I was there.
Even before entering, you could already smell the wine in the air.
Large glass doors, a red carpet spread out at my feet, a large, lively happening, full of sounds of clinking glasses and voices of cheers, cheers or salutes, each in their native language.
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After the computer verified that I had indeed been invited, I received a label with my name on it, and like everyone else, I also received a large glass, since no one had come for anything else.
I entered the large, bustling hall, filled with stalls filled with bottles of all sizes, shapes, colors, and varieties, arranged like soldiers.
There were also spittoons for spitting out the wine after a tasting, so that if we only drank half of what was poured into our glass of wine, after four or five tastings, we would no longer feel the difference between young wine and barrel-aged wine, and later even between red and white wine.
After two or three more tastings like this, there is no difference between Cursed Haman and Blessed Mordechai. Judging by the atmosphere there, no one will say Cursed Haman, but everything is blessed, there is nothing else there. Only blessings.
Bottles of water are usually on every corner, both for drinking, for cleaning your mouth, and for rinsing your glasses between tastings.
Behind the counters stand the winemakers, the stewards, and even the winery owners in their own right. They all await your words, love to hear praise, but are also happy to listen to criticism.
At every stand, the same question is asked more or less: "What wine would you be interested in starting with?""
And the wine there does indeed pour like water. The line is long, the kindness is extraordinary, which again leads to its importation in large quantities.
Another bottle and another bottle are politely opened, the wine is gently poured into the glass, there is no rush to drink, but rather a round or two begins. Then into the nose, taking a long, deep breath, then into the mouth, not yet into the esophagus, but in the mouth the wine rolls in the cheeks, under the tongue and on the palate, and only then are a few drops allowed to slide down the throat.
Somalia, not just a country
The exhibition is a sommelier wine exhibition (which means wine waiter in French) held once a year, by Ben Ami Studio.
At the exhibition, the sacred and the sacred coexisted, with wines produced in Israel and wines produced abroad.
I asked professional wine tasters who are not observant if there was any difference between the kosher wines of the Holy Land and those presented there from France, Italy, Greece, France, etc. They all told me unanimously that the country's fine wines stand up to any international competition, and the countries of the Diaspora have nothing finer to offer.
And so that you too can say I was there...
I want to tell those who don't know that there is also a kosher wine and alcohol exhibition, which is being held by the Piopp liquor store from Jerusalem for the fourth year in a row. The exhibition is for both professional and amateur audiences.
The exhibition will feature a tasting of approximately 160 quality wines from forty wineries, as well as four different workshops, the sale of cheap wines, and more.
The exhibition will take place next week on Wednesday and Thursday, February 11/12, at the Nation Buildings.
It's worth coming.
Cheers.
• Shraga Gebhard, consultant in the field of kashrut and professional wine, 052-6176201
