Vine old time in Israel
Wine sampling in Judean hills & enthralling city of Jerusalem
THE first glass slipped down rather nicely, as first glasses are apt to do.
Glass two had a similarly lively impact, speedily followed by a third and then a fourth.
Don’t get the wrong idea. This was all in the line of duty.
As an introduction to Israel, a full day sampling the country’s wine production ( not all of it) in the Judean hills close to Jerusalem was a blissful beginning.
Three wineries were on my list and each followed a similar consumption pattern. I sampled four wines at each and in addition received the perfect guide to being a buff, or bluffer in my case.
As I was to quickly discover, Israel is not a place to stand on ceremony. It is an informal society.
So when it was time to sample the goods, there was none of this European- style dribble at the bottom of the glass nonsense.
Every time, my large goblet was most definitely half full. Four of those with liberal top ups made for a very happy visit.
There was a good deal of energetic swirling and sniffing of course. Also the compulsory strangulated slurping as we were taught how to force the wine back and forth through our front teeth to appreciate the bouquet.
First stop was Tzuba, a boutique winery run by Paul Dubbs, who emigrated from South Africa. Paul taught me the extravagant swirl of the glass to add air to a delicious cabernet sauvignon. Essential for the bluffer.
Perfect
Next was Domain du Castel, a family firm run by Eli Ben Zaken, who was educated in Brighton. His high- end kosher wines are sold around the world. Eli taught me the sniff. Bury your nose into the glass and inhale deeply after the swirl.
Finally came the Flam winery, another family firm set in the rolling hills that has produced wine since biblical times. Israel Flam taught me the teeth suck technique essential for the final stage of appreciation. Tricky to perfect and noisy.
Twelve large glasses of the country’s finest means pacing is important. I thought I’d done well until our guide suggested a trip to a brewery followed by a cider producer that also makes moonshine. Israelis do like a good time.
Slightly wobbly, I made it to my base in the hills for the night, the beautiful Yad Hashmona Country Hotel. Next day it was off to Jerusalem itself and the elegant Mount Zion Hotel. From my room, I could see old East Jerusalem on the left... and in the distance, the security wall that separates the West Bank, which forms the bulk of the Palestinian territories.
After a magnificent breakfast spread, it was time for a more sobering experience.
The Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, is a vast complex overlooking the city and is dedicated to the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis. Be prepared for this hugely emotional experience. Yet amid the horror, the museum offers hope. Throughout the morning our excellent guide Jonathan Matthews provided an astonishing insight into the 20th century’s biggest crime.
The museum begins with the persecution of Jews and develops through to the horrors of the death camps. Exhibitions include ea a reproduction of a street in the Warsaw ghetto with originalnal cobbles, benches, lamps and streeteet signs. Accompanying audio visualual displays tell the harrowing individual stories of the survivors.
To me, the most thoughtprovoking section is the Hall of Names, a domed construction with faces of the dead in a montage on the ceiling and the walls lined with files containing more than four m million names of those who perished. The Eternal Flame, where foreign dignitaries come to pay homage, was also particularly moving. Yad Vashem is in the western, more modern, part of Jerusalem. As is the Israel Museum, which houses th the Dead Sea Scrolls. Discovered in 11 caves between 1946 and 19 1956, they are manuscripts of cr crucial significance from the ce centuries around Christ’s birth. For all their age, the perfect script on restored parchments looked like it was run off a modern printer. Doubly impressive considering most of the “ink” was from liquefied soot from olive oil lamps. That evening was spent with an Orthodox Jewish family for their Friday-night meal before the Sabbath, or Shabbat. Serious, naturally. But with a cosy feel to iti it. Songs, candles, delicious challah bre bread, lamb, chicken, humous. And yes yes, a lot of wine. J Jerusalem, of course, is a holy city for Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Old City, the walled area within East Jerusalem, has Jewish, Christian, Armenian and Muslim quarters. All very different. The Western, or Wailing, Wall is the focal point for Jewish observance and a moving experience in itself. Anyone can pray there. Above the wall is Temple Mount, home to the two Jewish temples before their destruction, the second by the Romans. In the 8th century it became home to the al-Aqsa Mosque. A stroll away is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, site of Christ’s crucifixion.
Everything significant of observance and conflict is yards from each other. The place is a swirling, emotional mass. Not to say shoppers’ paradise – at least in the Muslim quarter, a maze of alleys crammed with fascinating stores.
The western section of the city could not offer a more stark contrast. Modern, sleek, designer shops, swish restaurants and a night life that could put many cities to shame.
I rarely got to bed before 3am. Each night I joined our group for a feast of steak, fish, intricate salads and yet more humous before sitting outside packed bars to enjoy the night-time heat with a cool beer.
It seemed the city partied every night. And I’ll drink to that. FACTFILE: Rooms at the Mount Zion hotel in Jerusalem start from £201, www.mountzion.co.il, and the Yad Hashmona hotel from £79, www. yadha8.co.il/en.