Our wine - The Farmhouse

Bat Shlomo Vineyards strives for excellence in all that we do, from ecologically sound agricultural practices to utilizing the most advanced techniques available in wine-making today. Bat Shlomo has flourished to produce some of the finest wines in Israel.

OUR WINE

Our vineyards are a little bit different from other vineyards in Israel; I brought a lot of technology and Napa methodology to Israel. For instance, you can see the spacing is much tighter: 1×2.4 meters, we have 415 vines per acre and in Israel it is more common to have 222. I imported special cross arms on the posts. I use them because they give a lot of space for the shoots to grow and provide more sunlight to the canopy and dappled sun to the fruit, affecting the photosynthesis and therefore the quality berries.

Sauvignon Blanc

We harvest all the grapes at early at dawn. At the winery we press the grapes; sometimes whole clusters. We do 2-3 day cold settle and then we transfer to fermentation; in unique, avocado shaped concrete tanks. I use a low oxygen method with emphasis on lees contact. We blend and then we stabilize the wine before bottling. It all takes about 6-8 months. I call it an Israeli style Sauvignon Blanc; somewhere between a California and a New Zealand wine since we don’t use any oak. We want a strong framework, strong acidity, very refreshing and clean. The Sauvignon cleans your palette, is refreshing for the Israeli summers and goes well with Mediterranean foods.

Rosé

The Rosé is made in the traditional style. The Grenache grapes are harvested early to preserve high acidity and low alcohol. They are pressed gently with a short skin contact and then cold fermented, to preserve the esters and aromas. With the Rosé, we are also looking for a clean, crisp, and refreshing, fruity style.

Chardonnay

We do the Chardonnay in an opposite style from the Sauvignon. It is a big, aromatic, and rich wine, with lots of fruit and spicy, smoky aromas, pear and apple, and Jasmin blossoms. The chardonnay is barrel fermented. We move it straight from the cold settle to fermentation in the barrel. We use the sur-lees method of stirring, which creates a creamier, fuller, mouth feel. We use 5% new barrels, all of which are 100% French oak. The grapes go through both alcohol and malolactic fermentation in the barrel. After 10-12 months, we bottle the wine.

Betty’s Cuveé

Betty’s Cuvee is a traditional Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc in honor of the Rothschild family in France. With the Cuveé, we de-stem the grapes with a gentle crush. After 4-5 days of cold soak, the fermentation begins. We taste every day to make sure we get the right tannins and to know when exactly to press off the skin so that we get the full maceration, colors, flavors and mouth feel that we believe are adequate. Extended Maceration on the skins helps to get the full potential from the grapes. We do a malolactic fermentation in the barrel with very little racking. At the end of 20-24 months, we bottle the wine. Then we wait about 6-12 months before we release it.

Regavim

The Regavim blend is an exquisite new blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (86%) and Syrah (14%), aged for 14 months in French oak barrels. Regavim is a beautifully versatile wine that pairs well at the dinner table. We have released the Regavim (meaning “clods of earth” in Hebrew) blend to honor the Regavim youth agricultural initiative, a school for religious boys that emphasizes educational attainment, personal development and spiritual discovery through working Israeli agricultural land.

Visit Bat Shlomo shop