THE NATIONAL OLIVE OIL OF ISRAEL

09-18-2006  Capcanes is King for Royal Wines with Peraj Ha'Abib

This boutique wine, has been described as “One of the finest kosher wines I have
ever tasted”, by Robert Parker the guru of sophisticated wines. Winemaker Jurgen Wagner narrates how he first became involved with a fertile vineyard in the village of Capacanes in northern Spain. “I came to Barcelona on a year’s winemaking study scholarship and fell for, not just the country, but also a girl who I ended up marrying. It was she who persuaded me to take my winemaking talents and apply them to Spanish grown grapes.”

Wagner discovered Capacanes in the elevated but deserted Catalan mountains, a co-op of around 80 catholic farmers who passed on the grapes (and profits) to a large conglomerate who in turn directed the production of a dry red table wine and its worldwide distribution.

Several years ago, thanks to a family connection that pressed for a locally made, kosher wine for the Jewish community, Peraj Ha’Abib was created. This Sephardic name means Early Spring Flower (Flor de Primavera in Spanish). For the farmers it heralded a first attempt at fully producing a wine. Today, German-born Mr. Wagner, together with 2 colleagues, oversees the entire wine production at Capcanes.

“The difference here,” points out Jurgen, “was that from the outset, this was designated to be a sophisticated kosher wine. It became such a huge success that non-kosher versions followed in its wake. Normally, the reverse is true. Here, the original was quality kosher.”
Renowned critic Jose Penin awarded it a 95, rating it the “3rd best wine in Spain.”

After importer, Eric Solomon,, confessed he was unfamiliar with the “kosher marketplace”, Royal Wine Corp. was appointed to import this fine product to the USA. Initially, 800 cases arrived, and disappeared in no time. The blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carignan grapes, influenced by the stable Mediterranean climate, aged in French and American oak, would exhibit a royal ruby color with a taste of currants introducing sweetness. The quality of the wine owes its standards to the careful selection of grapes from vines that range up to 100 years old. After conscientious hand picking and leaving the skins on for a lengthy 40 days, it yields more tannins and structure than ordinary wines.
Extraordinary would be an apt word to describe this wine.

A characteristic of the wines is the absence of fining, sterile membrane filtration and cold stabilization. Neither do they mix gelatin to acidify nor is egg white added. Thus the fullness conserves an elegance, which will maintain over a decade.
Jurgen Wagner is delighted with Royal’s participation as part of a winning team.. Vigilant supervision continues from flowering right through to bottling. The extra dimension of kosher preserves the originality and naturalness denying foreign particles, often added to co-mingle.

Even though several non-kosher versions are now produced under different labels, Jurgen fondly describes Peraj Ha’Abib as the “Bad Boy of the Company”. He explains: “It was the first, the pioneer and for me the one with the most muscle”. This is a stand-alone wine that is garnering wide interest and considerable praise from critics, dubbing it the "King of Kosher Wines". Peraj Ha’Abib retails in the $45.00 range.