Holy Beverage!
As
any even casual reader of the Bible or student of ancient
history knows, wine has been produced and consumed in the
Land of Israel for thousands of years. It has also been
exported for many centuries, constituting a favored drink
among the Roman legions and among the pharaoh’s court in
Egypt in ancient times. Today, wine continues to play a
central role in weekly Jewish Sabbath observance and is
present at other times throughout the year during the
celebration of holidays and family milestones. Jews
celebrate with wine as a symbol of God’s benevolence, a sign
of the Covenant and as a blessing that helps bring them
closer to the divine presence. Historically, however, Jews
have never regarded wine, the fruit of the vine, simply as a
drink, and have rarely prized it solely for its pleasurable
effects. It is viewed instead as a sacred beverage,
essential to family and community life. Talmudic sources
even recommended consuming wine as an aid in developing
profound insights into understanding the world. So it is not
surprising that as we have come to enjoy wine in the last
few decades primarily as a delicious and healthful mealtime
beverage option, wines from Israel, which were made
traditionally for thousands of years but with a different
purpose in mind, have not reached a wider
audience.
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This has changed
with a new generation of winemaker focused more on quality
production techniques and with identifying micro-climates
within the country specially suited for cultivating noble
grape varieties. While Israel’s wine industry is very small
in comparison to most other countries from which we import
(only 2O,OOO acres are planted to vines, although this is
double the acreage planted in 2OOO and quadruple the land
under vine in 1995!), and the majority of the wines are
still not to a world-class standard, there are a number of
outstanding boutique wineries operating that are fully
attuned to the mainstream contemporary palate. The Kosher
wines that they produce may be hard to find but they are
competitive with comparably priced wines from elsewhere.
Gone are the days when Kosher necessarily meant sweet and
cloying. There have been some outstanding examples from
California available for several years and Israel has
apparently now contributed many in the past few vintages to
match or surpass them. This has occurred as new blood has
entered the industry. In particular, there are winemakers
educated in the US, Australia and Europe who have brought
the most up-to-date technical expertise to bear on the
country’s mostly warm climate vineyards. Because Israel’s
weather is so dry and drought is a perennial issue, many
farmers of other fruits have turned to planting grapes as
the vines require relatively less water. A recent tasting
confirmed that despite the predominance of many drab and
unexciting wines lacking vivacity or structure, Israel now
produces several that are delicious. The industry now has
14O wineries among which are some budding international
stars, particularly those who are planting at higher
elevation cooler climate sites within the Golan, Upper
Galilee and the Judean Hills near Jerusalem.
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While HAMSREK DOMAINE TZORA HAMASREK CHILLAG BAZELET |
