It's likely that every professional encounters countless surprises, but it always seems to me that the surprises of winemakers are of a higher quality (this is probably just an illusion, and please don't correct me if I'm wrong).
In honor of the 'Shabbat Shira' festival, my parents invited me to a 'family wine evening', with the reasoning: "Poetry is not sung except over wine.".
Although the verse is simply about the singing of the Levites in the Temple, about the pouring of wine for the sacrifices, singing and wine are definitely connected, to the point that it is forbidden to sing just songs about wine, but only sacred songs.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
So connecting wine to "Shabbat Shira" sounds completely natural.
The difference between this evening and other wine evenings that I host is that for each wine evening, people I don't know come. Therefore, I am not involved in the conversation prior to the guests arriving at that evening.
But on this evening that took place at my parents' house, the participants were my dear family, who indeed showed up at the call of the "Schweiger," whom no one dares to disobey.
The evening itself was no different to any extent from other wine evenings, but I wanted to share the feedback I received with my regular readers.
Well, some of the participants announced in advance that they were not interested. They are used to such gatherings, which do happen sometimes, thank God, where they always bring some kind of interesting attraction, and not something boring culinary.
This was the approach that was whispered about in the week or two leading up to the event.
Write down the questions.
I arrived before everyone else, set out the wines we would taste, arranged the luxurious glasses on the table, prepared the presentation and the computer, and when the guys started arriving, the teasing questions began:
""Why not have a dinner on fries or pizza?""
""What chocolate flavors and fruity aromas with hints of vanilla are in the steak?""
I swallowed my tongue, gave each questioner a pen and paper, and said: "Write down all the questions, and please review them at the end of the evening.".
So far, these are my words, from here I will transfer the permission to write and speak to my father, Shlita.
Hello readers:
Not only do I not understand wine, I also don't need to, because I have a 'close security guard.'.
When Shraga says to me: "Dad, this is for you," to this day I have trusted him, and I have never been disappointed, because I discovered that a winemaker is not someone who only knows what is considered good wine for his own taste, but what is considered good wine for the taste of other people.
I have joined him many times for exhibitions, tastings, and competitions. So I thought he would not tell me anything new at the wine evening at my house. But I was wrong about many details - and I will present five of them:
A. Shraga knows a thousand other things that are not discussed in the exhibitions.
B. Out of these thousand things, there are at least 300 very interesting ones.
C. In one evening, only five or six things can be discussed, out of those 300 chosen from the thousand.
D. Shraga knows how to convince, even those who thought the subject of wine didn't interest him, and not just convince - but even captivate.
I have two proofs of this:
1. The question sheets distributed at the beginning of the evening remained blank, not because the public had no questions, but because everyone was captivated.
2. Shraga brought decanters to pour the leftover wine into, and in fact, at the end of the evening, both the decanters and the wine bottles were empty. In any case, no one would say that the lecture didn't blow him away, and wine isn't interesting.
E. The most curious of my daughters, who at first didn't show much interest, finally asked Shraga: "Where will your next evening be?""
I answered the question for him: "I'll send you home, invite your husband's family." And tell them that Shraga is coming with his father...
With great respect
Enoch Gebhard.
So much for my father's words.
I just want to summarize that a wine evening doesn't have to look like a tasting exhibition. Four good types of wine, from light to heavy, are enough, explain a little about each, and focus the bulk of the explanation on the whole topic of wine around it.
While this won't turn listeners into wine experts, it will move them one step further, to understand that if the poetry is specifically about wine, then there's probably something to it - and even more than something.
• Shraga Gebhard - consultant in the field of kashrut and professional wine, organizer of wine evenings and winery tours: 052-6176201. To book wine evenings - 08-9742242 (Events Office).
