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Four words change everything: “The seeds are brown.” From that moment, we trade weather apps and pruning shears for clipboards, tank maps, and a race against heat, rot, and the calendar. We walk you through the split-second calls that can turn a year of work into greatness or disappointment, and why kosher winemaking adds a layer of choreography few outside the cellar ever see.

We start at veraison, when grapes shift from camouflage to sugar magnets, and the whole world wants a bite—boars smashing fences, jackals chewing irrigation, and starlings pecking holes that invite yellow jackets and acetic bacteria. With pre-harvest intervals blocking sprays, the only defenses left are timing and tough choices. Lab numbers guide us, but they don’t outrun psychological immaturity, so we lean on sensory skills: pulp release, skin chew, and seed lignification. When the data and the palate finally align, the call goes out, and the vineyard becomes a night city of headlamps, shears, and humming harvesters.

Then comes the crush pad gauntlet: holiday shutdowns stacking trucks down the road, hot fruit accelerating oxidation and wild ferment, and triage that prioritizes fragile whites. We pull back the curtain on cold rooms, flash chilling, and the precise dance that begins once juice appears and kosher law hands control to Jewish operators.

Every bottle holds this tension: science and intuition, speed and patience. If you’ve ever wondered how timing, temperature, and faith shape what’s in your glass, subscribe, share with a wine lover, and leave a review.

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Welcome back to The Kosher Terroir –Vineyard Creation Step by Step Part 2

Last week we stood on a bare, scrubby hillside. There was nothing here but potential and risk. Now? Look around.

• We analyzed the Macro-Terroir, hunting for that perfect intersection of altitude and latitude where the nights are cool enough to save the acid.
• We dug into the Soil, choosing the drainage of gravel or the muscle of clay, understanding that we aren't just planting in dirt—we are planting in a chemical pantry.
• We engineered the Genetics, welding the engine of a drought-resistant rootstock to the chassis of a specific Cabernet clone, creating a biological machine designed for this exact hill.
• We built the Skeleton, twisting the trellis to hide the fruit from the blistering afternoon sun while catching the gentle morning rays.

The Vineyard is built. The vines are growing. Now, the game changes. We move on from Architecture to Management.

We take you from canopy surgery that strips leaves on the cool east side to protective shade on the scorching west, cutting disease risk and burning off green, vegetal notes. Then we defend the ripening fruit: clever decoys, thunderous propane cannons, and the elegant terror of falconry.

Water becomes strategy, not charity. We talk root training for resilience and regulated deficit irrigation that nudges vines from leafy comfort into focused ripening. With NDVI drone maps, variable rate irrigation, sap flow sensors, and dendrometers, the vineyard turns into a living dashboard. But data is only as good as the judgment behind it, which is where the real drama lives: the agronomist who wants health, the grower who needs tonnage, and the winemaker who chases intensity. Their standoff peaks at green harvest—cutting half the fruit to raise the rest—until aligned contracts and a decade of block‑by‑block archives turn conflict into craft.

We also open a window into kosher viticulture through Orla, the three‑year wait that forces patience and humility. Hearing how fruit is cut and left to return to the soil reframes ownership and time. When year four arrives, the berries tell a new story—browned seeds, firm skins, blackcurrant and spice—signaling that the blueprint has come alive and harvest can begin. This journey blends vineyard management, precision agriculture, and faith into one clear takeaway: great wine is born where light, water, protection, and people finally agree.

If this deep dive into canopy management, bird control, smart irrigation, and the human side of winemaking resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more wine lovers can find us.

For more Information:
ANAVA VINEYARDS
Nadav & Moriah Jesselson
Address: 7 Hacharuv St. Nechusah, 9988300 Israel
Email: info@anavavineyards.com
Questions or to Visit: Racheli Arieli +972(0)50-717-5479

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Start with a blank hillside and imagine building flavor from the ground up. That’s our approach as we step into the vineyard and treat terroir like architecture—every choice about climate, soil, genetics, and geometry locked in for decades, with no cellar fix to save a bad foundation. With the added weight of Orla delaying fruit for years, kosher wine demands that we get the blueprint right before a single root touches the soil.

We zoom out to Macro Terroir and translate climate into chemistry using growing degree days, altitude, and the diurnal swing that preserves acidity. Then we let the landscape do its work: slopes for drainage and airflow, aspects that dial power or finesse, and coastal influence and wind that can both protect and stress. From there, the ground beneath our boots becomes a toolkit. Soil physics drives deep rooting and concentration; soil chemistry fine-tunes metabolism. Limestone’s calcium preserves brightness by blocking potassium uptake. Clay lays down muscle and tannin. Volcanic substrates drain fast and often yield savory tension and a hint of salinity.

Genetics turn the site into a tailored machine. Rootstocks become our transmission: 1103P for drought, 41B for active limestone, SO4 to restrain wild vigor. Scion clones shape voice and texture. We’re blending in the field long before we blend in the cellar. Finally, we set north–south rows for even light, tight or wide spacing to manage competition and mechanization, and trellis decisions that create microclimates.

By the end, you’ll see why great wine is engineered, not simply grown. If you’re a wine lover, student, or just a curious drinker, this is a masterclass in how altitude, aspect, soil, rootstock, and trellis design shape acidity, tannin, aromatics, and longevity—especially vital for kosher wineries operating under unique timelines and constraints. Enjoy the blueprint, then join us next week as we manage the canopy and fine-tune the skin.

If this deep dive gave you a new way to see the vineyard, subscribe, share the show with a wine-loving friend, and leave a review telling us which vineyard choice you’d optimize first.

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What if the most important flavor in your glass isn’t because of the grape variety, but the choices made in the cellar? We pull back the curtain on the winemaker’s toolbox and walk through twelve pivotal moments that can turn identical grapes into wildly different wines—one a velvet cloak, another a sharp suit of armor. From the first clip at harvest to the final stir of lees, we map the forks in the road that define aroma, texture, and age-worthiness.

We start with the picking window, where sugar, acid, and phenolic ripeness dance on a knife’s edge, then move to sorting philosophies that trade rustic charm for precision polish. Whole cluster or destemmed berries set the wine’s frame; cold soak builds color and perfume without bitterness. Yeast choice becomes a bet on soul versus security, and the fermentation vessel—concrete, steel, or wood—shapes oxygen, movement, and mouthfeel. Temperature management protects delicate florals in whites and fuels structure in reds.

Refinement brings a deeper view of the winemaking craft: extended maceration to smooth tannins through polymerization, press fractions to compose the blend, and malolactic decisions that steer from apple-bite to creaminess. Finally, how oak and lees define a wine’s long arc, balancing toast, micro-oxygenation, umami richness, and longevity. Along the way, we share field stories from the Galilee, the Judean Hills, and beyond that reveal the art, risk, and timing behind each call.

By the end, you’ll taste with new eyes—reading texture, spotting spice, and hearing the maker’s voice whisper through the fruit. If you enjoy this deep dive into how choices shape character, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves wine, and leave a quick review to help others discover it.

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A vineyard can tell the truth faster than a headline. We sit down with David M. Weinberg to uncork a deeper story of Israeli wine—one that runs from Jacob’s blessing and Solomon’s vines to modern terraces in the Judean Hills and the Galilee. David is a veteran columnist and WSET Level 3 wine professional who has walked rows with growers, tasted through the country’s microclimates, and wrestled with narratives like “winewashing.” Together, we explore why a glass from Israel can feel more like a sign of return than a PR gloss.

We trace the arc from ancient amphorae and prophetic promises to the renaissance of vineyards after centuries of desolation. David shares how Tanakh, Talmud, and Halacha elevate wine from beverage to blessing—linking joy to holiness, song to gratitude, and harvest to hope. We talk Tu B’Av and festival music, why blessings matter, and how the metaphors of the vine shape bonds at home and with God. Along the way, you’ll hear vivid accounts from early Carmel Winery shipments to today’s boutique producers and the living pulse of markets where the Shechinah feels as close as ripe fruit.

We also step into the mystical: Ginosar’s legendary grapes, Eden’s forbidden fruit, and Purim’s paradox of ad d’lo yada. Can drinking blur lines—or help redraw them with courage and clarity? With kavanah and moderation, wine becomes a tool for discernment, a way to temper ego and let gratitude speak. By the end, the Israeli vineyard emerges as more than an industry; it’s a compass pointing toward joy, presence, and a future that tastes like blessing.

If this journey resonates, pour yourself a glass, hit play, and share the episode with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what does a meaningful glass look like to you?

For More Information:

David M. Weinberg: is a think tank director, columnist and lobbyist who is a sharp critic of Israel’s detractors and of post-Zionist trends in Israel. W'Set3 credentialed wine aficionado and Tour Guide.

You can read more and Contact David at https://davidmweinberg.com/

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Light a candle and pour a glass—this is the story of a Sephardic family reclaiming Spanish terroir through kosher wine, one amphora at a time. We head to the high hills outside Valencia with Armando Caracena-Molco of Viña Memorias to taste old-vine Bobal and Macabeo that wear history on their sleeves and clay on their skins. Unico, their flagship red, comes from pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1903 and is raised entirely in tinajas—handmade clay vessels whose makers, in a remarkable twist, have stamped them with a Star of David for generations. It’s memory, craft, and place converging in a single bottle.

We dig into why these wines feel different: altitude between 700 and 900 meters, calcareous-clay soils, Mediterranean winds, and dry farming that lets deep roots do the work. Amphora vs oak becomes a masterclass in texture and purity—amphora delivers micro-oxygenation without wood flavors, allowing Bobal’s red-fruited intensity and polished tannins to shine. Then we contrast that with Finca Cerezal, a French-oak-aged Bobal that shows the grape’s elegant side, and Memorias del Rambam, a classic American-oak expression that nods to Spain’s traditional profile while honoring Maimonides.

Sparkling lovers get a treat: Requena’s altitude-driven Cava made from old-vine Macabeo, method tradicional, and extended lees aging. Expect pinpoint bubbles, almond pastry on the nose, stone fruit and citrus on the palate, and a clean, persistent finish that invites head-to-head comparisons with champagne. We talk disgorgement dates, why most Cava skips malolactic fermentation, and how precision bubbles can shift expectations in the kosher market. We close with Alcunia, a still Macabeo aged in amphorae on fine lees, bone-dry, saline, layered, and quietly powerful.

Across every glass runs the same current: unity and return. A mother from Aix-en-Provence, a father of the land, brothers spread across continents, and a choice to make kosher wines that speak clearly of Valencia’s heights, clay, and light. If you’re ready to discover Bobal, rediscover Macabeo, and taste a story that loops from exile to home, press play and join us at the table. If you enjoyed the journey, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more curious drinkers can find us.

Contact Details
Armando Caracena-Molco WhatsApp +34686452612

• Viña Memorias Winery, Calle Carretera de Madrid, San Antonio, Spain
• +34669043007
• contact@vinamemorias.com

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A desert can teach you patience, and in the Negev that lesson tastes like lifted acids, fine textures, and wines that refuse to be rushed. We sit down with winemaker Ya'acov Oryah of Pinto Winery to explore how short ripening windows, careful skin management, and precise oak work can turn heat and dryness into elegance on the table.

We start with whites—Chardonnay that drinks with Sauvignon-like snap, Chenin that grows more aromatic with time, and Gewürztraminer rehabilitated through whole-cluster pressing and blending. Viognier gets a rethink too: tropical and perfumed, yet restrained enough to drink, not just sniff. Ya'acov explains why he builds components with finesse instead of brute force and why oak should be a supporting actor that integrates slowly in the bottle. Then the Reds flip expectations. Grenache shows a pale robe with real weight and grip, while the hard-press batch surprises with greater charm than austerity. Malbec, not Cabernet, emerges as a Negev success story, and the reasoning tracks back to climate, skins, and timing.

From there, we dive into the geeky heart of the cellar. An unracked white ferments in its murk, embraces reductivity, and evolves into something layered after gentle barrel time. The once undrinkable Grenache ’22 returns transformed, proof that reduction can convert to complexity if you wait. We also unpack biodynamics and vineyard biodiversity—less dogma, more soil, life, and balance—and how these practices tend to correlate with better tasting wines. Ya'acov’s “ME” series brings it home: multiple harvest dates and varied fermentations (vat, oak, carbonic, skin contact, unracked) within the same vineyard lot, recombined into a single, seamless voice. It’s hyper-terroir, not anti-terroir.

Dessert and fortification get their spotlight: an orange dessert Gewürztraminer, a fortified Pinot experiment, and the showstopper—an 18-year barrel-aged Muscat that smells like maple, vanilla, and dried forest floor. Along the way, we confront aging myths: tannin and acid are shields, but it’s the wine’s dry extract and time that truly build its complexity. The larger picture is thrilling—Israeli wine leaning into creativity, precision, and patience. If you care about texture, restaurant-friendly balance, and wines that reward time, pull up a chair.

Enjoyed this deep dive? Follow and subscribe, share with a friend who loves wine, and leave us a review with your favorite moment from this tasting.

Ya'acov Oryah Winemaker

Pinto Winery
Office@pintowinery.com
108 Zvi Bornstein St., Yeruham, 80500000
+972-547-635-451

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A wrong turn on a long road trip led to a tasting room door, a harvest job, and a life reset. Meet Gideon Marcus, a 23-year-old Oleh who traded the Manhattan Shabbat table for punch-downs, press cycles, and vineyard dust—first at Covenant in California, then across Israel from the Judean Hills to the Negev’s high-contrast desert.

We dive into the kind of winemaking you only learn by doing: sorting fruit at dawn, pulling samples of fresh Viognier juice, and discovering how an aged Syrah can drop you into a mossy forest with one breath. Gideon shares what mentors like Jeff Morgan and Sagie Kleinlehrer taught him about tasting widely, keeping meticulous notes, and blending with a purpose. We explore why Israeli wine is more than mountain myths: valleys that channel cold night air like natural AC, limestone that lies inches from the roots, and microplots picked by exposure rather than postcode.

The Negev becomes a character in the story, with scorching days and chilled nights that preserve acidity and unlock surprising aromatics. Gideon reflects on visionary approaches like Yaakov Oryah’s “multiple expressions” fermentations and the quiet courage it takes to hold bottles for years before release. Along the way, we confront a winemaker’s paradox: follow the data or trust your senses? The answer lives somewhere in the dance between lab sheets, fieldwork, and the final blend in your glass.

This conversation is about terroir, yes—soil, climate, and clones—but also about identity, risk, and building a future in a country that feels different after October 7. If you’re curious about Israeli wine, aging potential, and the craft choices that shape flavor and longevity, you’ll find a full pour here. Enjoy the ride, then subscribe, rate, and share—with a friend who loves bold bottles and even bolder stories.

For more information, please contact:

Gideon Marcus: WhatsApp +1-646-207-2645

Gideon’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/gideon-marcus-17b562b8

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www.TheKosherTerroir.com
+972-58-731-1567
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