This week, I’m excited to share a wine that perfectly blends history, craftsmanship, and the pure joy of good winemaking: Psagot Sinai 2024. If you love reds that are smooth, fruit-forward, and incredibly drinkable, this one is absolutely worth getting to know.
✨ Tasting Notes
Color: Deep ruby, glowing beautifully in the glass
Aroma: Blackberry, raspberry, cherry, warm spice
Taste: Juicy red and black fruits with a gentle peppery kick and just a whisper of oak
Body: Medium and wonderfully balanced
Finish: Smooth, clean, and honestly… kind of addictive
🍇 Why This Wine Works So Well
The Sinai blend brings together Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Malbec grown high in the Judean Mountains—one of my favorite wine-growing regions in Israel.
What makes this wine really stand out is the way it’s aged:
- 12 months in stainless steel → fresh, clean fruit
- With wood staves → added complexity without heavy oak
So you get the best of both worlds: crisp fruitiness plus gentle notes of vanilla, spice, and clove. It’s a wine that tastes more expensive than it is. Truly excellent QPR (quality-price ratio).
Sinai consistently earns:
- 90 points from Wine Enthusiast
- A solid 4.0 rating on Vivino
Not bad for a wine that’s still totally approachable.
🏺 The Psagot Story — Where Wine Meets Ancient History
Psagot Winery is one of those places where you feel the history the moment you step onto the property. Back in 2003, when Yaakov and Na’ama Berg began building the winery, workers uncovered something astonishing: a 2,000-year-old cave from the Second Temple period.
Inside were:
- An ancient wine press
- A coin from the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE)
The coin said:
- Obverse: Amphora with “Year Two”
- Reverse: Vine leaves with “For the Freedom of Zion”
This discovery touched the Bergs so deeply that they recreated the coin—and it now appears on every Psagot bottle.
“Each bottle is our love letter to Israel and a tribute to its amazing history” – Yaakov Berg
🌄 The Vineyards
Perched 960 meters above sea level on limestone-rich soil, Psagot’s vineyards soak up sunny days and cool mountain nights—perfect conditions for concentrated, high-quality grapes.
Today the winery produces 25 wines and is recognized worldwide for excellence.
👨‍🍷 The Man Behind the Magic: Winemaker Sam Soroka
If you’ve ever met Sam, you know he brings not only skill but heart to every bottle he makes.
Originally from Canada, Sam studied:
- Food science at McGill University
- Winemaking at the University of Adelaide
He’s crafted wines in Australia, California, France, and across Israel—including serving as Chief Winemaker for Carmel.
Sam has a special talent: everywhere he goes, the wines simply get better. At Psagot, his attention to the vineyards, picking times, and balance in blending truly shines.
He shares Psagot’s mission to create wines that honor the land and spirit of Israel—and it shows.
(Thank you, Sam! We appreciate you!)
đź“Ť Where You Can Find Psagot Sinai
We picked ours up at Wegmans Princeton, and it’s currently available on kosherwine.com as well.
Israel Wine Girl 
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