L'Chaim! One of Cannel's main- stay wines is, oddly enough, banned for sale in Israel. The thick, sweet wine known here as "sacramental" is produced from the American native grape variety, Concord — the same grape that Man- ischewitz, Mogen David and Kedem use. The Con- cord, palatable only with lots of sugar added, is con- sidered an inferior grape variety in Israel as in most of the rest of the world. Its existence in Israel is suf- fered only because there still is some de- mand for it in the United States. During the great migrations of Jews to the eastern United States in the 1800s and early 1900s, the native Amer- ican Concords were the only grapes readily available. American Jews be- came so accustomed to the unctuously sweet wines, they are now thought of as "traditional." The dry wines from the "noble" European grape varieties, which their forefathers drank throughout the ages, have only recently been gaining acceptance. While Carmel strives for quality and a return to vinous and marketplace heights, the Golan Heights Winery basks in recognition as a world-class producer. Its three major labels, Yarden, Golan and Gamla, are considered wonderful wines that just happen to be kosher. Al- though the best barrels of young wine are always chosen for the Yarden brand, the finished Gamla and Golan wines of- ten come out of the bottle as Yarden's Because Carmel is a co-op, the most modern, automated equipment can be purchased and amortized among the many members. Here, few people are needed to operate the Braud grape picker. equal. World demand for their Caber- net, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is always greater than the supply. American Peter M. Stern, who has served as winemaker or consultant for the Golan Heights Winery in virtually every vintage, says the vineyard loca- tions are key to these great wines. We can only conjecture what will happen when Israel and Syria come to terms, as the region is at the center of their dispute. It is possible that the Syrians, loathe to lose the economic benefits of estab- lished vineyards, will study viticulture in France, Italy or the United States and will work the vineyards themselves and sell the grapes in Israel. Or, they could lease the land to the Golan Heights Win- ery, Carmel or both. Time and the accumulation of vin- tages may show the Golan as one of the world's finest grape growing terroirs, to use the French term. "The Golan Heights appellation of Israel and parts of the Galil (Galilee) are, by far, the high- est quality growing areas of Israel," Mr. , Stern says. "The Golan Heights Winery owns or controls 94 percent of the grapes grown in the Golan and, essentially, 100 percent of those in the Galilee, where there is only one very high-quality vine- yard." So confident is the winery that, dis- regarding the possibility of losing the vineyards under a peace treaty, some 325 dunams, or about 100 acres, are be- ing planted anew this year. Plans for the next couple of years include putting an- other 300 dunams under vines. Espe- cially exciting is a new clone of Pinot Noir and, for the small but growing band of muscat freaks, Muscat Canelli. There also will be new, small plant- ings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Galilee. Under development and scheduled for the future are plantings of the Italian varieties Nebbiolo, the great grape of Barolo and Sangiovese, from which Chianti is produced. Is it evolution or revolution among kosher wine lovers that is rapidly chang- ing the market? Wine trade insiders pre- viously have estimated the kosher segment of the market as some two years behind the times, yet now it seems to be playing catch-up in a hurry. Mr. Stern says the heretofore usual Golan Heights Winery sales split of 70 Glossary A guide to the language of wine. Appellation: French term for a delineated viticultural area — Bur- gundy, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Finger LakeS. Beaujolais: French wine district situated between the Macon district and Lyon in southern Burgundy. Both Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nou- veau wines are made through the carbonic maceration process (see be- low). One step higher than Beaujolais is Beaujolais Village. At the top are the Beaujolais "cru," or named village wines, such as Brouilly and Morgon — none of which are represented in the kosher sector. Carbonic maceration: Wine- making process in which grapes are put into a sealed barrel. An enzyme exchange through the skins of the grape is responsible for the character- istic taste of the wine. Regular fer- mentation usually follows, depending on the winemaker. Cava: Spanish term for sparkling wine made through the Champagne process. Chablis: Both a town in the north- eastern part of France and the wine made in and around it. Chardonnay is the only permitted variety of grape: Chinon: Red wine district of France in the Loire Valley. Wine is from the Cabernet Franc grape. Commune: French for township or parish. Concord: Eastern American grape variety of the Vitis Labrusca species. Cotes du Rhone: A wine blended of up to 13 allowed varieties grown within a large area in the southern Rhone region of France. Fermentation: the process by which yeast converts sugar (grape) into alcohol (wine) and CO2. Gavi: A town in the Piemonte re- gion of Italy and the wine named af- ter it, made from the Cortese grape. Medoc: A wine region around Bor- deaux. Most of the great Bordeaux wines come from its several com- munes. Meshuval: Wine that retains its kosher quality even if touched by a gentile. Muscadet: Dry French white wine produced from a grape of the same name, also known as Melon de Bour- gogne, near Nantes in the lower Loire Valley. Excellent with fish. Terroir: A specific parcel of land on which grapes are grown, including the characteristics of the soil and the climate. Vitis Vinifera: The species of European grapes from which many varieties' most fine wine is produced — Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir.