Guy Eshel is the winemaker of Dalton Winery in the Galilee Mountains in Israel.
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Born in Tel Aviv, Guy grew up between California and Israel, building a strong bond with both lands. After a harvest internship in Napa Valley, Guy decided to pursue winemaking professionally, and he graduated from the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology in 2013. He has worked at Cliff Lede Vineyards and Whetstone Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, Domaine Francois Villard in the Northern Rhone, and Clonakilla winery in Canberra, Australia. Most recently, before moving back to Israel to join Dalton Winery as head winemaker in 2015, Guy worked at Broc Cellars in Berkeley, one of California’s preeminent urban wineries.
Winemaking in Israel virtually disappeared as a commercial enterprise from the 7th century until the mid 1800s, when Jews immigrating from Europe bought land, replanted vineyards and reestablished the wine industry. Many modern Israeli producers, including several in the Wines of Israel program, trace their roots back to this pre-state period. Other wineries were founded after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. But it was really the 1980s that saw the beginning of a quality revolution as new producers planted vineyards throughout the country, especially at higher elevations and in cooler climates, and brought new world winemaking techniques to Israel. The 1990s saw an explosion in boutique wineries founded by visionaries, some self-taught and homegrown, and others educated in winemaking abroad, especially in California. But all producers – whether recent start ups or grounded in modern history, small or large, family or corporate owned – share a passionate connection to the land, and a dedication to producing high quality wines in Israel again.
In this episode we mention…
Dalton Winery
Golan Heights
Carmel Winery
Ernie Weir, Hagafan Cellars
Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant
Peter Granoff, MS
Cliff Lede Vineyards
Whetstone Wine Cellars
Martha Stoumen
Byron Elmendorf, Clime Wines
Clonakilla Winery
Canaan, Dalton’s entry tier wines
Dalton’s Estate Series Wines
Alma, Dalton’s experimental wines
Semillon & Muscat of Alexan-dria Pét-Nat
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