Adam Montefiore


Adam S. Montefiore is a British-born Israeli wine trade veteran, ex-winery insider, wine critic, wine writer and author.

Biography

Adam Sebag Montefiore was born in Kensington, London. His father was Dr. Stephen Eric Sebag-Montefiore, descended from a line of wealthy Sephardi Jews who were diplomats and bankers in Italy and Morocco. His mother was April Sebag-Montefiore from a family of poor Lithuanian Jewish scholars. He is the great-great-grandson of Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore, nephew and heir of Sir Moses Montefiore. He is the brother of Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, a writer, Rupert Sebag-Montefiore, ex-chairman of Savills estate agents and Simon Sebag-Montefiore, a historian. He was educated at Wellesley House and Wellington College.
Montefiore immigrated to Israel in 1989. He lives in Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv. He and Gillian Leah Montefiore were married in 1982. She died in 2015. He has three children, Dr. Liam Murphy Sebag-Montefiore, David Jonathan Montefiore and Rachel Leah Montefiore, and six grandchildren. His current partner, since 2017, is Daphna Sternfeld.

Wine career

Adam Montefiore is a specialist in Israeli wine. He has been referred to as 'The Ambassador of Israeli Wine,' and 'The English Voice of Israeli Wine.' He is the Wine Writer for the Jerusalem Post and has written books on Israeli wine.
Montefiore worked for Charrington and Crest Hotels International .
He has been the Wine Writer of The Jerusalem Post since 2010. He is the biographer of the Golan Heights Winery and Domaine du Castel, arguably Israel's two most famous wineries, and author of The Wine Route of Israel and Wines of Israel. He also writes about wine for the Jewish Chronicle and www.wines-Israel.com . He contributes to Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, Oz Clarke's Wine A to Z, The World Atlas of Wine, The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia and writes the section on Israel and Kosher for Jancis Robinson MW's Oxford Companion to Wine. He is a member of The Circle of Wine Writers.
Currently, he is CEO of Adam Montefiore Wine Consultancy, offering services to wineries, retailers, hotels, restaurants and private individuals, and partner of The Israel Wine Experience, which educates about Israeli wine and advances wine tourism.
He has won two Gourmand Awards, known as the Oscars for food and wine books, for Best Northern Hemisphere Wine Book and Best World of Wine Book of the Year
In 2024, he was presented with the prestigious Terravino Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his contribution to Israeli wine. .

Published works

  • The Book of New Israeli Food, J. Gur 2007
  • 120 Harvests, Carmel Winery, 2010, with A.Ravid
  • The Wine Route of Israel, 2012, edited by E. Sacks
  • Wines of Israel, 2012, edited by E. Sacks
  • Wines of Israel, Israel Export Institute, 2013The Wine Route of Israel, 2015, edited by E. SacksShvill Ha'Yayin, 2016, edited by E. Sacks
  • Wines of Israel, 2020, edited by E. Sacks
  • Domaine du Castel: The Biography, 2023
  • Yikvei Ramat Hagolan, 2023
  • Golan Heights Winery: Forty Years of Quality, Innovation and Authenticity, 2024
  • Time and Place, Tzora Vineyards, 2024