Israeli Winery from Samaria Wins Prestigious Competition in London

Despite tireless efforts to boycott Israeli products, particularly from Judea and Samaria, a wine straight out of Israel’s biblical heartland just won a prestigious international competition in London.

By United With Israel Staff

Gvaot Winery, located in the heart of Samaria, on the banks of Nahal Shiloh, won a gold medal at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) competition, held in London last week.

The winning wine was the company’s 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine received an impressive 95 points, something rarely seen in this competition.

“I am excited by the impressive win and promise my customers in Israel and around the world to continue the historic, up-to-date and innovative path of the wine world in Israel in general and in Samaria in particular,” stated Eliav Miller, CEO of the Gvaot Winery.

Despite worldwide calls to boycott Israeli products, the Israel Export Institute notes that the demand for Israeli wines and spirits continues to grow at a rate of approximately 6 percent annually.

This year’s competition was the 16th held by DWWA, an international wine competition established and managed by Britain’s Decanter wine magazine. It is the world’s largest and most prestigious wine competition judged by top wine experts from around the world. This year’s panel consisted of over 270 judges, including 71 Masters of Wine and 24 Master Sommeliers. Wines are judged through blind tastings arranged by country, region, color, grape, style, vintage and price.

Gvaot Winery not only credits the superiority of its product through the use of advanced technology, professional knowledge of wine production and a unique slow, cold fermentation that preserves the aromas and flavors of the grapes, but also notes that its location, 800 meters above sea level in a hilly region known for its ancient tradition of successful vine cultivation, is especially conducive to high-quality vines.

In fact, hundreds of ancient wine presses have been found throughout this region attesting to the historic proliferation of wine production in the area.

These special conditions, claims Gvaot, produces quality wines with distinctive character and flavor.

Founded in 2005, the Gvaot winery began as a small family business by entrepreneur Amnon Weiss and Chief Winemaker Dr. Shivi Drori, an agronomist and researcher in viticulture and oenology at Ariel University.

Drori is credited with revealing approximately 60 ancient varieties of wine grapes that have been used since biblical times in Israel and particularly in Samaria.

These exciting findings have brought a boom to Israel’s wine business. There are presently more than 350 wineries in the country producing 65 million bottles a year.

Please join United With Israel in congratulating the Gvaot Winery for this fabulous award. A great way to express your support and fight BDS is to consciously purchase Israeli products.