According to sommelier Avi Ben Ami, it’s always the right time to drink wine. Even the less expensive vintages.

“It’s especially necessary during a war,” said Ben Ami, who turned from choosing and writing about wines to establishing wine industry events 23 years ago.

Six days before the US-Israel war with Iran, a panel of wine experts chose 18 affordable wines in Best Value, a Ben Ami wine event currently marking its 18th year.

This year, 128 wines were submitted and evaluated in a blind tasting by the panel of judges that included sommeliers, winemakers and wine industry professionals to evaluate wines with a price of under NIS 79 ($25)

Few Israeli boutique wineries are included, as most of the smaller, artisanal vineyards don’t offer wines in that price range, said Ben Ami, making it primarily a competition for wines from the larger Israeli wineries.

“There are fewer players in this, but these are wines that are fun to drink, they’re daily wines, and the real story here is that it’s a blind tasting,” said Ben Ami. “I used to write about wine, and the thing is, you’re always influenced by things, by who you know and the story behind the wine. In this challenge,  you don’t know what you’re tasting, and that’s the only way you make your choices.”

When Ben Ami first created Best Value 18 years ago, he set the NIS 79 price cap and the price hasn’t changed since.

This year’s Best Value winners included several Sauvignon Blancs under NIS 79, three Chardonnays........

© The Times of Israel