Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #15: Lenny Recanati and Kobi Arviv of Recanati Winery

In the year 2000, Lenny Recanati decided to start a winery, which is not a small decision. Born out of a love of wine, Lenny rightly says that when you’re not making money, it’s a hobby, and when you’re making money, it’s a business. Today, his winery is recognized as one of the best in Israel. In this episode we interview Lenny and his head winemaker Kobi Arviv and learn how they make elegant, gastronomic wines in a warm climate - not an easy thing to do. Kobi’s philosophy? Keep it simple, keep the sense of place. They focus on both classic wine varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and also focus on indigenous varietals that help keep that sense of place. Please join us in this fascinating interview with Lenny and Kobi.

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Chapters

• 2:01 Introduction
• 2:03 Interview with Lenny and Kobi
• 28:03 Outro and how to find Recanati Winery and The Wine Pair Podcast

Transcript

Show Notes

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #15: Lenny Recanati and Kobi Arviv of Recanati Winery 00:00

Hello, and welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast! I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and for this special episode, I am on my own as my wine pairing partner in crime is busy making cakes for her Baby Cakes micro-bakery, which by the way you can learn more about if you head over to her website lovebabycakes.com.

Today, we are going to introduce you to Lenny Recanati and Kobi Arviv of Recanati Winery. Lenny is the owner of the winery, and Kobi is the head winemaker. Lenny Recanati started his eponymous winery in 2000 in Israel using both well-known grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well as less known grapes like Carignan.

Now, as a quick orientation to what we usually do in our podcast podcast, in most episodes we learn about, taste, and review two to three wines that are reasonably priced, which means under $25, and should be easy to find. However, for this special set of episodes, we interview people who are involved in actually making wine. Because part of what we want to do with our podcast is to educate ourselves and you on different aspects of wine knowledge in a fun, entertaining, and unstuffy way, even fun and entertaining as Decanter magazine has called our podcast, and that is what we are doing today!

A small plug before we get to the interview with Lenny and Kobi - if you like what you are hearing or are interested in hearing our other “regular” episodes, please subscribe or follow our podcast so you can hear more - especially since you are only getting one half of The Wine Pair Podcast in this episode! You can also go to our website thewinepairpodcast.com to send us a note or subscribe to our newsletter, you can follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at The Wine Pair Podcast, and, if you like what you are hearing, you can even leave us a nice rating and review, we won’t mind!

Ok, let’s get to the interview with Lenny and Kobi

Interview with Lenny Recanati and Kobi Arviv of Recanati Winery 02:02

Hi Lenny and Kobi  - and welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. 

We are so happy and honored to have you with us, and we are really looking forward to learning more about you both and the wonderful wines you make. You are actually the second Israeli winery and winemakers we have had the pleasure of speaking with (Victor Schoenfeld, Head Winemaker of Golan Heights Winery) and so we are very interested in hearing your story, learning more about your wines, and helping our listeners discover you. 

Well, without further ado, let’s jump in - and let’s start with a little bit about you, your background and how you met, and the journey to create Recanati wines.

Interview Questions:
Let’s start with you, Lenny. Tell us a little about you, your backgrounds, and if wine played a part of your life growing up. And now you, Kobi, same question - tell us about your background, if wine was part of your upbringing, and how you started to become a winemaker

• Lenny, was starting a winery something you had planned for and pursued, or did it "find" you?
• How did you and Kobi meet? What brought you two to work together?
• Kobi, in terms of becoming a winemaker, did you have a mentor, or someone who taught you the ropes? How did you come to make wine in Israel
• What do you think defines you as a winemaker and makes your wines with Recanati winery so special? Do you lean more towards the art or science of wine?
• What should our listeners know about wines from Israel? What may surprise them? What are some things about making wine in Israel that people may not understand? Are there challenges they may not know about? Are there certain types of grapes that do better there?
• Tell us about a few of your latest releases and what makes you excited about them. What are some of the unique wines you make?
• Is there a story behind your beautiful logo?
• If we were to invite you to Sunday Night Dinner (a tradition in our Italian American family), what of your wines would you bring and why?
• How can people find your wines and follow you (your website, social, etc.)?

Outro and How to Find Lenny Recanati and Kobi Arviv of Recanati Winery 36:51

Thank you very much for listening to our interview with 

Just in case you are worried about memorizing all the website or email to get in touch with them, don’t worry, you can find out all of this information on our website thewinepairpodcast.com in our show notes for this episode. But so you have it, here again is the information about how to find out more about 

• Website: https://www.recanati-winery.com/en/
• Instagram: @recanatiwinery
• Email: info@recanati-winery.com

And, we hope you will subscribe to our podcast The Wine Pair Podcast and follow us on Instagram, and visit our website at thewinepairpodcast.com where you can reach out to us and sign up for our newsletter, and you can also reach out to me at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com if you want more information, and we look forward to hearing from you!

But for now it’s time to go, and as we like to say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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