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Light a candle and pour a glass—this is the story of a Sephardic family reclaiming Spanish terroir through kosher wine, one amphora at a time. We head to the high hills outside Valencia with Armando Caracena-Molco of Viña Memorias to taste old-vine Bobal and Macabeo that wear history on their sleeves and clay on their skins. Unico, their flagship red, comes from pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1903 and is raised entirely in tinajas—handmade clay vessels whose makers, in a remarkable twist, have stamped them with a Star of David for generations. It’s memory, craft, and place converging in a single bottle.

We dig into why these wines feel different: altitude between 700 and 900 meters, calcareous-clay soils, Mediterranean winds, and dry farming that lets deep roots do the work. Amphora vs oak becomes a masterclass in texture and purity—amphora delivers micro-oxygenation without wood flavors, allowing Bobal’s red-fruited intensity and polished tannins to shine. Then we contrast that with Finca Cerezal, a French-oak-aged Bobal that shows the grape’s elegant side, and Memorias del Rambam, a classic American-oak expression that nods to Spain’s traditional profile while honoring Maimonides.

Sparkling lovers get a treat: Requena’s altitude-driven Cava made from old-vine Macabeo, method tradicional, and extended lees aging. Expect pinpoint bubbles, almond pastry on the nose, stone fruit and citrus on the palate, and a clean, persistent finish that invites head-to-head comparisons with champagne. We talk disgorgement dates, why most Cava skips malolactic fermentation, and how precision bubbles can shift expectations in the kosher market. We close with Alcunia, a still Macabeo aged in amphorae on fine lees, bone-dry, saline, layered, and quietly powerful.

Across every glass runs the same current: unity and return. A mother from Aix-en-Provence, a father of the land, brothers spread across continents, and a choice to make kosher wines that speak clearly of Valencia’s heights, clay, and light. If you’re ready to discover Bobal, rediscover Macabeo, and taste a story that loops from exile to home, press play and join us at the table. If you enjoyed the journey, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more curious drinkers can find us.

Contact Details
Armando Caracena-Molco WhatsApp +34686452612

• Viña Memorias Winery, Calle Carretera de Madrid, San Antonio, Spain
• +34669043007
• contact@vinamemorias.com

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A desert can teach you patience, and in the Negev that lesson tastes like lifted acids, fine textures, and wines that refuse to be rushed. We sit down with winemaker Ya'acov Oryah of Pinto Winery to explore how short ripening windows, careful skin management, and precise oak work can turn heat and dryness into elegance on the table.

We start with whites—Chardonnay that drinks with Sauvignon-like snap, Chenin that grows more aromatic with time, and Gewürztraminer rehabilitated through whole-cluster pressing and blending. Viognier gets a rethink too: tropical and perfumed, yet restrained enough to drink, not just sniff. Ya'acov explains why he builds components with finesse instead of brute force and why oak should be a supporting actor that integrates slowly in the bottle. Then the Reds flip expectations. Grenache shows a pale robe with real weight and grip, while the hard-press batch surprises with greater charm than austerity. Malbec, not Cabernet, emerges as a Negev success story, and the reasoning tracks back to climate, skins, and timing.

From there, we dive into the geeky heart of the cellar. An unracked white ferments in its murk, embraces reductivity, and evolves into something layered after gentle barrel time. The once undrinkable Grenache ’22 returns transformed, proof that reduction can convert to complexity if you wait. We also unpack biodynamics and vineyard biodiversity—less dogma, more soil, life, and balance—and how these practices tend to correlate with better tasting wines. Ya'acov’s “ME” series brings it home: multiple harvest dates and varied fermentations (vat, oak, carbonic, skin contact, unracked) within the same vineyard lot, recombined into a single, seamless voice. It’s hyper-terroir, not anti-terroir.

Dessert and fortification get their spotlight: an orange dessert Gewürztraminer, a fortified Pinot experiment, and the showstopper—an 18-year barrel-aged Muscat that smells like maple, vanilla, and dried forest floor. Along the way, we confront aging myths: tannin and acid are shields, but it’s the wine’s dry extract and time that truly build its complexity. The larger picture is thrilling—Israeli wine leaning into creativity, precision, and patience. If you care about texture, restaurant-friendly balance, and wines that reward time, pull up a chair.

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Ya'acov Oryah Winemaker

Pinto Winery
Office@pintowinery.com
108 Zvi Bornstein St., Yeruham, 80500000
+972-547-635-451

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A wrong turn on a long road trip led to a tasting room door, a harvest job, and a life reset. Meet Gideon Marcus, a 23-year-old Oleh who traded the Manhattan Shabbat table for punch-downs, press cycles, and vineyard dust—first at Covenant in California, then across Israel from the Judean Hills to the Negev’s high-contrast desert.

We dive into the kind of winemaking you only learn by doing: sorting fruit at dawn, pulling samples of fresh Viognier juice, and discovering how an aged Syrah can drop you into a mossy forest with one breath. Gideon shares what mentors like Jeff Morgan and Sagie Kleinlehrer taught him about tasting widely, keeping meticulous notes, and blending with a purpose. We explore why Israeli wine is more than mountain myths: valleys that channel cold night air like natural AC, limestone that lies inches from the roots, and microplots picked by exposure rather than postcode.

The Negev becomes a character in the story, with scorching days and chilled nights that preserve acidity and unlock surprising aromatics. Gideon reflects on visionary approaches like Yaakov Oryah’s “multiple expressions” fermentations and the quiet courage it takes to hold bottles for years before release. Along the way, we confront a winemaker’s paradox: follow the data or trust your senses? The answer lives somewhere in the dance between lab sheets, fieldwork, and the final blend in your glass.

This conversation is about terroir, yes—soil, climate, and clones—but also about identity, risk, and building a future in a country that feels different after October 7. If you’re curious about Israeli wine, aging potential, and the craft choices that shape flavor and longevity, you’ll find a full pour here. Enjoy the ride, then subscribe, rate, and share—with a friend who loves bold bottles and even bolder stories.

For more information, please contact:

Gideon Marcus: WhatsApp +1-646-207-2645

Gideon’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/gideon-marcus-17b562b8

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Your glass should tell a story before you take the first sip. Today we pour three: a newly disgorged, boutique kosher champagne from a 10th‑generation house; a rare white Bordeaux from Pessac Léognan that lets Semillon sing; and a Right Bank red from a renegade winemaker who refuses to bow to classifications. This isn’t hype and hashtags—it’s the honest calculus behind flavor, freshness, and why some bottles feel alive.

We start with the bubbles. Brut, Extra Brut, and a 55‑month cuvée show how dosage and lees aging sculpt mousse, texture, and the shift from citrus snap to toasty hazelnut depth. We pull back the curtain on mevushal decisions for the U.S. and Israel, the impact of heat on softness, and why disgorgement dates can make or break a release in the kosher market. Pricing strategy gets an honest look too, as tariffs and positioning place the new champagne among names like Drappier and Rothschild without losing sight of value or vibrancy.

Then we cross to Bordeaux for a white that outshines its red counterpart. Domaine de Chevalier Blanc blends Sauvignon Blanc with a meaningful 30 percent Semillon, trading blunt grapefruit for layered texture, wax, and age‑worthy savor. Vintage constraints, yield drops, and creative partnerships shaped how a kosher version came to life, and we explain why Semillon grows in the glass over time, turning one purchase into a two‑act experience. Finally, we decant the Right Bank with JP Maltus: single vineyards, Merlot first with Cabernet Franc for lift, and side‑by‑side notes on 2021 versus 2022—color, tannin, and aromatics that whisper where each year will land.

If you’ve ever wondered how boutique champagne stays fresh? Why a Pessac white can command $500, or how a Saint‑Émilion maverick keeps standards identical across kosher and non‑kosher bottlings? This tasting tour brings you the answers. Subscribe, share with a wine‑curious friend, and leave a review.

Dr. Ralph Madeb
M&M Importers

Address: 1100 CONEY ISLAND AVENUE
BROOKLYN, NY 11230
Phone: +1 718-684-9826

email: rmadeb@mandmimporters.com

Website: www.MandMimporters.com

Jay Buchsbaum is the VP of Marketing and Director of Consumer Education at Royal Wine Corp and is one of the hosts of the kosher.com show, Swirl. He's one of the top experts in kosher wine and travels the world for the best kosher vintages.
Jay can be reached for further questions on
Instagram at @jay.buchsbaum
or
email: jbuchsbaum@kedem.com

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Pepper, olives, violets, and a flash of smoke—one swirl is all it takes to see why Syrah might be the new heartbeat of kosher red wine. We follow the grape from Hermitage’s granite slopes to Israel’s basalt and limestone and then to Australia’s sun‑drenched valleys, mapping how climate and terroir turn one variety into a chorus of styles. Along the way, we dive into cellar choices—whole cluster or destemmed, French or American oak, mevushal or not—and explain how each decision reshapes texture, spice, and fruit.

We share the producers and bottles that anchor the category: Yarden’s benchmark Syrah from the Golan, Dalton’s lifted Upper Galilee expression, boutique natural Shiraz from Harkham in Hunter Valley, the accessible joy of Teal Lake, and California’s polished Herzog Special Reserve. You’ll taste with us, step by step, exploring inky color, blackberry and blueberry fruit, black pepper and smoked herbs, and a finish that stays savory and poised. We set Syrah beside Cabernet to show why one commands and the other connects—how Cab’s angular tannins and cedar line up against Syrah’s velvety frame and Mediterranean soul.

As the climate warms, Syrah’s thick skins and sun tolerance make it a resilient choice for Israel and beyond, aligning with sustainable farming and the growing demand for authentic, low‑intervention wines. We break down market tiers, value dynamics, and why younger drinkers gravitate to terroir‑driven styles that pair effortlessly with lamb, harissa, and charred eggplant. By the end, you’ll have a buying roadmap, a tasting framework, and a clear sense of why Syrah is gaining momentum across kosher shelves and restaurant lists.

Pour a glass and join the conversation. Subscribe for more deep dives, share this episode with a friend who loves bold reds, and tell us: which Syrah or Shiraz captured your story this week?

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A drought year wasn’t supposed to reward restraint—but 2025 had other plans. At Vitkin Winery, we walk the rows with winemaker Assaf Paz and discover how a parched winter, scrambled ripeness windows, and a nation holding its breath forged wines with unusual clarity and nerve. When irrigation couldn’t fix stressed vines, an old, dry-farmed Carignan did: deeper roots, stronger canopies, and, shockingly, higher yields. The lesson is simple and radical—let the vineyard do the talking, and you’ll hear terroir more clearly than any dial you can turn.

We dig into the moments that defined the vintage: Macabeo arriving before Gewurztraminer, Argaman sprinting just behind Pinot, and decisions made by mouth and nose when spreadsheets said wait—Assaf shares where he trusted instinct over numbers and why certain lots earned time in the barrel. The glass tells the story—Riesling held on lees and released late for texture, a high-altitude Chardonnay with zero malolactic that rebukes butter for mineral precision, and Grenache Blanc grown on a stony, unforgiving site to capture salinity and lift. A tiny Tanat, fermented in a single open bin, becomes a symbol of the year: scarce, personal, unforgettable.

We also step outside the cellar door. As hostages returned home, a quiet weight lifted across the team. Rival wineries swapped scarce clarifying agents and enzymes—no invoices, just trust—proving that when the work matters, production stands together. And through it all, Pinot Noir taught restraint that sharpened the whole lineup: not lighter, but clearer; not louder, but truer. Wine here is more than flavor; it’s a message in a bottle about land, craft, and resilience. If you’ve wondered how Israeli terroir can be both tough and graceful, this is your pour.

Enjoy the conversation, then share it with a friend who loves wine made by touch and time. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: when would you trust your gut over the data?

Contact Assaf Paz at Vitkin:
Turtle Bridge, Alexander Stream, Kfar Vitkin
Waze: “Vitkin Winery”
tel. +972-9-8663505
fax. +972-9-8664179
WhatsApp: +972-54-4866350
Email: info@vitkin-winery.co.il
Mailing Address: PO Box 267, Kfar Vitkin, 4020000

And please stop by and visit:
Open Sun.-Thur. 09:30-17:00
Fridays 10:30-15:30
By appointment

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Sweet can be serious, as we look at Moscato’s long road from ancient Muscat vines to Piedmont’s low-ABV sparkle, and the cobalt-blue bottle that took kosher wine mainstream. Along the way, we explain why this fragrant style became a first-love wine for so many people who once felt intimidated by tannins, tasting notes, and cellar talk—and how it still manages to honor religious tradition all while elevating the mood of the moment.

Muscat grapes harvested for aroma are gently pressed to preserve their perfume, then cooled for fermentation, which is paused early to retain residual sugar and natural CO2. All while abiding by DOCG guardrails for Moscato d’Asti. We contrast that rigor with the myth of “sugar water,” then taste it in detail—honeysuckle on the nose, white peach and citrus zest on the palate, a bright spritz, and a clean finish that invites another sip.

The story widens from Bartenura’s pop-culture breakout to a full kosher Moscato category built by Israeli and Italian producers, plus smart packaging moves like cans and splits that brought wine into spaces once dominated by beer. We address critics head-on, reframing sweetness through the lens of purpose and pointing to a future of organically farmed, site-expressive Moscato at 8–9% ABV that keeps joy while adding depth. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a sweet wine, this conversation might change your mind—or at least give you a new glass to share.

Enjoyed what you heard? Subscribe, share with a wine-curious friend, and leave a review to help more listeners find us. Then tell us your Moscato story on Instagram with #TheKosherTerroir or via email TheKosherTerroir@gmail.com.

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The Slichot prayers rise like mist from the terrace of Beit Yisrael Synagogue in Yemin Moshe, carried skyward by the Solomon Brothers Band as Jerusalem's ancient walls stand witness. This rare recording captures repentance transformed into celebration—a spiritual vintage worth savoring.

Rabbi Yeres offers profound wisdom about tears and prayer. From the Talmud, he shares that when the Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer were locked—but the gates of tears remained forever open. In a year marked by tremendous suffering for Israel, this teaching carries special weight. Through Maimonides' concept of complete repentance, we learn that true transformation happens when we choose righteousness at the height of temptation, not merely when it's convenient.

The musical experience elevates everything. Harmonized voices intertwine like grape clusters on the vine, reminding us that spiritual transformation rarely happens in isolation—we need community to support our growth. As the melodies echo against Jerusalem's stones, we taste something unfinished, like wine still mid-ferment, alive with possibilities. Rosh Hashanah approaches with the promise of renewal, a chance to pour a new glass and begin again with clarity and courage. Join us as we trace how wine and spirit intertwine, and discover what vintage this new year will bring.

The Solomon Brothers Band

For Bookings Contact: Worldwide Bookings

​Nachman Solomon 054 553 5191 nachmant@gmail.com

USA: +1 718 487-9054

Rabbi Chanoch Yeres +972 52 566 6230

Beit Yisrael Synagogue
2 Pele Yoetz St. Yemin Moshe Jerusalem

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Thursdays 6:30pm Eastern Time on the NSN Network and the NSN App