One of the arenas challenging Israel in the current war is the international media arena, and despite drawing conclusions and drawing professional lessons from previous events, there is still a feeling that large parts of the world refuse to be convinced of the justice of our path.
In addition, quite a few people who in one-on-one conversations will openly admit their support for Israel find it difficult to express their feelings publicly, for fear of business or even physical harm from Muslim neighbors and their supporters.
Precisely at this time, it was very heartwarming to find quite a few wine and alcohol producers from around the world who, despite the challenge, saw fit to send their unconditional support to the people living in Zion and their struggle, with the understanding that this is not a private war of ours but really a war of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness, and in fact if we do not defeat this darkness here in our home, it will spread and overshadow – literally – large parts of the enlightened world.
Rodrigo D'Avila-Ferrara,
Rodrigo D'Avila-Ferrara, vice president of marketing and sales at Portuguese Vidigal Winery, producers of Forte 6, did not need to be persuaded to express his support for Israel: "The support comes from the bottom of my heart. It has nothing to do with religion, culture, state, Israel or Hamas. It's absolutely the right thing we are obligated to do. What Hamas has done is terrible - it's the Middle Ages, it's monstrous, it's inhumane. We live in 2023 and sometimes it seems like we are a thousand years back. We cannot and must not accept this kind of thing at all. We need to spread love, not hate. We should be free to think and do whatever we want to do. We need to accept the differences, the different beliefs of the inhabitants of our planet and learn to live in peace with each other. We need harmony in our thoughts and lives. Learn how to love those who are different, to love each other! Love is the best gift we have in our lives – let's learn it once and for all so we can have a beautiful life for everyone!"
Weren't you worried that identification with Israel could hurt you business?
Rodrigo: "We really don't think about the market or what sale we might lose because of this situation. These things are much bigger and more important than our sales or anything else. This is a sincere and genuine concern for our partners and for all the people of Israel. We just hope and pray that these kinds of things will never happen anywhere again!"
Forte 6 series, photo: Vidigal Winery PR
"Proud of Israeli wine"
Rodrigo: "When the Shaked Brothers (importers and distributors of wine in Israel – R.P.) They came to us with this idea, we felt that it was really a must for us to enter this project! We love new challenges, and the kosher wines were indeed a huge challenge, completely different from anything we've done before, and you know what? We love making kosher wine and will continue to produce it as long as it is in demand. We learn so much from the process, feel a responsibility to make a kosher product and are proud to say that we have a great kosher wine. Towards 2024 we plan to increase the quantities and variety, and soon new amazing things will come to you from us and I am sure you will be very surprised. I really hope that this situation ends as soon as possible - and we send a lot of love to the people of Israel."
The British kingdom, where the percentage of Muslims living these days is over 6.5%, has seen quite a few mass pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the massacre, but even that did not deter the staff of the Loch Lomond whisky distillery, located on the banks of the lake of the same name in the Scottish Highlands, and they chose to express unconditional support for Israel, even today. According to Arie Lakonishuk, the professional manager of Eurostandart, which imports and distributes the company's products, "Loch Lomond are true friends. They immediately stood by us, expressed warm words of support and even offered a place of refuge, if necessary."
Loch Lomond Israel 2023, photo: PR
Not only did they add words but also added a moving gesture and released a special and limited edition of two barrels of rare whiskey, with the Israeli flag proudly on the labels of the bottles! This is a wonderful barrel-strength whiskey (56.8% alcohol) aged for nine years in wooden barrels and characterized by velvety caramel aromas and flavors, ripe banana, toffee, toasted walnut and a touch of cloves. As strong and sweet as we really need these days! (Price: 459 NIS).
On both sides of the canal
On the other side of the English Channel, in France, a country where an estimated 10% of immigrants from Islamic countries live, we found courageous friends of Israel who are not afraid to express their support for the only democracy in the Middle East, understanding that radical Islam poses a danger not only to Israel but to the entire free world.
The Gouda Cognac House has been around for over 460 years. It is located in the port city of La Rochelle in western France (Acre's twin city), about 125 km north of Bordeaux. It was King Henry IV of France (I of the House of Bourbon) who granted the family the first official cognac concession in 1588.
The distillery's cognac, photo: PR
Cyril Goda, who is a member of the family's 15th generation and currently manages the distillery's operations, is known as a friend of Israel who visits Israel at normal times at least twice a year, both on business trips and on private vacations with his family. With the outbreak of the war, he opened a WhatsApp group in support of Israel and is in constant contact with his representatives in Israel – "My heart is with all my friends in Israel. I believe that you will win and I send my love to the entire nation of Israel," he tells us.
Cyril Goude,
In the second direction, Josh Greenstein works, and the truth? - I really don't envy him these days. He is responsible for promoting Israeli wine in the United States on behalf of the Israel Wine Producers Association (IWPA), whose members include wineries such as Carmel, Flam, Netufa, Psagot, Har Odem, Binyamina, Shiloh, Castel, Vitkin and more.
In normal times, this should be perhaps the most enjoyable job there is – walking around wine stores, meeting consumers, holding tastings and exposing the American audience to the Israeli wine experience in face-to-face meetings and on social media. "It's amazing how unaware the American public is that Israel is a wine producer. I tell them that wine has been produced in Israel for over 4,000 years, that there is excellent terroir there for growing vineyards, and I also expose them to tasting a variety of wines – and sales are growing at a crazy rate. Since I took office, in quite a few places Israeli wine has come out of the back shelves of Kiddush wines and is presented as a legitimate regional wine, just like Spanish, Italian or Australian wine."
Josh Greenstein, Photo: Josh Greenstein
And what has happened since the seventh of October?
Greenstein: "The truth is that my work since then has been much more challenging. There is a drop in sales – both in the kosher market, because who wants to be happy and drink wine?, and in the general market – because as absurd as it sounds, quite a few people are afraid to identify with Israel. Although I have not encountered clear manifestations of anti-Semitism, you have been exposed to quite a few stores that have removed the Israeli flag from their wine shelves. Unpleasant. On the other hand, there are still positive surprises. Take Jaclyn Misch, star of the series "Survivor - Nicaragua" (on CBS, USA) and a network influencer, who was so passionate about Israel and Israeli wines that she opened a WhatsApp group and a dedicated website for ordering Israeli wine for Christmas!
Jacqueline Mish right,
Eventually everyone needs some wine at home so we start to feel recovery. I hope that Israel will be strong, that we will emerge stronger from this period and that we will soon return to drinking excellent Israeli wine – in Manhattan, Los Angeles and everywhere in the world."
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