First Place in the “Best First Class White Wine” Category in the Cellars in the Sky Competition 2007 for its
Chardonnay 2005 from the Castel Wineries

EL AL came out ahead of 23 leading world airlines, including Singapore Airlines, British airways, Lufthansa, Qantas and the Emirates

The competition was held in London by the “Business Traveller” magazine in cooperation with the international “Wine & Spirits” Magazine.

At the prize-giving ceremony, the judges stated that “the Israeli wine was a surprise with quality that was conspicuously higher than international wines served in the First Class sections of airlines considered leaders in the world.”

David Maimon, EL AL Vice President Service said today: “EL AL is the only airline in Israel offering First Class service on its flights to various destinations around the world. We are proud of our partnership with Israeli companies that demonstrate excellence on an international level. Incorporating the special high quality refined wines of the best of Israel’s wineries enhances the flight experience for all EL AL passengers, especially those in First Class. As part of this effort, we recently introduced our ‘Wine of the Month’ product, providing our premium passengers with an opportunity to taste special varieties of different wines. We will continue to enhance the flight experience in the future as well, as part of the process of upgrading our premium Classes in all our 777 and 747 aircraft.”

The winning Chardonnay is from the Castel Winery, one of Israel’s first boutique wineries, founded in Ramat Raziel in 1988 by Eli Ben-Zaken and his sons Eitan and Ariel. The winery’s name is taken from an adjacent Crusader castle. From its very first vintage, the winery earned praises and today its wines are a great success in Israel and overseas.

Castel wines are a blend of several grape types, the work of vintner Eli Ben-Zaken. In the old world tradition, the bottle labels specify the area of the Judean Hills, near Jerusalem, in which the grapes grew.

‘C’ Blanc du Castel Chardonnay is produced according to the tradition of Bourgogne (Burgundy), utilizing high quality grapes that grow in the vineyards planted near the winery. After gentle pressing, the new wine is transferred to French oak casks (50% new and 50% one year old). The wine ferments in the casks and undergoes an aging process for one year with its lees. Its fruity bouquet has a hint of toasted almonds. This is a balanced, rich wine that envelops the palate with tastes of citrus and yellow tropical fruits.