue to age in the bottle. On the nose it has the rich aroma of black cherry and on the palette it has flavors of blackberry, black currant, and a bit of vanilla coming from the 14 months it spent in a mix of French and American oak.
As a full bodied wine, Cabernet Sauvignon does very well with rich savory meats. The bold tannins and deep berry flavors cut through the fatines of the meat, and the wine’s acidity balances out the meat’s richness. An excellent accompaniment for this wine is Celebrity Chef Jamie Geller’s Family Heirloom Cholent Recipe. Cholent is a traditional meat stew popular among Jews of Ashkenazi descent, especially France and Germany. It can be started on Friday afternoon, and cooked overnight before eaten on Saturday afternoon; thus following religious laws regarding food preparation on the Sabbath.
The Segal Family is originally from Belarus, where they are reported to have a winery. In 1925, they migrated to Israel and established a distillery outside of Tel Aviv. At that time, the land was controlled by the British/French, and the licenses to make wine were limited. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, they were able to go back to the business they truly loved, that of making wine. In 2001, they were purchased by the much larger winery BARKAN, and now operate as a boutique winery within a behemoth one.
Segal, as a part of the Barkan Winery, has been fully engaged in supporting the Israeli community since the events of Oct. 7th. Like many businesses throughout Israel, they have lost staff due to those serving, however as part of a very large company they have the benefit of many resources to draw on. Consequently, they have been able to send some of their workers to help other companies in need and assisted with services needed for soldiers – preparing meals, organizing supplies, etc.
These are difficult times, but our friends at Barkan want us to know that in spite of everything, they remain optimistic and determined to persevere. As a company, they will do everything they can to help their country get through this and prosper.
Let’s support our friends at Segal by putting the “Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve” on your table this Shabbat. We picked up our bottle at the ShopRite in Cherry Hill, but it is also available online at Kosher Wine Warehouse. Kosher Wine Warehouse does offer 10% off with the code IsraelWineGirl and there is Free Shipping on orders of $150.
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