It is sometimes the most unexpected angle that makes for the most interesting photo. Here's a look back, and down, on my 2016 year in wine. January - Sommelier exhibit February - Stern winery visit ​March - Jaffa Wine Evening with Yatir April - Castel winery bottling May - Sphera's wine launch June - Recanati winery's annual celebration July - My 2016 harvest begins at Hadar winery August - Yair Margalit planting during the harvest ​September - Avi Feldstein presenting his wi

To call a wine Archetype is to make a statement. It is to say that I have broken the molds. That I have changed, advanced, in the way I produce wines. I have created a new original from which all my wines from this day forward will be judged. Rami Bar-Maor is such a winemaker. He has crafted a blend of Syrah, Carignan and Marselan which he says captures the essence of their terroir, the Bikat Hanadiv and Alona hills. But more than that, this wine is a salute to his dedication

Driving through Spain's Rioja is a voyage of discovery, of finding naturally beautiful vineyards tucked into every nook and cranny alongside amazing wineries designed by the world's leading architects. It's an area where one wakes up to breath-taking sunrises and ends the day with glorious sunsets. Sunrise (above) from the balcony of the Hotel Casona del Boticario in San Vicente de la Sonsierra ... and sunset from the village's Bodega Classica. Photos by David Silverman. Copy

Its Christmas Eve and the two neighborhoods of the Cuban town of Remedios - San Salvador, represented by a rooster, and El Carmen, represented by a hawk - are ready to do battle. Like most conflicts, this is one over honour, but unlike any I have ever seen, this one is fought with raucous bands, huge floats and a seemingly endless supply of fireworks. According to tradition, in the year 1820 the local priest saw a decline in Mass attendance ahead of Christmas Eve, and in orde

The one thing that strikes the visitor about so many Spanish wineries in general, and especially those in Rioja, is the investment in architecture, living works of art designed by the world's leading architects. Nowhere is this more striking than at Bodegas Marqués de Riscal, whose hotel was designed and built by Frank O. Gehry, and which opened its doors on 1st of September 2006. Surrounded by Tempranillo vines, the hotel's curved walls and titanium roof stand in contrast to