page_title: Israeli cuisine
section_title: Wine
hierarchical_section_title: Israeli cuisine / Foods / Wine
caption_attribution_description: English: Bottles of Israeli wine
context_page_description: Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.
  Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of various styles of diaspora Jewish cuisine, particularly the Mizrahi, Sephardic and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally included in other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, so that spices like za'atar and foods such as falafel, hummus, msabbha, shakshouka and couscous are now widely popular in Israel.
  Other influences on the cuisine are the availability of foods common to the Mediterranean region, especially certain kinds of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fish; the tradition of keeping kosher; and food customs and traditions specific to Shabbat and different Jewish holidays, such as challah, jachnun, malawach, gefilte fish, hamin, me'orav yerushalmi and sufganiyot.
context_section_description: The vast majority of Israelis drink wine in moderation, and almost always at meals or social occasions. Israelis drink about 6.5 liters of wine per person per year, which is low compared to other wine-drinking Mediterranean countries, but the per capita amount has been increasing since the 1980s as Israeli production of high-quality wine grows to meet demand, especially of semi-dry and dry wines. In addition to Israeli wines, an increasing number of wines are imported from France, Italy, Australia, the United States, Chile and Argentina.
  Most of the wine produced and consumed from the 1880s was sweet, kosher wine when the Carmel Winery was established, until the 1980s, when more dry or semi-dry wines began to be produced and consumed after the introduction of the Golan Heights Winery’s first vintage. The winery was the first to focus on planting and making wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, white Riesling and Gewürztraminer. These wines are kosher and have won silver and gold medals in international competitions. Israeli wine is now produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique wineries in the villages to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year, which are also exported worldwide.
  Wine made of fruits other than grapes such as fig, cherry, pomegranate, carob and date are also common in the country.
caption: Israeli wines by Carmel, Tishbi Winery and Golan Heights Winery
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