Reflecting on Life on the Road….Golan Heights, Israel

Jordan and Israel provided more religion than we’ve experienced our entire lives. Well, you get the drift. So, Turkey was postponed once again in an effort to rejuvenate the religious theme in August. Geographically, it worked better to visit Istanbul after spending time with Neda & Jeff in Bulgaria. The downside of this plan is that Turkey is super hot in August!

June turned into our most ambitious month in terms of the number of places visited. We toured most of Israel, the Baltic Region,Vienna, Austria and finally the countryside in Eastern Czech Republic. In the end, June yielded 14 cities in 30 days. Phew!! Continue Reading

Backyard Wine Making

To most, Israeli wines are only used for religious reasons. Until this week, I could not name one Israeli wine brand besides Manischewitz. It’s true, Israel has traditionally produced mostly Kosher wines of “lower quality”. The topics of quality vs. quantity and increasing non-religious consumption came up severals times as we toured Israel’s wine country. In total, we drove 700km from Tel Aviv to Zichron Ya’akov, Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee. I’m proud to say that we covered a good taste of what Israeli grapes have to offer.

Israel has a distinctly Mediterranean climate with hot, humid summers (April – October) with very little precipitation and a cold, rainy winter (late October to March). Its latitude is similar to San Diego, California. Baron Edmund de Rothschild, a co-owner of Chateau Lafite recognized the opportunity to pioneer modern Israeli winemaking . Around 1882, he sent Israel grape varietals from southern France to help Jewish entrepreneurs kickstart a new industry. We learned that many of these growers were of Romanian descent. His vineyards were planted in Zichron Ya’akov (e.g. Carmel Winery) and Rishon Le Tzion, south of Tel Aviv.  Continue Reading

Countryside views of Golan Heights atop Nimrod Castle

Safed is a great base to explore the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights region. The scenery is astonishing and one of the most picturesque places we’ve been during our travels. As we drove through mountains and valleys were were mesmerized by the magnificent long stretches vineyards, orchards, ranches and farmland. Unfortunately this lovely area has become heavily militarized due to past attacks from Syria and more recent conflicts with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Continue Reading