Wine is a language. It has a unique lexicon that is unique to its essence. It vibrates and buzzes with associations and connections to the past, invoking flavors and scents that, once had crossed your pallet and awoke your internal metric that messages your brain and says, ‘I like that wine, I think I’ll have another. It teases cherries and black currant out of raisin like grapes, picked a touch late from the vine to produce a pleasantly delicious, bold and eloquent Red Burgundy or Barolo.
Our tours are mostly run by Amir Katz, the owner and operator for My Israel Wine Tours. His past and present combine a number of different avenues into this language of wine and he’s spent quite a number of years, working with wine in Spain, Chile, The US, and most recently here in Israel. The language of wine is certainly global, as different ‘dialects’ appear, with regional nuances to nudge our flavor receptors slightly askew from their usual recognition of ‘what a Cabernet should taste like’. This language is fun to taste, to twirl around your tongue, to pull through your teeth and to swish around your punum.
Combining the knowledge that a tour guide must acquire here in Israel, with that of an international wine maker and enthusiast, creates a wonderful environment for a wine tour in Israel. Here a grape vine tells a tale that goes back to the stories of Noah and the Ark, or a wine maker, turned friend, sits with our guests and shares the passion and wisdom that go into their labor of love. This is a Holy Land to many people, and yet a glass of wine provides the perfect lubricant for guests to sit together, to laugh and politic, to be silly, to be sexy, and simply to be able to enjoy a glass of wonderful Israeli wine with friends.
Wine is just the excuse; the reason must come from within. Wine is there to tease out the sassy voice you’ve let lay dormant, or the silly one that sometimes sneaks out. It’s our delightful friend that reminds us periodically, to lighten up and enjoy a glass with good people and if possible, some good food as well.
Thank you and L’chayim
On Wine, Water, and Wars: Touring the Golan Heights