“When you are drinking our wine, we want you to feel that you are drinking the Land of Israel,” said Jacob Ner-David, founder and chairman of the Jezreel Valley Winery.
The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Monday concluded with a “Wine and Networking” event in which 25 different varieties of Israeli wines were presented. Ner-David and Joshua Greenstein, executive vice-president for sales and marketing of the Israel Wine Producers Association, spoke briefly about what makes Israeli wines special.
Greenstein, who travels throughout the United States promoting Israeli wines, said, “Israel has been making wine for thousands of years, and we finally have gotten recognized for being really good at it. Israel makes this happen through great wineries.”
Continuing his assessment of the state of Israeli wines, he added, “We laid a great foundation of quality, with dozens of wineries making excellent Israeli wine. Now, like any good start-up, we need to scale up. For example, in 2021, New Zealand exported over $2 billion of wine – Israel exported only $50 million. We need all of you to help spread the word: Buy Israeli wine. And more important, enjoy it. Help us spread the word that we are back, and even better than 2,000 years ago!”
Ner-David, whose Jezreel Argaman 2017 wine received 96 points from Decanter magazine’s 2022 Wine Awards, the highest rating received by an Israeli wine this year, said, “We see wine as the connecting element between the Land of Israel and people who love Israel all over the world.”