Israel is preparing to reinvent the image of its wines in America, its biggest foreign wine market, reports Howard G. Goldberg in Decanter.com. A consortium of some 30 wineries plan to spend $1m a year to re-brand their wines in the US.

The promotion programme will advance the notion that the wines are Israeli and eastern Mediterranean rather than "the stereotype - Jewish, kosher, sacramental," says Michal Neeman of the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute's food & beverage division.

Israeli wines are perceived as primarily kosher in America, even if some from boutiques are not kosher. In addition, America's kosher-wine sector is increasingly filling up with competitors from other wine countries.

Having introduced labels that downplay the image of Jewishness, Israeli producers want to broaden their appeal by attracting non-Jewish consumers. The consortium's members include Carmel Wines, Golan Heights Winery, Binyamina, Efrat and Tishbi wineries.

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( Hyperlink: www.decanter.com/news/87134.html )