By Adam Montefiore | winesisrael.com

The first French Revolution in Israeli wine came at the end of the 19th century when Baron Edmond de Rothschild founded a modern wine industry. He was a Paris banker and winery owner and he invested millions in planting vineyards in the 1880’s and building wineries with deep underground cellars in the 1890’s. He used French administrators, the most experienced French agronomists and French winemakers. The accounts were kept in French and the wine growers cooperative he set up was even registered in French: Société Cooperative des Grandes Caves. So undoubtedly the Israeli wine industry was revived after 2,000 years owing to French finance and French expertise. Israeli wine was built on French roots.

Now a new French revolution is in the air. In recent years many French people have made Aliyah. For example, even the leafy, quiet Ra’anana where I live, has developed a French accent. French can be heard freely on the streets and there is a new sprinkling of French retail shops, butchers, French cafes with café au lait, authentic baguettes and light, fluffy croissants. Vive Le France!

Now, you would not expect our wine trade not to be affected, after all, French Jews are strong Zionists, love the Land of Israel and they have the world’s most famous wine culture coursing through their wines. So, it will not surprise you to know that some French entrepreneurs have invested in Israeli wine.

One of the best of the new wineries is Domaine Seror, a particularly high-quality initiative founded by four friends. These are the entrepreneurs and businessmen Claude Seror, Michael Golan, Jean David Benochou and Jacques Nataf. They wanted to combine French wine culture, Zionism, with Israeli agriculture and technology and their desire to contribute to the Land of Israel. The winery is based on the Avnei Eitan Moshav on the southern Golan Heights overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Here experienced farmer Yuval Matzliach, turned vineyard owner, manages the vineyards and the winery. Matzliach is an irrepressible survivor of the Gush Katif evacuation. Thankfully he and his family have found a corner of Israel they can call home, in this case, the wine country that is the Golan Heights! On meeting him, you will think he is proud of his wine… until you hear him talk about his olive oil!

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Photo credit:Depositphotos

Adam S. Montefiore is a wine industry insider turned wine writer, who has contributed to the advance of Israeli wines for 35 years.