Lectures and Workshops
Israel is a small country with many different and unique subregions. Through wine-tasting we will explore these different terroir, taste the soil and smell the breeze.
In an ancient Jaffa home, around a long heavy wooden table, we shall sit on big wooden chairs.
This Unique wine tasting and meal will portray locality, creativity and finess of this land.
Our senses are our first translators in a situation. In this workshop we will experience and understand how our senses work together and separately. We will smell and taste wine like never before.
All the basics you need to know to enjoy wine mindfully and understand the wine-geek friend or sommelier.
From vineyard to bottle, the magic and science behind winemaking.
Throughout history women had a close bond with wine. We will meet the influential women and understand why woman make sharp taster.
Variety of other Workshops And lectures for wine lovers of different knowledge bases.
Sensory Enhancement Workshop
Wine is magical science, it’s simple and complex. Wine has an important part of history, religion, agriculture, art and culture.
When we approach a glass of wine we come with a bundle of expectations of the experience before taking our first sniff or sip. We will be influenced by the price of wine, awards it has won, appearance of labels, type of drinking glass, the visuals around us, the music, our mood, sex, age even the tone of voice and the spark in the sommeliers eyes when she describes a wine she recommends. So many influences, some which we are aware of and some we are not, either way it will change our perspective and enjoyment of the wine.
What happens to our body when we approach a glass of wine?
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When we look at something our eyes receive a signal in the form of a wavelength. Different intensities and wavelength of light will influence us physically.
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Wine can have hundreds of aromatic compounds, from the grapes, winemaking process and aging. A signal of the aroma travels to our brain to a very important region responsible for our sensory memory, feelings, learning, sexuality and survival mechanism and is then translated to a physical sensation.
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The wine’s taste is composed of different elements, some of which were considered warning/reward signs in primitive periods of humanity.
The way our body deals with all this complex information is by simplifying it to “I like the wine” or “I don't like the wine” and the bottom line that’s all that counts. But in order to truly enjoy and appreciate life one must recognize its beauty and pleasure.
In this workshop we will recognize the complex influence wine has on us, enjoy it and life with great awareness.
The ABC of a Mindful Wine Tasting
‘The limits of my language are the limits of my world’ said a wise philosopher. In this workshop we will learn to ask questions. The first and most important question is “do I like this wine?” we will only drink a wine we enjoy. But what makes one wine ‘yum’ and another ‘yuck’? We will understand what we like and don’t like and why, and be able to express ourselves clearly. This way, when we go to a restaurant or a wine shop we can describe exactly what we are in the mood for and they can match the perfect wine.
There is no right or wrong here, only personal perspective. Here you are always right, but how will you know if you don’t say?
Wine Making, Simple Complexity - The Magic and Science Behind Winemaking
If two winemakers would receive grapes from the same vineyard at the same time they will make two different wines. There are so many decisions in the winemaking process that each different one will create a different wine. In this lecture we will illuminate the variety of options a winemaker has and understand how it will influence the wine.
As a winemaker, I think from end to beginning “what wine do I want to make?” then I go backwards to see what choices I need to make to get that result. What grape variety? From which vineyard? Choosing harvest day, yeast options, oak aging influence... we will learn to recognize some of those choices in the wines we taste.
Israeli Terroir Tasting
Noah was the first documented viticulturist who lived in Israel over 3000 years ago. After the water receded Noah got of the boat and started planting vines.
Israel is blessed with perfect climate conditions for growing high quality wine grapes. Its a small country between Europe and Africa a part of the fertile crescent which enjoys a diverse range of subregions. The winter is cold and rainy so the vines enjoy deep dormancy. Spring time is warm with little rain the vines wake up gradually, bud and blossom. During the summer the daytime is hot and dry, most wine regions are in high elevation so nighttime is cool. In the beginning of the fall the temperatures start cooling and its harvest time. After the harvest the rains return, the temperature decreases and the vine go back to sleep after a good season. For thousands of years every home made its own wine and drink it instead of water.
Today the wine industry is blooming, everyday a new winery is born. Today there are about 350 wineries, 40 different grape varieties are grown (some indigenous to the area), produce 45 million wine bottles a year and drink 4 litres per person/year.
Women and Wine
Throughout history women had a close bond with wine. So strong it scared some men. In ancient Rome women were not allowed to drink wine, in France men were frightened women would cast spells on the vineyards, in many places they feared that when a woman drinks she can say her opinion with less inhibitions.
But that didn't stop us. Woman purchase and drink wine more than any other alcoholic beverage.
Women have the ability to recognize and describe the complexity of wine with greater precision.
Woman had a great influence on the most expensive champagnes we drink today, on the styles of winemaking, their image and commerce. Today only 10% of the head positions in the wine industry are being held by women, that no. is growing everyday. We are meeting more women wine lovers, winemakers, grape-growers, managers and researchers. When I started making wine there were a handful of us, today I am so happy to meet more talented women who saying their opinion and making great wine.
More Lectures:
Micro-organisms, the little creatures doing all the work
We will understand the importance of yeast and bacteria, the magic and science behind the wines they make for us.
Look at the bottle
The container in which the wine is in has a great influence on the wine and on us. Will the same wine from different bottles taste differently? How will the closure method affect the aging potential of the wine? Lets find out...
Threshold of wine components
Did you ever ask yourself what is your threshold for sweetness? Acidity? Aromas? Lets settle your curiosity by conducting different sensitivity tests. We will taste different parts of wine, separately and together. This is for serious wine geeks, its great!
The delicious relationship of wine and food
Usually where there is wine there will be food. Food can enhance the aromas and flavors in the wine or reduce the enjoyment and vice versa. We will conduct a wine tasting with different food styles and experience the affect they have on one another. A delicious mindful game of food and wine.
Aging like fine wine
Different wines have different aging potential. In this tasting we will learn what makes one wine improve with time and another deteriorate.
Dessert wines, the sweet mistakes of life
What country mentions a dessert wine in its national anthem? Which wine was born because England and France were fighting? And what secret did the French keep while Hungary bragged? We will hear the uniques stories behind the beautiful dessert made by fault.
The spices in the wine
Wine is made from fermented grapes, so why does it smell of cinnamon? We will reveal where the aroma and bouquet which enrich the wine came from.
We will taste wines from different grape varieties which were made in different methods.
Classical characteristic of grape varieties
When someone says: “The is a typical New Zealand Sauvignon blanc” Or “how bizarre, there are no bell-peppers in my Cab. Franc...” what do they mean?
At the end of this lecture you will know exactly what they mean.
Wine, improving our health and life quality
Do you need a good excuse to drink 1-2 glasses of wine a day? We will learn how wine improves our health and elevates our soul.
The language of wine
‘The limits of my language are the limits of my world’ said a wise philosopher. We will learn how to describe wines like wine critics, objectively and subjectively.
The influence of the surrounding on wine tasting or The world around a glass of wine
This is a fascinating workshop in which we will experience the influence of the type of glass, the serving temperature, oxygen exposure and food on the wine tasting.