As you may know, one of my favorite places is Costco. It’s my affordable wine and cheese mecca. During my last trip there, I was intrigued by the label of Recanati’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (I’m always attracted to shiny things). Then I noticed that this wine is from Galilee, Israel, a location I had never tried wine from (more intrigue).

Recanati Winery was established in 2000 by Lenny Recanati and Uri Shaked. They wanted to create a new winery which would produce original, quality Israeli wine. The winery’s philosophy is to produce local and original wines that will best express the local terroir. Experienced winemakers Gil Shatsberg and Kobi Arviv spearhead the winemaking process.

It was hard for me to tell, since the label on this wine was different from the website (new label or U.S. label?), but I believe this wine is part of their Upper Galilee Series, which presents classic varieties from select vineyards and growing areas. The series is varietal and concentrates on the terroir, leveraging it to extract the characteristic complexity and refinement of each individual variety.

The grapes for this Cabernet Sauvignon were hand-picked from high elevation vineyards and aged for five months in French oak barrels. It is dark burgundy in color and has strong earthy and oaky aromas with notes of ripe plum. On the palate, it’s full-bodied and dark fruit forward, along with hints of dirt, spice, and tannins. At Costco, it was under $15, so it was a great value wine. I paired it with charcuterie – my “what do I do for dinner?!” go-to meal. 3.5/5.