Saslove
The father & daughter winemaking team of Barry and Roni Saslove make wine that must at least be considered “modern”, if not “futuristic”! Formerly a computer engineer, Barry believes in taking advantage of technology and says that blending wine is “like putting together a full orchestra” – the whole is better than the individual parts.
The 2007 “Aviv” Merlot is blended with 15% Cabernet. The Merlot comes from 2 vineyard sources including Saslove’s organically farmed “Kadita” vineyard, while the Cabernet comes from 3 prime Galilee vineyards. Fermentation lasts about 3 weeks at which point the wine is pressed and put back into stainless steel tanks for its secondary fermentation. After malolactic, the wine is blended and “chef” Saslove then adds his special spice – oak chips. Four types of chips are added to the blend where they stay for 6 months. These spices impart exotic flavors such as butterscotch, cinnamon, dark chocolate and cloves, making for a hedonistic and fruit forward wine.
The 2005 “Adom” Shiraz/Cabernet is a 60% Shiraz 40% Cabernet blend from the Galilee vineyards – much of which is from the prized Alma vineyard. Fermentation takes place just as it does with the “Aviv”, but following malolactic, the wine is transferred into Barry’s 1 year old barrel blend (2 types of American and 3 types of French barrels) for about 10 months. It then gets moved into a blend of new oak for about 6 months before being transferred once again, this time into barrels that are 2, 3 and 4 years old. Saslove believes that this tedious process provides a solid structure and just enough oak flavors to add complexity and compliment the wine while not overpowering the fruit flavors.