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	Best of the Red Bunch May 2001

Golan Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

There is something quite extraordinary about wine making. It inspires a passion which transcends the most remarkable obstacles, so the craftsman can achieve his dreams.

While chaos and pain hang heavy on the daily lives of people throughout the Middle East, in the small town of Katzrin, high on the Golan Heights in Israel, each day some magic is performed. The Golan Heights Winery, produces its glorious nectar from vineyards on the Golan Heights and in the Upper Galilee. The 300,000 cases of wine produced for the winery's Yarden, Gamla and Golan labels are astounding, given the sheer infancy of the business. The winery is owned by 4 Kibbutzes (collective farms) and 4 Moshavs (co-op farms), and the winemaker, Victor Schoenfeld, is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. Drainage from the volcanic soil and a relatively cool climate proved conducive to the vines planted in 1976. Rather than sell the grapes to large co-operatives the decision was made to build a winery in 1983. Thanks to state of the art winemaking facilities the results are of biblical proportions! This oak aged Cabernet, is soft, still relatively young, tannic and full of familiar, typical Cabernet fruit. A definite player on the wine world's stage.

Cheers!

Region Katzrin, Golan Heights,Northeast Israel

Climate Dry summers, snow in winters, cool breezes from Mount Hermon

Price (approx US) $13.99

Technical Pneumatic membrane presses; maturation in French and American oak barrels.

Food match Lamb, Steak, Pasta. Cheese: Bel Paese, Cheddar, Goat (Chevre), Monterey Jack

Best of the White Bunch

Montevina Fume Blanc 2000

Montevina was established in 1970 - the first new, post-Prohibition winery in the Sierra foothills. Located in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, its first vintage was in 1973 and it quickly became the foothills' leading vintner with a reputation for robust, full-flavoured Zinfandel and Barbera. Indeed, Montevina's success inspired a revival of the historic foothill wine industry, attracting a new generation of vintners to the region's rolling, sun-baked hillsides.

In 1998, the Trinchero family, owners of Sutter Home Winery, purchased Montevina and built a state-of-the-art facility.The Fume Blanc, made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape, is one of only two wines Montevina produces from grapes grown outside Amador County. The Sauvignon Blanc produces more distinctive wine when grown in cooler climates, especially California's central coast (Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties). Montevina has preserved the fresh, zesty character of the Sauvignon Blanc by cold-fermenting and aging the juice in stainless steel tanks with no barrel aging. The wine is full of bright melon and citrus aromas and rich, zesty flavours typical of the best Central Coast Sauvignon Blancs.

Cheers!

Region Central Coast, CA - 65% Monterey County, 25% Santa Barbara County, 10% San Luis Obispo.

Technical Mostly fermented in stainless steel with approximately 18% of the grapes fermented and aged in American oak barrels.

Production Bottled March 2000. Released April 2000. 6,500 cases produced.

Price (approx US) $8.49

Food match Vegetarian, Seafood, Chicken, Mildly Spiced Asian.