Golan Heights Winery Earns Three Gold Medals

Golan Heights Winery announced that the 2005 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 Yarden Syrah, and 2006 Yarden HeightsWine earned Gold Medals at the prestigious Challenge International du Vin wine competition held in Bordeaux on April 18, 2009. Over 5,000 wines from more than 30 countries are represented each year at France's largest international wine competition.

"Challenge International du Vin is considered one of the world's most important and challenging wine competitions. As such, we are very proud to have earned three Gold Medals at the 2009 event," said Anat Levi Rushansky, CEO of Golan Heights Winery. "This is yet another milestone showing how our significant investment and energy in producing quality wines continues to win international recognition. Indeed, at this year's competition, Golan Heights Winery was the only Israeli wine producer to earn a Gold Medal."

Golan Heights Winery also received a Silver medal for the 2007 Yarden Chardonnay Odem Organic Vineyard.

Additional information on the competition can be found at the web site: www.challengeduvin.com

Meet the wines:

The 2005 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon expresses characters of fresh forest berry and ripe cherry, with a background of blackberry jam, juicy plum, fresh thyme and notes of earth. Delicate hints of spice and oak add to the wine's complexity and balance its rich character.

While enjoyable in its youth, the wine will continue to develop in the bottle, and should remain in good drinking condition for 10-15 years from harvest. The wine goes wonderfully with flavorful beef and lamb dishes, such as a perfectly roasted cut of meat braised in red wine and beef stock with shallots, herbs and a bit of vinegar.

The 2004 Yarden Syrah exhibits notes of ripe blackberry, fresh cherry and rich jam layered with characters of earth, spice and smoked meat. The wine is full-bodied yet elegant, and displays a long and satisfying finish.

Great to drink now, Yarden Syrah will continue to improve and remain in good drinking condition for a decade or more. We recommend enjoying the wine with full-flavored dishes such as roasted rack of lamb with an herb crust, or rich oxtail stew preferably prepared with Yarden Syrah.

The 2006 Yarden HeightsWine dessert wine bursts forth with an aromatic mix of ripe apricots, fresh flowers, orange marmalade and exotic spices. The wine is intensely flavored and sweet, delivering a rich sensory experience. HeightsWine is ready to drink now but will age well, with the marmalade notes becoming more accentuated over time.

This wine pairs well with very rich desserts. In general, a dessert wine should be just a bit sweeter than the dessert to prevent the wine from coming across as bitter. Another good alternative is to serve HeightsWine as the sole dessert.

The aromatic 2007 Yarden Chardonnay Odem Organic Vineyard shows off a dazzling array of characters, from mineral to floral, from lemon to spice, from ripe apple to juicy pear. This wine combines full flavor with elegant drinkability.

One can enjoy Yarden Chardonnay Odem Organic Vineyard immediately upon release but the wine will continue to improve significantly over about three years from the vintage and remain in good drinking condition for up to about seven years from harvest. The bold flavors of Odem can stand up to boldly flavored food. A good pair would be a halibut fillet covered with a ground hazelnut crust, quickly pan-fried then finished under the broiler to a golden brown.

Additional information about the wines can be found at the web site: www.golanwines.co.il