Exceptional season at Eshkol Winery

Wednesday, 30 June, 2004
Ori Ilan
Eshkol King Solomon Natural Sweet Red the first boutique style Kiddush wine in the world.

2004 is set to be an exceptional season for Eshkol Winery in Paarl.

It was a nightmare for the grapegrowers, but a real feast for the winemakers. The 2004 harvest is already known to have been a very long and dry season with low yields, resulting in high quality grapes.

We have been able to produce quality wines from this harvest - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Ruby Cabernet and Chenin Blanc. New releases from the 2004 vintage are Pinotage, Cinsaut and Chardonnay .

We plan to release our premium Eshkol King Solomon Natural Sweet Red (Kiddush) wine, composed of the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cincaut and Ruby Cabernet, in July. This is to be the first boutique style Kiddush wine in the world.

A lot of time and attention are bestowed on our more mature dry red wines.We plan to build on the success of the 2003 Izimbali Red in North America, where it was awarded two bronze medals in two international wine competitions. It should be released later this year.

In 2005, we shall release our first Eshkol Reserve Range, which has been matured in new French Oak barrels for 12-18 months.

We are very proud with our achievements with Eshkol's 2003 production. It has not only received excellent reviews, but also collected four important medals. Our 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon won a gold medal at the Tasters Guild International Wine Competition; the 2003  Izimbali Red received a bronze medal in the same competition and another bronze at the May's International Eastern Wine Competition, both held in the USA recently, hosting thousands of wines from all over the world.

Our 2003 Premier Chenin Blanc won a Seal of Approval from the Swiss Airlines International Wine Competition that took place as part of the Cape Gourmet Festival in May 2003.

Abarbanel Wine Company (
www.4kosherwine.com), the  boutique kosher wine company in the USA, has chosen Eshkol Wines to be a part of its special and unique, custom-made wine portfolio.

LCBO, the Canadian governmental agency in charge of the selection of all wines and liquor for distribution in this country, has listed our 2003 Shiraz.

We are proud of our local sales as well, mainly in the Western Cape and in Johannesburg. In both areas, our wines are being sold at Kosher restaurants, liquor stores and in some of the main supermarket chains.