wine guyDuh, you go to the Jerusalem Wine Festival.

It was actually unplanned, but hoped for. I’d heard WG was going to be in J-town, but had no way to contact him. Remembering how erratic he was on email, I knew there was only one way, and since I was going to the Wine Festival, held outside at the Israel Museum every evening all this week, the only question was, would Wineguy be there the same night as I was? Were such miracles still possible in the Holy Land?
Voila, the answer. Found him strolling along with his young lady, sporting the chapeau, comme ca.

The Festival was predictably fun–50 NIS got you a glass and access to what seemed like 20 wineries (plus one “tea table,” and one hawking olive oil). The walkway was filled with people, many of them American, but with steady representation by the French and solid participation by Israelis. The situation in this country is tense, and people did talk about it. But the mood was festive, and appropriately, a little inebriated.

Having been deserted by the Jewlicious gang for the Sinai and having been shunned (for the evening) by other members of my Zionist (or post-Zionist) youth conspiracy, I actually arrived alone and spent some time cruising up and down the main drag, to see what was available. While there I caught up with the sister of aforementioned Zionist (or post-Zionist) youth co-conspirator, and built interblogetary bridges to peace with Jewschool’s Shamirpower. And there was much wine.

The only unfortunate thing was that there were so many wineries there that I quickly became confused and forgot which types and vintages I had enjoyed. There was a Gewirtztrammeleneramadingdong or something like that from (I want to say) Avidan Winery, and a standout reserve red from Jonathan Tishbi that JT himself said sells for about 200 bucks a bottle at Alain Ducasse. I didn’t price-check, but the wine was good, man…plus, I found Wineguy. So all in all, a very productive and fun time.

Esther Kustanowitz

About the author

Esther Kustanowitz

For more posts by Esther, see EstherK.com, MyUrbanKvetch.com and JDatersAnonymous.com.

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