So good evening everyone Welcome to um the next of our wsct School london webinar series where we’ve Got a very special one Um today with hal sunderland cohen Um a great israeli ambassador for wine Of israel and he is going to present us Um a whole um a whole Great presentation on the wines of Israel All the ins and outs you know for those Of you who are studying for those that You aren’t studying i think this is Going to be A really fascinating overview and i’m Personally very excited And understand a bit more so um Yep so let me hand over now um Tell um as i um mentioned Please type any questions that you have In the chat Um and we will answer those at the end Um of the um of this webinar so i’m Going to be quiet now mute myself And that hand over to patel thank you Pal Welcome thank you so much it’s a Real pleasure and honor being on this Webinar Uh i’ll introduce myself um uh shortly My name is tal sundelen cohen I’ve been a wine journalist for um For many years for the last seven years I was working for globe’s
Newspaper which is our economic magazine Which is like um Like the financial times i guess in in Britain I wrote books by Spirit i’m acting as a judge and wine Competitions And uh also i give a lot of seminars And courses and and webinars and and Zoom to um it’s um It’s different these times i’m also Acting as the Wine ambassador uh so if someone wants To ask me just Anything just tell at the wine Ambassador that’s my Email it’s gmail.com and um What else what else um i was chosen as The man of the year For vino magazine um So that’s it this is me eventually and Today we’re um I’m located i’m actually uh located The half of the time i’m in tel aviv Half of the time in london and i’m Traveling a lot So you can reach me uh almost All around the globe right so Um israeli wine very excited i mean it’s Funny because when you think about Israeli wines do you try you know People ask me where do we look located This is the You know one corner sir asked me is it
The old world wine is The new world wine where is it exactly And i said no it’s not there it’s not There actually we belong to the Maybe a new category ancient wine World because if you think about our Area Including um turkey and cyprus and Georgia and georgia And and lebanon and armenia and greece All these Um mediterranean uh wines uh Wineries we’re talking about Not years ago we’re talking about ten Thousand years ago When the vedic vernifera actually Started uh In israel so without further ado let’s Let’s start uh Scrolling the the um The presentation and um we’ll go Uh quickly on some slides so we know the History Of uh um israel so If we’re talking about eastern Mediterranean as i mentioned we talked About ten thousand years ago Um at the time they used to make Wine but for different purposes Of course the most dangerous thing to Drink at that time was Water yes water was very dangerous Because you know If you think about mediterranean it’s
Kind of a dry hot country Water is very expensive to find So you need to drill uh holes in the Ground to have Whales maybe streams of water none of Well most of them were not really pure So the best thing to do is to combine Water And wine and then with the alcohol the Combination is wonderful Because then the alcohol affects the Water you can drink it With a bit of a smile on your face which Is excellent Um the bible mentions wine All the time i mean when you walk in Israel when you go to Wineries or even just touring in israel You’ll find Ancient wineries all over from the north To the south You’ll find those places that used to be People used to Step on top of um the grapes and make A vines hundreds of ancient sorry Mr cohen sorry are you showing us any Presentation because We cannot see your presentation oh you Cannot Present no yes yes yes I am please i am you cannot see my Presentation So where we’ll start uh we’ll um We’ll try to um fine it’s fine
If you have an issue just write it in The chat box it’s fine please continue What you’re doing pal Okay thank you um so um In the bible from when we talk about Noah And and the the first actually a person That uh Planted the vines and to king david i Mean It’s amazing because today even when you Walk In let’s say ella valley not far from Jerusalem You can really walk at the battleground Between david and And goliath and today it’s full of vines It’s full of grapes it’s beautiful to See And so can you imagine yes could you Share your screen again for us please Okay i’ll do that Let me see because um oh Okay It was there and then when when you were Pressing some buttons You came out oh maybe maybe maybe you Just need to share again We’re nearly there that’s it so if you Just Pop it on um full screen Is that okay almost That’s it perfect okay okay i’m sorry For the technical uh
Problems i tried to to to to uh Rush a bit the history because it’s Really interesting i mean history alives In israel that’s What i’m trying to say when you work in Israel when you walk When you go to wineries history is there You can really Imagine imagine king david king solomon Walking the grounds you know Petting the the the vineyards and and It’s amazing One of the oldest um wine cellars that We find in the galileo area Uh in tel kabiri we’re talking about 3 600 years ago so you really really Um can um appreciate in israel The history of the wine making It’s uh it’s still alive and um When we talk about the golden age of Course we’re talking about the Hellenistic when the greek And roman uh were in israel they Actually um were a lot of merchandise And they sold a lot of israeli wines Coming wines coming from From the land of israel um To where today uh we found that France and and italy and and spain So so wines from israel were traveling All over the world during that time Um at the time also wine was for Religious purposes i mean uh It was also a medicine and if you want
To praise your gods Uh wherever whatever god you were Praying for one was part of the the Rituals So we’re talking about many many years But then there was the ottoman period And the arab conquest where actually um Wines was stop producing because as you Know muslim Are believed not to drink wine and it’s Not allowed in their In their uh religious so suddenly No wine making and almost no Vines um for uh wine in israel There were a few i would say you know Almost Uh a few vineyards just for really Really for Priests and for rabbis to make wines at The time but Uh we’re talking about the destruction Or the the actually the disappearing Of all the wine history of the time but Don’t worry It came back what happened in the 19th Century Few uh family come back to jerusalem And they settled in the old city and in 1970 the temper bird family Founded the almost the first i guess um Cottage industry boutique winery if we Call it in a Kind of fashion marketing uh Uh word uh a winery but usually it was
Made For local consumption Uh mainly sweet red Kosher sacramental wine this is what They used to drink at the time We’ll talk about kosher wine in a minute But uh usually Um the at the beginning it was always Sweet wise because you know when you Welcome the chabad You want to have something sweet uh To drink and sweeten your hearts within Your soul So we used to make a lot of sweet ones At the time But 120 years ago 1882 Uh a very famous jewish person byron Edmond the rothschild come And he actually established the modern Um Israeli industry he built two amazing Wineries Um and after that he almost gave it as a Present to The the winters and today they call it Carmel winery by the way Family and the caramel winery still Exists until today They’re considered to be um the leading Wineries in israel they are considered To be one of the biggest wineries in Israel And they make a lot a lot of amazing Wines carmel and the tupperware
Family so at the time when we talk about 1882 uh that was The the renaissance we call it of the Israeli wines Suddenly um jews all over the world can Drink again kosher israeli wines wines Coming from the holy land Um they used to drink it mainly for Sacramental purposes as part of our Religious Uh before the when we get married uh For the shabbat for all our tradition And all our holidays We usually uh drink wine Uh so for a hundred three years we used To make kind of um Let’s say medium style wine some of them Was uh most of it was sweet some of it Was dry Semi-dried but really kind of a medium Style Wine not very uh expensive Mainly it was as i said for uh Religious purposes um But then What happened uh we had a visitor coming From uc davis Professor cornelius oh and he came as a A guest Uh to israel in For 1974 um he realized actually this is A great Plan of having amazing uh Wise and he actually started to consult
And he said listen you can have amazing Um international grapes here not The grapes that only the baron edmund Rochelle because edmund rochelle don’t Forget his uh Uh i mean his family uh you think about Rochelle you think about Mutton uh mutton watching do you think About chateau lafitte So you think about bordeaux you think About um Grapes coming from france and yes at the Time We used to have a lot of carinian and Grenache and semyon And and and um all these uh Grapes that they actually came with uh Baron de rochelle And professor connelly so from the United states said Listen this is amazing place for Cabernet sauvignon and melon and Chardonnay So what happened in the north In the north of israel in the galilee in The In the golan heights winery we um There was a new winery came about and Established a new winery in 1983 And um that actually symbolized The quality revolution after uh golden Heights winery Um we started to drinking more quality Wine we started
In um understanding more about wine Suddenly more and more um Lessons and and seminars and courses About wines and Suddenly you see more israeli wines on The wine menus And in 1989 that was the beginning of What we call the boutique wine Revolution Um the first uh the first uh Uh um the first winery was marg elite Winery professorial magalit came from The united states after a year of Studying and he opened the first Boutique winery and after that kind of a Flood Of boutique wineries more and more People are looking for to plant more Vines and suddenly you see The vines that it used to be in the Middle Of israel or shooting a map in a minute Going North and going east and looking for High grounds and Going up and up to make quality um Grapes so we talk about the map let’s See where we are located Everybody knows this everybody that Loves one i know this uh Knows this map this is the map of the World with the two Um places that you can grow wise And usually you said okay where is
Israel where is israel Well israel is so tiny you cannot see Yes israel Is a very small banana-shaped country It’s so tiny that you even cannot see it On this map But i can promise you this tiny Uh country have A lot of micro climate And we have uh many elevations and we Have different wine regions So just for example uh a cabaret Sauvignon syrup coming from the golan Heights will be totally different Than the wine coming from judea hills or Coming even from our desert In the negev so we have vines and we Have vinery Wineries coming from all over the Country So quickly go over the wine regions on The north Just um near the border of Syria and lebanon we have the golan Heights The golan heights is a beautiful place To grow Wines it’s high in elevation over 1 000 Meter above sea level Uh in the north golan it’s mainly Volcanic soil And snow in the winter Hot summer beautiful beautiful place to Grow wines
And we have the south of the golan just Um above the sea of galilee that you can See there Also many many great Vines coming from the south of the golan On the left-hand side when you see the Word sfat Svat is one of our holy cities in the North of israel you see the galil area Galileo Is i think the prettiest uh Uh vine um vine area In in israel you see here forest and And and rivers and and vines And you have amazing views Of uh of uh vines and and and the land Is a combination of uh Terrarosa and chalk and and and Lime and and and volcanic soil And a bit of gravel so even the land is Different and the Altitudes is different um so you can Have A lot of different um characters Of uh of um terroir and um Land coming from one area on the Um on the shore when you see haifa tel Aviv That’s this is our shore this is our Beach and you have a lot of Um vines over there this is like the Place of our Mass production uh uh Vineyards but it’s beautiful because you
Have All the time the the mediterranean sea You have The cooling down effect the breeze Coming from the sea So even when it’s not when it’s hot it’s Not that hot because You have the afternoon um breeze and it Cools down the vines so It’s always um it’s always Um quality uh climate Samaria also guccicion is a beautiful Kind of ancient when you think about Abraham Isaac and jacob maybe you should think About that area Um beautiful high elevation Uh of uh vineyards and then we’ll come To The judea the judea usually we um uh We divided three uh Three section we have the judean coast Which is almost sea level We have the judean foothill most of the Wineries are located there and the Judean hills Beautiful beautiful high um Almost we call call it the central Mountain um And most of the quality vineyards are Located there and then we have in the South we have our negev this is the Desert now most of the desert you cannot It’s impossible to grow grape there but
There is Some spaces that you can that are really High Over uh 500 some some of them are even 800 meters Above sea level and that’s a perfect Perfect place to Uh to grow vines uh some of them really Near the border with egypt Um and you have the the durational Between the uh between the day And night is quite high so you’ll have Sometimes 15 and sometimes more Um percentage or your degrees Uh difference between daytime and Nighttime so if you’re talking about Duration Uh this is a perfect place to have this Um Um day and night um uh Thing so this is the the wine regions of Israel As i said very small but a lot of micro Climate And different terroir in the negev we Have sandy Hills uh so as i said in the north we Have volcanic terrorists in the Coastline Choke volcanic soil and limestone in the Hills And sandy and clay in the south I’m going to say sour i’m talking about Our um
Our desert and the the negev Highlands um as i said it’s a small Country so Only 13 500 000 acres under vines Um not a lot of production I have to say um but Because we cannot afford ourselves to do Mass production Uh our wines is target for a quality Uh wine most of 99 Of our wines are quality wines so we Hardly have Kind of this um i wouldn’t say cheap but Non-expensive uh uh wines Most of the wines are premium wines Quality wines and of course different Prices Um the climate mediterranean i mean It’s funny when you sometimes people Talk about California mediterranean sometime Australia Mediterranean no mediterranean is israel This is like the birthplace of Mediterranean So yes we have a mediterranean climate Long Hot dry summers it’s um and When we talk about long summers we’re Talking about like seven Sometimes eight months of kind of a Summer The winter is short uh we have some snow On
On higher ground but also again short Period It’s not like switzerland when you can Go for three months skiing no Um and it does that in the desert the Semi-arid And desert condition it is hot there Man that’s why we irrigate we need to Irrigate otherwise there is no Uh we don’t have any chances to our Vines Although and this is uh A big although um some of our vineyards Starting more and more in the last few Years not to be irrigated Because they’re old vines and some of The roots are dagged Enough deep to get their own water So you’ll find in many places vines that Are not irrigated But as i said and as you know most of The new vines Uh most of the new um vineyards and of Course in the south you need You must irrigate otherwise we will not Have Wines at the harvest um uh we have Because of our mild climate we have kind Of a Long period of harvest mid To late july um until the end of October sometimes yes sometimes even Early november We still harvest in in in israel
Uh most of it is uh machine of course But we have a lot of places with With the hand harvesting so um mainly For uh um Premium quality wine and some of our Sparkling wines of course We do and harvesters of course in Boutique wineries And boutique vineyards when you don’t Need this giant Machine so people are going it’s usually A family thing Uh family and friends they get together They go out and they They um they do the harvest together It’s a it’s a I did some and almost every year i Joined uh A harvest and it’s uh yeah it’s a hard Job but Uh but it’s fun it’s really fun and i Suggest to Anyone that haven’t been harvest uh in His life Go ahead find the winery and and do the Harvest it’s Fun it is fun Right um we talked about the appellation We talk about the the the places in the Region Um i have to say israel has no Uh appellation system per se We don’t good and bad i mean uh We will um you must
Plan here or you must do this or you you You allowed to uh we don’t have almost Any rules Of um uh harvesting or or Doing so we do a lot of experimenting And although israel is kind of an Ancient wine country Is also a new kind of country and we’re Still looking To learn our vines to learn our Land to learn what the best to do With our um with our uh vin Vineyards and what kind of wine to make So it’s All the time is a kind of a amazing Interesting Process of learning all the time Um but i have to say about judean hill That’s this is quite new this is only For The last year today is the is the first Uh And only region at the moment with the Form of recognition As an appellation of uh origin um So this is the first and i hope uh in The future many will come And we can find the appalachian of the Golan and the galil and and And maybe other uh places so this Is uh just to let you know about the Appellation system We don’t have but we do follow some Rules
In during labeling so if you find um On the label that says galil coming from Galil Means that usually 85 minimum of 85 Percent of the Vines of the of The grapes are coming from the galileo And also with a single grape variety if You’ll find on the Label uh petit You’ll find that 85 minimum 85 Of the bottle is made by um this wine Single variety so we do follow This kind of wine lows it’s very Interesting Um and um and uh People should know about it right about Israel Um wineries if i had a time tunnel Um uh i could take you 40 years uh 30 years Um ago we had only seven wineries i mean In the 80s beginning of 80s we have kind Of Seven wineries making mainly Red kosher sacramental wines yes some White some Some dry um but that was it seven Wineries big wineries And today we have more than 300 wineries Amazing it’s kind of a slow But quality revolution that um Came all over the the country uh we have Large around 60 large commercial
Uh wineries that produce Many kinds of wines and they um And and about 300 are considerably Boutique and what we call garagist or Family Uh wineries um and We have some big wineries that uh Produce uh Over six million bottle a year like uh Um A caramel winery that i mentioned they Produce around 10 some say 12 million bottles a year So yes we do have some uh big production Of wise But saying big production i don’t mean That All the wise is mass production at the Contrary Most of the a lot of the wine that they Make Because they are so big they make big Quality Award-winning trophy and gold medal uh Winning wines in this wineries beautiful Beautiful Wines um influences Well i mean you can start when The influence of bahrain edmond the Rochelle when he’s he came with his Team so you have a kind of a french Tradition and knowledge in in the uh 19th century But then um 100 years later you have the
Californian expertise You have more of kind of a new world Influence in the 2000s Uh you have more kind of an australian Influence uh more and more um Labs and and supporting techniques and And today today this i think this is the Most Interesting time in the time of the Israeli wineries because We do everything people are curious they Want to study more and more So you have from natural organic A lot of our wineries are sustainable uh Use sustainable techniques so you see The evolution Of wine making and i think there is No better time to drink an israeli wine Than now I mean if someone would say oh i drank Israeli wine 30 years ago 40 years ago They don’t make wine like they used to Do make and i said Yes thank you better not to drink wines From 40 years ago i mean some of them Were good But most of them were you know today Really amazing amazing award-winning I think unique so unique you can really Taste The land you can really taste the the Character Of of israel through the wines And and some of the wines you can really
Enjoy the sun And and and and the ocean through these Bottles beautiful beautiful wines coming From israel Um i know that usually people ask me About grape varieties What is the indigenous grape varieties In israel yes we do have But as i said we do experiment and we do Have Everything and because we don’t have uh Kind of a strong and Severe application system we can do Whatever we want And we love it so um [Music] Just to mention the production is me Uh reds we still do amazing reds 65 Approximately okay um red wines we do A lot of white wines people are more and More enjoying white wines of course it’s A Hot country so uh people are trying to Um uh drink uh cold wine Crispy wines white wine we have amazing Roses We have some orange wine we do make Sparkling wines Um what we call the traditional method And we have dessert wine now when i talk About dessert wine i’m not talking about Sweet kosher Sacramental wine i’m talking about like Um a proper dessert wine late harvest
Uh some of them even portraits wine um And even ice wines yes we do have kind Of a high Height swine uh in israel so We have everything and of course Uh let’s say port style or from uh Like more Uh wines that are um with alcohol Um right here we go oh that’s the most Amazing i love this list So we have the the um i love this uh Um this uh uh released because you can See How many uh uh grapes we use we have we Use the cabernet sauvignon the mellow And the syrup and the shiraz And by the way when i say siraj shiraz You’ll have when uh You can have like a a north syrah Uh wine with a beautiful kind of a Peppery style Violet more uh like this um Like the north front style and You can have a full body monster Shiraz the same country you’ll have both Of them And we have the cabana franc more and More people like the cabinet frank and Israel It’s really considerably a more kind of An israeli mediterranean Uh dry variety the carinian is doing a Big comeback I mean it used to be a mass production
Production a grape for doing a lot of Wise Today you’ll find some amazing old vines Uh making super premium Wine so the caribbean is doing a Comeback They do reef or what we call the petit Syrah also Big in israel beautiful wine but deeper Though I mean when you talk about ever Though usually if you Do a reference like a blend wine okay We’ll add a bit of Diver though to have maybe some Structure some uh Um you know tannins no we have a hundred Percent petitive Dough beautiful masculine Beautiful wine um made from petit verdo And we have malbec And we have our opinion noir and demo Fredre And the grenache and then beyond Pinotage yeah you think you’re in In italy you know it’s sold in israel And we talk about White we talk about the chardonnay Sauvignon blanc i mean Guys try and have an israeli sauvignon Blanc Don’t think about the new zealand style Don’t think about Kind of a sharp uh some sale
Try to think about a marriage between These Two um uh Um grape styles between two These two white styles but under a Marriage chuppah In in the holy in the holy land it’s Beautiful we have a nice sauvignon blanc Our geforce tramina is really really Fashionable at the moment Vionia white racing emerald riesling is Doing also a comeback Um uh the colombard uh muscatorella Is big in israel also mainly for uh uh Dessert wine Our chenin blonde is go i think it’s Gonna be one of our signature Uh grapes beautiful beautiful wines Coming from shannon blonde semyon usa Marsam pinoblanc All this in israel and if you didn’t Have enough Let’s continue yes we have sanjuvez and We have them not and we have the Tempranillo And triga national and tim takao like Here in portugal and we have the Zinfandel And two indigenous uh grapes argement And the bittuni i’ll speak about them in A minute and the white we have the Musketeer and pinot gris And the marawi and the chandelier the Bouquet and the baladi and you think
What Is this this is our uh some of our Unique um great varieties That we do a lot of wine let me quickly Go over that well first of all the Argument the argument was Created in 72 in order to give us Kind of the grapes the grape that give a Lot of color we wanted to have kind of A a grape that is uh is strong can Survive the heat so we did a cross Between carinia and suzanne And we created this argument yes At the beginning it was mainly to give Color To a lot of our wines but today with all Vines And special treatment we have amazing Argamon coming from Some exclusive wineries If you’re looking for something special Try to look for argament It says sometimes spicy uh ripe fruits And smoky Beautiful beautiful wine so look for Argament argemon in hebrew A is uh is that color of kind of a Between red and purple kind of a magenta Uh color this is what argement means Uh bituni some someone said to me this Is the answer of pinot noir It’s also very ancient local variety Um it’s a beautiful um We started now uh making more and more
Uh wines out of petuni uh again Ancient this is uh kind of a light Flowery Aromatic um special wine Nothing like you tasted before this is The reds let’s go to the Whites the marawi some call it hamdani Ancient indigenous grape it was found by Mistake Actually a common combination between uh The beginning was uh The combination of um an israeli uh Winery and uh palestinians vineyards And they found out that they can make Unique Uh uh wines out of it is is a beautiful I mean this is nothing like you tasted Before i mean when you think about Is a real mediterranean it’s not it’s Not when you call about fruity wine Or floral wine or herbaceous This is more a combination of all of That and Mainly in test aromas so look for a Marawi Or hamdamni and you’ll have a totally Different experience Um than the rest of the white wines that You know Um the bookie is also very interesting The bookie Actually um was uh An eating drape and the name in arabic Devec dabuki means um like a glue
It’s so sweet the grapes are so sweet It’s like glue your mouth so you can um Imagine um a lot of sugar but also Beautiful acidity in one grape So we have the the bookie and the more And more wineries are now doing Um uh wines from the bookies some of Them are 100 Nabuki some of them are blending it with Sauvignon blanc And um and gavor strominer Look for the bookie again really really Interesting um Let’s continue many times israeli wines Are Um are like um Connected to kosher wines so I have to tell you by now okay None of all the israeli wines are kosher And on all the kosher wines coming from Israel I mean you have a lot of kosher wines Coming from all over the world Um but israel Is of course the the main quality Uh manufacturer of kosher wine so when i Say keep in the kosher What is kosher i would immediately Said kosher is a style Style of making wine like when you think About biodynamic Or when you think about organic when you Think about Natural wine right so it’s a style
It’s a philosophy it’s a way of Making wine Mainly um based on tradition method So um this is what we call kosher wine I would say again the manufacturing wine Of the wine From the harvest till about the bottle Is Similar similar totally similar Uh to the way that you make wine all Over the world But to be kosher you need special Condition and let me do it quickly Kosher means to fit like fitting to The uh tradition of the observant Orthodox Jews that keep the shabbat okay it’s Very important to them So most of the wineries the big wineries I mean In israel they do a kosher wine For two reasons first to respect the People that Looking for a kosher wine in israel and All over the world And second is a marketing thing because If you want to Sell more wine it must be kosher um You’ll have double supervision you’ll Have of course the Winemakers quality assurance in the Wineries But you have also the supervision of the Rabbis to make sure
That everything is done by the tradition And the quality assurance in in the Vineyard then And of course the the in the winery when We talk about Agricultural rules we’re talking about Some things that take this Way back to the bible meaning Uh i think 99 of our vineyards When they plant you do not harvest them Until only the fourth year only in the Fourth year You are um you’re allowed to harvest the Wines Which is amazing because you give the Winery the vines enough time to To get strong you know to build the Character It’s like you know it’s like sending a Child to work no you don’t send child to Work You want it to grow you want to become a Man or a woman And then you can send them to work Exactly with Vines you need them to build a structure To be strong and then you can take the Grapes out of them Also in our tradition every seven years You need to let the ground rest so if You’re talking about the sensibility Uh sustainability uh agriculture this is What we’re talking about Okay every seven years uh we let the
Ground rest And only um again we harvest So uh in many places you just leave the The ground like that the The grapes are falling uh get Nourishment to the ground again Yes you take care of it but you don’t um You take your care of the vines but you Don’t Um take a lot of the dr the ground So the ground the the soil is getting Back A lot of minerals and a lot of i think Energy is Also a good uh word to use it Um once You harvest the grapes from let’s say Crushing thyme Until you bottle and you cork you seal The bottles All this thing must be touched by Orthodox jews that Observe the shabbat okay from crushing Till the seals uh with course or screw Caps whatever Must be uh taking care of orthodox jews Um so they we know that only Observant are doing the um Actually the manufacturing of the wine Um Only kosher substance may be used and we Checked that The finding they used the engine etc all These
And i i put some um stamps of kashrut What we called on the sides so you can Usually see them on the back label of The Bottles uh some bottles will have more Than one Um kashrut label so they’re Uh respecting a lot of let’s say [Music] Not religions but uh um [Music] Current or uh communities Like the communities of uh orthodox People um there is no legal requirement I mean they’re talking about like Government no there’s no Uh requirement for making kosher wines And we have a lot of Uh um many of the israeli wineries our Nose kosher now this is I’m gonna tell you something that is um Um quite um Maybe strange to hear but i think 90 85 of the Uh overall wise in israel are kosher But uh a lot of the Wineries are not kosher if it doesn’t Make Sense so because there are a lot of uh Batik wineries They they they choose not to be kosher So you’ll have more uh wineries that are More that are not kosher but the overall Production of wine in israel if more
Than 85 It is kosher okay so just To make sense out of that um and to sum It up kosher wines Uh do not have to be sweet or you know Taste awful no it’s a beautiful Beautiful Dry high quality award-winning uh Wines all of them can be kosher and of Course as the rest of the world Um some kosher wines are are suitable For Vegetarian and vegans So we have all that now a bit about uh Israeli wines around the world um So um we export I have to say in israel we drink of Most of our wines we we’re falling we we Are in love with israel wines and we Drink most of our wines Ourselves but we export we export a lot Mainly for jewish Communities but not only um So you can find israeli wines on kosher Wise uh in Michelle stars uh um restaurants all Over the world In wine clubs and wine bars wherever you Go All over the world our main um Market out of israel is the united States And then we have uh france yes In the united kingdom here we have also
Uh a big community and a lot of wineries From israel are coming here to To uh to london and um if you’re looking For israeli wines and you don’t know Where to look for Ask me just i’ll give you my email at The end Just ask me whatever you want and i’ll Tell you where to get it Or if you want my advice and things like That i’ll tell you Again germany canada and we’re not Talking about asia yes you can find Israeli wines and um [Music] In in in japan and in china And in thailand and in taiwan and you Can find israeli wines All over and as maybe some of them Some of you follow the news that uh just A few weeks ago we signed A peace agreement with um dubai and abu Dhabi And and many countries that were not In good situation uh The la the last years for longest time And now you can find israeli wines in Dubai and abu dhabi and all these places Amazing exciting so yes you can find Israeli wines Almost wherever you want Um we have two masterful wines the first One was Around peak the ceo and the
Wine chief winemaker of so uh winery And the um the the first Picture that i saw the i i show you Uh the shoresh um Vineyards is belong to soho winery Thank you around for use let me use this Uh Uh picture and idol 11 song just uh i Think a month ago or maybe Uh two months ago he again is um master Of wine So he’s the second and the newest uh Master of wine that we have Is the chief wang mo winemaker of Backhand winery Bachan winery is their our biggest Winery in israel They make also market wines but also Amazing uh beauty quality uh restaurant Award-winning wines So look for soraa winery look for uh Bakan winery uh and taste what these Guys are doing with the wines Not only with their knowledge um What else um i think when you talk about Wine you need to Um combine uh wine with food it’s Usually go together So you’ll see the at the last few years The israeli culinary are Is is growing and you’ll find a lot of Israeli um um Restaurants um all over the world and I’m not talking about
You know another falafel place or Another shawarma place uh making amazing Uh food no i’m talking about like High quality michelin star or um you Know high quality restaurant And um just to mention even here Uh in london you know about your tamil Tulangi and mary Mae radoni the chef mayor dhoni all over The world that’s afternoon With this restaurant here if you think About uh cold shade Um call off sorry call office and Barbary And palomar uh that’s all A south grenade um a restaurant and they Also need to have From new york to to uh uh france Uh books about israel yes um uh About food about Culinary even i wrote some books so if You’re looking for Some books related wine look for my name On it and of course we have all this Amazing Food uh restaurants are uh also uh Winning um a lot of uh trophies and and Awards Shia in the uh restaurant of the year in The united states Just look for israeli culinary and You’ll find Heaven um Why to taste israeli wines i think
You’ll find it something different i Mean Uh we have well for us for jews it’s Opportunities to support israel of Course And and and the best kosher wines in the World are coming From israel so you have the the most um Uh not only quality but range of uh Uh kosher wise from um like uh um Mineraly uh uh sharp Uh dry uh white wines Uh to to sweet wines high quality you Have From uh sparking wines to To of course uh rose And and and orange wine and beautiful Red wines So you’ll have everything you try it and You can feel israel For christians yeah of course wines Coming from the holy land it’s always a Nice experience Uh somalias and wine buyers i mean look Guys With all due respect if you don’t have Any israeli wines on your portfolio Something is missing if you don’t have Wines coming from the One of the most ancient wine countries In the world Your portfolio is not It’s not full you need and if you need My advice
Guys for free i’ll give it to you but You need to have israeli wise on your Portfolio It’s it’s like inconceivable that you Don’t have israeli wines On on your portfolio and of course wine Gigs Yeah like me we always look for Something exotic something new Something um interesting to to taste or What is this mara we want what is this The boogie wine What is this argaman oh i must taste it I Must taste it the next time i’m going to This um Wine bar or my next wine suppliers And for foodies i mean if you’re doing Kind of um Israeli cuisine you want to cook like Autolengi Yes you need the perfect partner which Is Israeli wine so this is i think most of The reason Why you need uh israeli wines Um uh in your seller Uh and at least to taste some of the Israeli wines um i don’t have a clue I have to say i don’t have a clue yes i Think i think We’re we’re uh we’re okay with time um So i think i made it almost A uh uh one hour uh my email
Is tal that’s my name at Easy the wine ambassador dot co dot uk Easy to remember the wine ambassador dot Co dot uk Write me and i’ll try to help you as Much as i can And now lorraine if you’re still with me Um i’ll be more than happy to take any Questions uh if there are any Um there’s a lot of questions Okay okay i hope it was not Was it okay no i was okay brilliant i Learned so much Um you may well have answered some of These questions as we went through but i Was kind of furiously writing them out So i may have not have noticed but There’s been a really fantastic question Really fantastic question and there’s Clearly some knowledge here as well Within our audience That some questions have been answered Internally if you like Um i haven’t been very helpful i’m Afraid um so i’m gonna hand it over to You so i’ve got around 14 questions here um so let’s Let’s see how we go so thank you Everyone for your participation Um so first question from sylvina is What region is best to grow vines or Fruit With good acidity Higher ground places like um
North of israel so you have the golan Heights The uh some of the galileo area this is Higher grounds Volcanic and and chalky soil Some places like in the judean hills Perfect For um white with high acidity Um grapes Okay brilliant thank you for that um so I think this was answered but let’s just Clarify what is The name of desert area for wine Negev negev is our negev Is our um the name of our desert okay Thank you that i think that Did get answered actually just wanted to Make sure that questions there on And then um number three now question Three organic wines this is an Interesting one Um is there a lot of it considering the Climate this is from emily We do have some not a lot not a lot of Organic Wineries we have more organic Vines they’re organic wineries Um it’s not easy to be organic in israel It’s it’s a process more and more uh More and more wineries are um Being organic but it’s a process so we Don’t have a lot So just about that is it that people Practice
Organic but they don’t necessarily get The certification I think um you know organic uh wine Is um is a process of also Um learning okay of education you need To convince some people That making organic wine will produce Uh better wines because people usually Most of the people Of course they don’t think about uh the Land Of uh you know protecting the land they Think about okay if i need to invest Let’s say 20 quid and a bottle of wine Is organic wine will be better than a Normal one or not And we need to educate more and more People about that That you not only buy better you also Buy protection to the land you you buy Sustainability you you you buy actually Something that Make an effort to to Um to keep our world More safe so it’s a process I i do i know that um we don’t have a Lot of organic wines Uh but it’s a process more and more okay Thank you um so and there’s an Interesting comment about this um Drip irrigation is what what kind of Irrigation do you generally use So it was it was um suggested that it Might be drip irrigation and then
Someone And said that you invented irrigation so Thank you and gabrielle for that Question Yes i think it’s a common knowledge Israel invented the drip irrigation Because because um because again You need to think about a hot climate Country very small we had to Um focus on how to spend the small Water that we have um and to make it um Count so yes we do um We use a lot of drip irrigation and it’s Not only for irrigation Sometimes it’s uh to transfer Some uh nutrients and sometimes into Control Yes yes yes we invented the drip Irrigation and we use it the most Yeah that’s one you use most okay thank You for that um So another question um quite a few kind Of climate questions here And blue wine may have problems due to Climate change for example drought and Heat and that was um From marieke Um it’s a trick question because Some of the places well we need to go One by one but i’ll try to make it a General Uh thing because we have The breeze coming from the sea and we Have kind of
Dry influence coming from the east okay So we don’t have like um Uh um humid climate So portrait is kind of a thing is a rare Thing for us We don’t have a lot of um Rot uh in israel so What we try to do is to try Instead of expose the the the grapes To the vines we tried to hide them and To give kind of a Uh leaf over protecting uh the vines And um we use a lot of the vsp Um [Music] Canopy system uh so in one hand You protect the vines but on the other Hand You expose it to the the the To the winds and the breeze coming okay So just varying climates very yes Okay um what are the main they have some Questions And some terminology that i wasn’t Familiar with i’m not sure everyone was Familiar with Um so um what the main reasons to Organize a winery is Culture or not kosher you may have Answered that Well i i think it’s it’s two things First of all it’s a matter of belief It’s a matter if you are A observant jew and you believe
A new religious person you want your Production to be kosher So this is why some of the wineries are Kosher because this is my belief this is Why i This way the way i want to to to make The wines Second is a marketing thing a lot of Boutique wineries started in as Non-kosher And then when they grow they needed to Expose their wines to More and more communities and then they They become kosher now to become Kosher winery it’s not an easy process You need to change your labels of the Wines because People can become confused from is it Kosher it’s not kosher You need to change the label so it will Be look the look and feel will be Totally different And suddenly uh the winemaker is not Touching himself Uh but uh observant jews are doing the The the wines Okay now there was some um terminology So If someone was asking kosher can be um Like mesut shell or non methyl And i wasn’t sure what that meant or What the difference was I’ll do i’ll i’ll make it quick because I can have another seminar or another
Webinar only About kosher clothes maevus means That the wine has gone in In in the process usually it’s a flash Posterization Of the grape juice before it It become wine meaning that as a Religious Thing it doesn’t consider to be Considered to be A wine to for religious purposes Okay so if i’m going to a wedding and a Non-jew person or no not even a non-jew A note non uh orthodox person Serve the wine for me i can drink it Because it Became me bushel mean pasteurized wine Ninety-nine percent of the wines in Israel are Non-evolution so they don’t go into this Pasteurization process okay That sounds like a whole nother thing if You need kind of more Yes yes yes yes if someone really wants Write me an email i’ll send The real uh method of what is the Difference between mushrooms I mean just a good have an idea of what Those words mean thank you Yes um so just a couple more bear with Us Um do you expect have more appellation Rules and what would you think And that was from martin martin thank
You for this question i think Yes we’ll have more appellation rules It’s a process i think if we want as a Country To become or to belong to The wine industry around the world And how people expect wine and how to Read one and to understand why We need more demarcation We need more um rules In order that people will able to to Read or even To understand and even when you do level Three or level four The diploma in w said you’ll have Israeli wines and then the rules like You have in other countries Yeah it makes it easier to understand Sometimes doesn’t it um Exactly so um we’ve got a few questions About importing and exporting and stuff Like that mostly exporting actually Um is most israeli wine consumed Domestically or Is there an export market as well from David Thank you david well around 80 to 85 Percent of the wines in israel are local Their drink local in israel we love our Wine it goes Great with our food we drink it But we know that we have to supply uh Our beautiful wines to to any other Places so
15 it depends of the year of course but 15 to 20 percent Are export um around the world from Australia To europe from japan to canada Uh from africa to everywhere Amazing we had a good um chat about France And so i’ll link this to emily’s Question and she said You said that france was your number two Market and what was the reason behind That and um What’s your target consumer because um Those of us who visit france or live in France when you go to the shops you Don’t see a lot of wines that aren’t From france Yeah you’re right but i think the the The right Question or the right answer is Quite uh quite uh um Um quite straightforward Two reasons first of all we have a lot Of jewish communities in france So and they support uh the jewish uh Wine industry so they buy kosher wine And then they buy israeli wines That’s why we have a lot in france but Also a lot of the chefs a lot of the Restauranters in france Um they they started the last i think 20 Years to appreciate israeli wines And because you know uh they want
Something special they want something Unique in their In their one menu so that’s why you’ll Find many israeli wines In in a lot of uh restaurants and hotels Uh Around france mainly five stars and Michigan stars yes Oh that’s very interesting Um okay so a few more just a couple more Um So another closer question can Winemakers produce non-kosher wines from Grapes grown in the seventh year Or the sabbath year i think this can be A simple yes or no answer and if anyone Wants to know more they’ll have to email You i think The answer is yes there is a way to To do that uh but yes if someone wants Just write The email and i’ll answer everything Good um okay here’s a question I’m not sure about the wording um but Yeah so thank you for that Um last question tony so this is a Question from edwin how is it possible To make Reasonable wine in the area of the negev Desert I’m i’m absolutely quoting that question No no it’s a very good question you have To understand that our desert is not Like the sahara desert right
Is is um we have the the the Um it’s a high altitude we’re talking About 800 Meter above sea level it’s dry It’s not uh again it’s not a sandy Sahara Thing so when you plant the wine you Give it the right irrigation The vines goes into the ground deeply Get his owner nourishments and then you Have the most amazing Vines uh add to that the the Durational between day and night and and You’ll see Amazing wines coming from the desert Fantastic I mean yeah let’s face it we’ve got lots Of arid places you know Central spain for example you know it is It is very possible Um so what percentage of wines are Contributed By boutique wineries i think this was From david i can’t um This question can you sorry can you Repeat the question what percentage of Wines Are contributed by boutique wineries Oh it’s only i think it’s something like Uh 20 uh from all the Wine consumption uh one production Production in israel is coming from the Boutique small wineries
Um as uh the majority of the The wines are coming from our more Industrial wines So we have like 60 um 50 to 60 uh big wineries that make Most of the wines and the boutique Family Are around 20 okay thank you for that That’s not a bad percentage is it really No um So just last question where can you buy Israeli wines in brazil that’s from Pollyanna and i think we have quite a Brazilian contingent here this evening So i think they’d like to know Well in brazil you’ll you’ll you’ll get Some Shops that you you can get I think the best thing i’m not in brazil At the moment but Again if someone wants send me an email I will find again where is the shop Where is the place you can buy but just Look for Um synagogues um Jewish communities where you find jewish Communities when you find synagogues You for sure find israeli wines there And i also think there was a Recommendation somewhere in the chat There as well so We’ve got some really um very helpful Participants here Um this evening um it’s just a couple
More Questions that just popped up um so Um sylvina is asking about the skin of The grapes are they thicker because they Grow in their dev Does it well you know um We use in the negev we use the the thick Grapes like uh you know they’re like Syrah and like The the the cabana sauvignon but you Because we experiment a lot and and You think desert you think hit but again It’s high altitude some places uh Like in yetir you’ll have snow in winter And you’ll have cherries Um there so some of the places you can Even have pinot noir so it’s It’s it’s not a yes or no question You can find almost everywhere but Overall yes you’ll find the fake um Grape skin in in the heart Areas okay fantastic Um and i think you’ve heard that answer I think you’ve answered that question And one person could ask a bit about Botritis but at the same time you were Talking about the lack of pathos Do you have any botrytis wines and if You do what are the great varieties Well we don’t have every year and we Don’t have usually protractors it’s like Amazing years and and and you know we Had Once in the in the uh
80s we had i think it was 87 we had Portrayed this wine Coming from the galileo area uh i know That caramel Wine is doing another portrait is wine It’s it’s not every day It’s not every year it’s rare But when we have it we jump all over It and we’ll do an amazing portrays this Wine and mainly from um It depends but it’s semyon semyon and And And sauvignon blanc but of course if the Rothschilds are going to make And try to swine it’s going to be the Border great foreign Um yeah so someone just asked quickly i Think this is the last question I think it is um so someone said what’s Severe Is sylvia who said um soils are some Sort of mixed composition I think they want to know what what is The composition You’ll find everything i think we had Many bordeaux combination Let’s say 20 or 10 years ago today It’s more a combination of uh roan Valley And and mediterranean so you’ll have the Cabernet and syrah um You have the sirai and the vienna uh And and you have a lot of combination Beautiful combination
But more and more experiment more and More kind of a wrong style wines More and more israeli uh when you think About the combination like 55 percent dabuki 25 Uh uh sauvignon blanc and 20 percent Gavoot straminar In one of our uh beautiful um femitaj Wine coming from the tepperberg winery i Mean this is unique this is you won’t Find Anywhere in the world and when you taste The wine You say wow this is amazing it’s really Wine So yes this is more the direction that We’re going now more Local independent and mediterranean Uh um combinations well I think your enthusiasm al is absolutely Infectious We’ve had so many people saying how much They’ve So thoroughly enjoyed this um Presentation And they think so You know it’s been so easy to listen to You and you’ve made things So understandable this really has a Fantastic session with you this evening Thank you so much on behalf of everyone Watching on behalf of Usct school um it’s been an absolute Pleasure
And to have you here with us um this Evening Um you know i think i’m getting a lot of Um A lot of people are saying when is Israel going to be more on the Specification For the level three and level four i’m Sorry I can’t answer that question so you see What you’ve done now tell you’ve made my Life quite difficult um But no it’s been absolutely brilliant And you know you’ve really really waved The israeli flag for wine there and i Think there’s going to be a lot more People Um trying these wines out they certainly Sound absolutely brilliant So thank you ever so much it was my Pleasure An honor participating uh tonight or This morning wherever you are in the World Please share with me your thoughts write Me an email