A unique collaboration between the families of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and two renowned wineries in Israel brings the stories of the hostages to wine lovers and the public alike.
The new wine line, Wines of Hope, was created by the team from Wine on the Vine and includes wines from the Jezreel Valley Winery and Ramat Negev Winery. This line aims to raise awareness about the plight of the hostages and their families while raising money for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The team at Wine on the Vine created seven unique bottles available for purchase, each with an image and description of seven hostages: Noa Argamani, Carmel Gat, Omer Shem Tov, Romi Gonen, Oded Lifshitz, Omer Wenkert, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Along with each individualized label featuring their loved ones, the description on the back of the wine bottle states, "Every bottle of wine tells a story. Wines of Hope tells the story of the 257 hostages who were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and specifically the 133 people who remain there until today. With every sip we take, we drink this wine as a symbol of hope and a yearning for their return until the day we can drink together with them, fully rejoicing and celebrating true freedom.”
Hostages' families provided input on the description of their loved ones
Leading up to the Passover holiday, the family members of Omer Shem Tov, Carmel Gat, Oded Lifshitz, and Noa Argamani gathered at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv to meet with the founders of the Wines of Hope project, Adam Scott Bellos and Samantha Sharon, and were given the opportunity to preview bottles featuring their missing loved ones.
In a bid for hope, the families promised to open the wine bottles only when their loved ones returned from captivity in Gaza.
The families responded to Wine on the Vine's gesture, noting their gratitude for raising awareness for the return of their families, especially during Passover, which tells the story of freedom from bondage.
Yaakov Argamani, the father of Noa Argamani, said, "We want to thank [Bellos and Sharon] for this gesture," before marking a Shehecheyanu, the Jewish prayer said to mark special occasions and express gratitude for new and unusual experiences.
The mother of hostage Omer Shem Tov, Shelly Shem Tov, noted that "this project is a very big thing for raising awareness. People don't think about the situation. You see this woman on a wine bottle [pointing to a bottle with Noa Argamani's picture], and she is in captivity. Where in the world is this okay? Thank you for doing this."
One of the founders of Wine on the Vine, Adam Scott Bellos, spoke of the significance of learning about every single hostage, saying, “It’s so important to find every single avenue for someone to learn about the stories of the hostages."
“The most important thing is to have people understand the current situation and to learn about each hostage. This is what we hope we can deliver with Wines of Hope – a new way to explain our reality, which is the most important thing we can focus on to bring everyone home," Bellos noted.
The wines are sold in Israel and the United States, with one-third of the profits donated to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.