"Wine production saves me"

Once in a limited while, as Meir Ariel once sang, you encounter a wine that stops you for a moment and elicits a cry of admiration. Shiri Rosenthal's Rosé did that for me. Rosenthal is the owner of the small 'Blendim' winery in Moshav Olesh in the Hefer Valley. If you haven't heard of it until now — that's fine, I wasn't really familiar with it either.

Rosenthal ferments and ages varieties together, rather than separately, a move not very common in the field. 'The drinker just enjoys the wine and doesn't necessarily know or understand what I did. There is a lot of gut feeling and story here, sometimes I feel that it passes through the wine, the wine tells a story,' she says. She describes her wine as feminine: 'Perhaps one can discern more delicate work. Perhaps one can even feel the feminine emotional intelligence. The wine doesn't always develop according to my plans, I have to make decisions at every junction. Not all of them have a reason, sometimes it's from a gut feeling.'

She produces six wines: red Marselan and Syrah, white Chardonnay and a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and French Colombard, and two Rosé wines – one a light blend of Malbec and a little Petit Verdot, and the second is a 'Rosé Noir' from Syrah and Carignan grapes. The grapes come from a variety of vineyards in the Judean Hills, the Upper Galilee, and the Golan Heights. All are light and fun wines, which is a great pleasure to encounter in Israel.

The Freedom of Winemaking

When asked why she called her brand 'Blendim', despite producing varietal wines, she explains: 'Because I really like mixing different wines into one. I really connect to the essence of blends: it's not binding, not just one thing. It connects for me to the concept of 'freedom', to get out of the frame a bit. In general, we are all such a blend, all our lives are mixed. I enjoy the freedom of winemaking so much where I don't limit myself to a single variety, because I didn't have it before when I worked at large wineries. Not that I was miserable there, but there were many constraints.'

Rosenthal (45) came from nothing: 'I only had a scientific basis.' During her biotechnology studies at Tel-Hai Academic College, she visited the Golan Heights Winery and fell in love with the craft. In 2006, she began working there as an assistant winemaker.

Wine as a Rescue

A turning point occurred after her brother died. 'Immediately after the Shiva, I left the family and drove north, straight to the harvest. It was so intense that I didn't have time to think about anything, and the harvest was a rescue for me. Maybe I didn't understand it then, but to this day, the harvest and winemaking save me from the difficulties of life. Especially in recent years, with everything happening around. The winery, the barrel room – these are places of sanity that you get sucked into. At the harvest, they don't cut you any slack. I was sucked in, I didn't get stuck. Even today, with all the wars, I have to drive to the winery.'

After working in Israel, Rosenthal earned a master's degree in winemaking at the University of Adelaide in Australia and interned at the prestigious 'Opus One' winery in California. Upon returning, she worked as a winemaker at major facilities like Barkan and Vitkin before focusing on her own project. Today, she produces about 7,000 bottles a year and aims to reach 20,000. Recently, she planted her first vineyard in Mesilat Zion.

Recommendations:

'Kakadu Lavan' 2025: A blend of Sauvignon Blanc with 20% French Colombard. Acidic, sharp, light, and refreshing with tropical notes (120 NIS).
'Rosé Blend Sadeh' 2025: A wonderful Rosé, mostly Malbec with 5% Petit Verdot. Very light, with notes of red grapefruit and mint (100 NIS).
'Syrah Bar-Giora' 2025: A young red wine from Syrah with 6% Muscat. Amazing aromas of red fruits, raspberries, and rose water. Recommended to serve chilled (120 NIS).