After meeting up in the US for the tasting at Royal, David Raccah and I were able to schedule one other tasting – this time back in Israel where we headed out to Barkan Winery for what was supposed to be a standard lineup check-in. We sat down with head winemaker Olivier Fratty, who was ridiculously gracious with his time and took us through the current slate of domestic Barkan releases. For context, Olivier studied at the University of Bordeaux and spent years as assistant winemaker at Teperberg—where he was responsible for many of my absolute favorite Israeli wines from the 2000s and early 2010s before Teperberg shifted styles—alongside running his own private label. Since taking over operations at Barkan, he has orchestrated a legit turnaround, steering the winery toward cleaner acidity, better balance, and serious technical precision.

What makes Olivier’s work at Barkan particularly fascinating is the commercial tightrope he has to walk. Barkan’s parent company, Tempo, likely possesses the most advanced marketing and sales data of any kosher wine producer in the business. They know exactly where the boundaries lie—especially when it comes to high-volume bottles sitting comfortably on supermarket shelves. When wine geeks look for crisp, high-acid whites, Tempo understands that if a winemaker pushes that envelope too far into hyper-lean or aggressively tart territory, they risk impacting broad market share. The true magic of what Olivier is pulling off is bridging that gap: crafting wines that stay comfortably within Tempo’s commercial guardrails while delivering the balance, tension, and freshness that serious wine lovers crave.