I attended an Israeli wine tasting at a local cultural center earlier this week. The instructor spoke both about the Israeli wine industry as well as basic wine appreciation. Among the instructor’s opening statements was a proclamation that the Israeli wine industry took a major step forward with the introduction of the Golan Heights Winery 15 years ago  (it was more like 25 years ago). Shortly thereafter we tried the first wine, a sauvignon blanc.  He began by pointing out that it is not straw in color, as a straw color indicates a flaw (not true).  Upon tasting the wine he pointed out that this wine was NOT oaky like some other whites since Sauvignon Blanc generally only spends 6 months in barrel (when in reality this Sauv Blanc was made in stainless steel tanks and saw no oak – hence the non-oakiness).  Finally he alleviated the concerns of an attendee regarding sulfites in wine informing the class that white wines, although written on the label “contains sulfites”, don’t really contain sulfites. I raised my hand and announced that i thought all wines contained sulfites, even organic wines (albeit in smaller quantities). He emphatically responded that I was wrong, reds contain sulfites but whites do not.

Speaking of his angry response, in a crowded room with over 50 people drinking (not spitting) wine, he consistently “sshhh-ed” the crowd. I can appreciate the challenges of speaking before a loud audience but while drinking wine in a crowded room did he really expect the audience to remain perfectly silent??

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