Among
the Vineyards Festival is the celebration of nature, wine, food, music and arts
around the Jewish love Day of T’u Beav. The festival will take place at Marom
Galile area of the Galilee on August 18-26, 2016. I visited some of the
wineries, patisseries, hotels and galleries that will take part in the
festival.
Two
patisseries in the area are Madame Elkalai at Kerem Ben Zamra and Sharona at
Safsufa.
No
festival is whole without some arts and crafts, Avi Goldberg opens his
photography Gallery during the festival, and many other artists at Amirim
village.
Finally,
there are many events and concerts as well, which I write about at the end of
this article.
Adir
Winery visitor center
Adir Winery
visitor center offers wine from Adir Winery and Goat cheeses from “Halav Adir”
(Adir milk). The visitor center has wine and cheese shops and activities such
as watching a movie about the winery and the cheese farm, workshops, events,
and light meals. In the photograph below are the wine (right) and cheese (left)
stores.
Adir
winery was established in 2003 by two families living in the nearby Kerem Ben
Zimra settlement. Since 1995, the families raise goats and the farm has 2,000
dairy goats now, and an active dairy. The dairy produces soft to medium-hard
cheeses. They even make goat milk ice-cream!
The
elegant visitor center of Adir winery was opened in 2009. You can eat here
breakfast, brunch and lunch, learn how to make goat cheeses, and learn about vineyards
and wine making. Breakfast at the visitor center garden is a treat! The garden
is very pleasant and calm and has great breeze. The meals are from local
produce – bread that was baked on the spot, local jam, cheeses from Adir dairy
farm, such as Feta and ‘Labane’, and the must taste goat butter!
We at
breakfast at Adir and tasted two wines – Sauvignon Blan 2015 and Plot 98.
The
Kerem Ben Zimra Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is a light and balanced wine that can go
with any food, especially in the Israeli hot weather.
Kerem
Ben Zimra Plot 98 is a red wine similar to Port (but it is kosher so not
exactly Port). I is a sweat wine with a heavy body.
During
the Among the Vineyards Festival, on 19.8, the Kerem Ben Zimra Sauvignon Blanc
2015 and another wine Kerem Ben Zimra A White, a blend of Chardonnay will be
presented on a day of Latin music and wine tasting. The entry price (of 50-60
NIS) will include a glass of wine and all you want wine tasting. Breakfast and
Brunch will be offered, and live Latin music will be played all day long.
The
Winery is located at Dalton industrial zone. It is Kosher (Mehadrin).
Lueria
Winery and Miriam Estate at Safsufa
Lueria
visitor’s center at Safsufa offers winery tours, wine tasting and wine
workshops at the Winery and at the winery, and options for accommodation at the
nearby Miriam Estate Bed and Breakfast.
Lueria
Vineyard is called Yosef Sayada’s Vineyard. It is located at an altitude of
840-890 meters on unique grounds especially suited for vines. The name Safsufa
comes from “late maturing” because the fruits in the area mature late. For
grapes, this means that they will be richer in tastes and less sweet, which
makes it ideal for wine making. The vineyard spreads on 200 square meters and
11 types of grapes grow there. The best sections of the vineyard were chosen
for the winery. Gidi Sayada took us to the Vineyard.
Gidi Sayada at the Vineyard
Afterwards,
we went to the winery for wine tasting.
We
tasted the following wines:
Lueria
Gewürztraminer 2015 – a
semi-dry wine made using ‘free run’ method of Gewürztraminer grapes from Yossef
vineyard at altitude 840. The wine is suitable as aperitif or for dessert –
sweet but with gentle balanced acidity with aroma of citrus and tropical
fruits.
Lueria
Pinot Grigio 2015 – made
using ‘free run’ method of Gewürztraminer grapes from Yossef vineyard at
altitude 840. This wine is new in Israel and it is its second vintage. The wine
has a medium body an aroma of guava and passion fruit and is European in style.
Lueria
Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 – made of
100% single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Yosef Sayada vineyard. Aged
12 months in French oak barrels and is not filtered. The wine has a nice
colour, heavy body and rich and complex taste.
Lueria
Grand Vital 2013 – this
is the special wine of the vinery. It is a blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon
and its other parts are changing from one vintage to another. It is an award
winning wine. It is made of the best sections of the vineyard. The wine is aged
24 months in French oak barrels and is not filtered. It has a very heavy body
and rich and elegant taste.
Before
we left the winery, we stopped and peeked at the Miriam Estate bed and
breakfast. The place has fancy wooden bungalows with large Jacuzzi and an
attack for the children. The center of the complex there is a swimming pool
with a garden.
Lueria’s
wines are Kosher Mehadrin.
Amirey
Hagalil Hotel
Amirey
HaGalil is a boutique hotel on a hillside at the entrance to Amirim village. It
is an intimate hotel with 16 rooms. The hotel is immersed in vegetation and
overlooks the Galilee Mountains. It offers a relaxed atmosphere, a spa, and a
free entry to the nearby Amirim swimming pool. The lobby of the hotel is like a
greenhouse, full of light and natural vegetation, it looks like a Middle
Eastern khan.
We had
lunch at the hotel’s restaurant “Bein Kramim” (Among the Vineyards), with
starters, salad and local entrees such as chicken steak and ‘Siniya’ which is a
dish of ground beef and lamb with Tahini sauce (right hand side of the
photograph below). During the festival, on 21.8 a special dining and wine
tasting event will be offered; for details call: 04-6989815.
The
following patisseries will be open during the festival (closed on Saturday).
Madame
Elkalai at Kerem Ben Zamra
At Kerem
Ben Zamra, in an old typical Galilee style house, in front of the open view of
the Galilee Mountains, resides the patisserie and coffee shop Madame
Elkalai. They serve here light meals and what Bar, the granddaughter of
Madame Elkalai makes at the patisserie.
The
patisserie is open during weekdays, and the coffee shop on weekends. We tasted
an excellent lemon cake that Bar makes. She also makes cookies, cakes and other
sweets (such as Macaroons).
Sharona
Patisserie at Safsufa
Sharona
Patissrie is a must visit for the sweet lovers.
Sharona
and her team prepare all sorts of sweets and cakes that can compete with almost
any French patisserie. They make here mousse cakes, yeast dough cakes, fruit
pies, macaroons, éclairs, fresh pate de fruit, cookies and much more. Whatever
I tasted here (and it was a variety) – was excellent! The macaroons were
perfect – crunch and not sticky – just like in Paris. The mousse cakes
were light and soft, the yeast cakes were rich and soft and the fruit pie with
almond meringue was so good – to die for! If you think about something sweet
when you are around – go there!
Sharona
Patisserie is located inside Safsufa, it is Kosher Mehadrin (dairy and parve)
and is open during the weekdays. You can sit there for light meals, for
coffee, and buy whole cakes as well.
Avi
Goldberg Photography Gallery at Shefer
The
Galilee always attracted artists. Avi Goldberg moved to Shefer from Petach
Tikva (near Tel Aviv) to open here his gallery. Avi took around 100,000
photographs during 11 years in all continents. Many of his photographs are
nature photographs but he also has portraits. He also wrote two books. A visit
to his gallery is very interesting, and can be coordinated directly with him at
052-4411234. During the festival, free guided tours of the gallery will take
place daily at 20:30 (except Friday 19.8 at 17:00, and Saturday 20.8 at 21:00).
If you
are interested in more arts and crafts, there are many galleries at the village
of Amirim. More information about it can be found in my post about the Wine Path
Festival of 2015.
Hemdat
Yamim
Hemdat
Yamim is a settlement at an altitude of 800 meters on the top of the mountain
above Shefer. The little settlement, with only 5 families, owns a club for live
events and concerts.
The club
has a set of balconies overlooking the magnificent view of the area and the Sea
of Galilee! When visibility is good, one can see from here both the
Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. If you are in the area, it is
worthwhile checking if there are concerts here – for the music and for the
view!
The
above attractions are only a few of the many attractions and events that will
participate in the festival. In addition, the following events (which are a
partial list) The full information about the festival and its events can be
found on the festival
website will take
place:
18.8 A
concert: Shlomi Shabbat and Rita at Ein Hozim.
19.8
Oasis music (from 14:00) at Hazon.
24.8
Rhaggae concert at Amirim
25.8
Miri Massika (sunrise concert)
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