Lifestyle Food Jules Polonetsky Decanter magazine is the oldest wine publication in the United Kingdom. Founded in London in 1975, today it is a global brand hosting competitions and events and publications in 90 countries. The various Decanter awards and competitions are highly respected, with expert and impartial judges assessing wines in their areas of expertise.
The Decanter World Wine Awards is the world’s largest wine competition. As such, fans of Israeli wines take note when Decanter judges rank Israeli wines. Israeli wineries receiving top scores in recent years have included Gvaot, Shiloh, Barkan, Carmel, Psagot and Yarden, with wineries in the Judea appellation doing well in the rankings.
But this year, the surprise was the score of 97 awarded to the Exodus Grand Reserve, the premium wine produced by the Ramat Negev Winery. This petit verdot-dominated wine received the only Platinum Award presented to an Israeli wine in 2024, ahead of several Gold Award winners from better-known wineries Psagot, Teperberg, Yarden and the 1848 Winery. Although not as well known in the United States, Ramat Negev Winery has built a leading reputation for its unique terroir in the Negev desert.
The winery was founded by Nira and Alon Zadok, a pioneering couple who planted vines in Israel’s deep south, despite the views of experts who believed it was impossible to grow quality grapes in the harsh desert environment. Advances in the use of desalinated water have been critical to the w.
