After years as chief winemaker at several large wineries in Israel, alongside developing his boutique winery and obtaining the coveted title of Master of Wine, Ido Lewinsohn relocated with his family to Tuscany about a year ago.
Meanwhile, he continues with a Riesling wine project in collaboration with a German winery and visits his Israeli winery once a month. These days, Ido is launching the winery’s white wine, Garage de Papa White 2024, and is planning to make wines in Italy as well.
Lewinsohn Winery, which began its early years in Ido’s father’s garage, moved two years ago to the industrial area of Petah Tikva, next to the large branch and factory of the Nono/Mimi/Giraffe group, owned by Ido’s brother. The visitors’ center is open seven days a week and serves the group’s food.
45,000 bottles of wine per year and a dream come true
The winery currently produces about 45,000 bottles a year, plus nearly 7,000 bottles of Riesling with the German partner.
Most of the wines are sold to restaurants, and in the past two years also to customers at the winery complex, at the wine bar, and by delivery. “We realized the potential of sales at the visitors’ center, and this was also part of the reason for the move,” explains Ido.
About a year ago, the Lewinsohn family relocated and moved to live in Tuscany. “There is a combination of several things here. It has been a kind of old dream of ours to spend a few years in Italy. I studied there and speak the language, and we also got married in Tuscany. We wanted to take a break in midlife and live in a country with a different language, culture, and fun, and we love Italy very much.”
After leaving his work at the large wineries and focusing on his own winery, nothing tied Ido to one place, and it was possible to fulfill the dream. In the past two years, Lewinsohn Winery has grown stronger, international collaborations have come to fruition, and Ido felt ready for mobility.
The move to Tuscany
“When I realized I was a Master of Wine, and there are few such winemakers in the world and a shortage of consultants, I understood that I wanted to experience what could be done with this in the world. An international experience that would make use of the title and create projects abroad,” he says.
And indeed, in the past year the family has been spending time and learning Italy. Once a month, Ido comes to the winery for a week, and in between supports the project in Germany and begins cooking up new projects in Italy.
These days, Lewinsohn Winery is launching its white wine ‘Garage de Papa 2024’, made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. The grapes currently come from two main plots in the Judean Hills and the Upper Galilee.
At first tasting it feels like a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. “We don’t do malolactic fermentation in order to preserve the natural acidity of the grapes,” says Ido.
The wine is delicate and elegant, complex and concentrated, balanced, fresh, and mineral, with aromas of citrus, flowers, and nuts, and a long aromatic finish. Garage de Papa White 2016 from the family archive surprised in a tasting as a wine with several good years ahead of it, buttery, chestnutty, floral, with a hint of truffle mushrooms.
The trick of the garage
As part of his desire to do projects abroad, Ido joined the respected Kunstler winery from the Rheingau region of Germany and together they produce two Riesling wines, dry and semi-dry.
Kunst 2023: A semi-dry wine made from Riesling grapes. A fresh and tasty wine with gentle sweetness and high, refreshing acidity. Perfect for accompanying food.
Garage de Papa Rosé 2024: Rosé from Caladoc grapes from the slopes of the Judean Hills. An elegant, aromatic, and floral wine with balanced, refreshing, and very pleasant acidity.
Garage de Papa Red 2023: A wine that has always been a blend of Mediterranean varieties, which change from time to time. “Grapes from the world of spices.”
In 2023, Cabernet Sauvignon was added to the blend alongside Syrah and Petite Sirah. The result is a wine that is both elegant and powerful, floral, fruity, peppery, and seasoned with Mediterranean herbs.
Half of the wine was made using the whole-cluster technique, which produces very elegant, floral, and spiced aromas. A wine with strength and concentration.
Greater than the sum of its parts
Garage de Papa, Whole Clusters 2023: The first wine made with this method was from the 2014 harvest. Petite Sirah grapes from a single vineyard in Givat Yeshayahu.
“The whole clusters go into the tanks with the stems and that’s where the magic begins. A very long and slow process. A complicated process with a simple technique. Once, all the wines in the world were made with this technique until the destemmer-crusher was invented. The method almost disappeared but never completely stopped, especially in Burgundy with Pinot Noir and in the northern Rhône Valley with Syrah. The most expensive wines in the world today are still made this way,” explains Ido.
The first berries that go into the tank are crushed by the weight above them and release juice, but all the other berries above remain whole. Then fermentation begins of the juice that was released, and additional fermentation occurs inside the whole berries.
Inside the grape, wonderful aromas of lavender, flowers, pepper begin to develop, and the stems keep the berries whole. After a few weeks, the tank is opened and the whole berries are transferred to the press.
The resulting wine is very elegant, super aromatic, delicate and lean, with black fruit, florality, and Mediterranean seasoning – za’atar, oregano, lavender, black pepper. Fascinating!