Monday was another
day for wine tasting. This time we were
going to stay in the area between Modi’in and Jerusalem. This is our most often visited location due to
its proximity. Since Rob’s desire to see if we could find the dry
Gewirtztraminer at Tzora that was our first stop. Vicky joined us.
Tzora Winery is on the Kibbutz of
the same name and is not far from Bet Shemesh. Across the street is Teperberg
but they have no tasting room that we know of. Shula greeted us as we came in
and gave us the tasting along with bread, cheese and olive oil. There was a
couple from California who heard about Tzora on the plane. They were
finishing their tasting and ended up
buying well over a case to be shipped.
Unfortunately I find shipping a bit pricey so I have never shipped wine
on my own. The way to get some of the
good Israeli wines is through various websites such as Israel Wines Direct or J
Wines.
To Rob’s disappointment they no
longer make the dry gewirtztraminer but do make a sweet dessert wine with
Gewirtz, called Or. They do make a lovely dry white blend that is easy drinking
and quite tasty. Their reds, Judean Hills, Shoresh and Misty Hills are also
very good and especially good at the price they charge. After a lovely visit we
purchased a few bottles and made our way to the new Barkan Wine Experience.
We arrived a bit late for our
appointment but we were still able to taste.
Barkan is one of the large producers in Israel and recently opend a
large facility for tasting, sales and events. The two people who helped us were
very nice but none of us really liked the wines. Segal Wines are also part of
their stable. Perhaps after enjoying the Tzora wines so much this was more of a
disappointment than expected.
In the evening we drove up to
Jerusalem to meet George and Hasmiq Kahvedjian for dinner. I have been friends with George since 1970 and
Rob met him soon after. We met at the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem where
they often dine. The service was
great. The salads were great and the main
dishes pretty good. As usual we started
off with Arak.
George mentioned a book that his
brother wrote about their father, Elie. George was glad the book was written
but disappointed, even angry, that even though he supplied his brother with
most of the documents, it was as if he and his family didn’t exist. Their relationship has always been a problem
for as long as I can remember. He said he’d send a copy of the book with Vicky
when she comes to the shop.
The drive home was less than 30
minutes door to door.
On the final full day, Tuesday, we
planned one more day of tasting. We
returned to Tulip Winery in Kiryat Tivon and this time having called ahead we
were welcomed warmly. The young woman
who told us the last time we could not stay was thrilled we returned.
Besides
the wines which are in and of themselves very good, the story of the winery and
its connection with Kfar Tikvah, a village created for adults with mental
disabilities is worth our visit. The
owner Roey Yitzhaki (I think) put the winery within the village and they employ
35 residents. We met a few as we entered including one man who asked why we
came in a different car that day.
Rob ended buying 6 bottles and I
bought a bottle for Vicky to give them the business. I already had the bottles for my suitcase.
Vicky bought an additional bottle for herself. This is a place I think I should
bring a group in the future, both to taste the wine and learn the story.
Our final winery was Recanati. It was in an industrial section north of
Netanya. It too is a larger producer and
a big exporter to the US. The locale was less than beautiful and one can hardly
see the entrance gate. There is a fairly small tasting room. The young woman who helped us was very nice
and engaged to be married to a wine writer David Rose. I ended up explaining to
her that there is no such thing as civil marriage in Israel that would be
recognized by the state. Too do the wedding she was planning she also needed to
get legally married outside of Israel.
The Recanati wine was decent as I
expected. Their Special Reserve red was excellent
but pricey. I am still surprised that such a large company has such a small
tasting facility although perhaps their large exporting business doesn’t really
require it.
After returning to Modi’in we went
to a final dinner together in Rehovot. From there Rob took off for the kibbutz
and Vicky and I returned to Modi’in so I could pack and get ready to depart in
the morning.
No problem at the airport. Once
again I was annoyed at the behavior and rudeness of many passengers on this El
Al flight, but that’s not surprising.
One last footnote: Since returning
home I was notified that they did get 15 boys from Modi’in to play baseball
with 15 Arab boys from Ramle. Perhaps there is hope, at least for baseball.
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