The Golan Heights: Family Baum Winery's New Chapter

Episode Transcript
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S. Simon Jacob (00:09):
Welcome to The Kosher Terroir.
I'm Simon Jacob, your host forthis episode from Jerusalem.
Before we begin, I invite you,wherever you are, to take a
quiet moment and pray for thesafety of our soldiers and the
safe return of all our hostages.
There's something magical aboutbeginnings, about planting

(00:31):
roots in new soil, feeling thewind whip across an open
landscape and imagining thewines that will one day be born
there.
On this episode of The KosherTerroir, we head north, way
north, to Sha'al in the GolanHeights, where the Family Baum

(00:52):
Winery has begun an exciting newchapter.
Sam and Rivka Baum have lefttheir mark on Israel's wine
scene before, but now they'veset their sights on a fresh
frontier.
We start our visit in theirnewly planned vineyard rows of

(01:13):
young Syrah- Carignan againstthe backdrop of sweeping Golan
skies.
The wind is fierce, but so istheir vision.
From there we head just downthe road to their new winery,
where dreams are already takingshape.
In the barrel we taste earlysamples of their 2024 vintage

(01:34):
wines that mark the very firstfruits of this new adventure a
blend.
And, in a delightful twist,rivka has made sure her own
personal wish found a place inthe vineyard a Pinot Gris.
So there will always be a crisp, refreshing white wine to relax

(01:55):
to.
It's a story of passion,partnership and starting anew in

(02:16):
one of Israel's most promisingOkay, so welcome, thank you, and
breathe in the promise ofwhat's to come at the
family-bound winery in Sha'al.

Sam Baum (02:26):
Okay, so welcome, thank you.
Thank you so much for coming.

Thank you for inviting me and here for The
Kosher Terroir and myselfpersonally to just see this.
It's amazing to be here.

Rivka Baum (02:40):
I think the first podcast you did was just about
the brand already.
We didn't have anything else.
You didn't have anything elsedidn't have anything.

No, you couldn't even tell me which vineyard you
were taking care of.

Sam Baum (02:54):
Okay, so we'll be here for 5-10 minutes, just what
we're doing, what the plan is,and then we'll go up to the
winery.
So welcome to shell.
We personally moved here inAugust.
I personally moved here inOctober, november, because we
moved here in the middle of whenI was in Gaza and so Rivka came
basically by herself in August.
But Shaal has been here since 81.
It started in Kurnetra around78 in Kurnetra, something like

(03:20):
that, and they were there nearan army base for about two,
three years and they moved up tothis area, shaal, which is the
first step of Tzfonagola.
So once you've started here,going up is Har Odem Majdal,
shams Khermon, but this is thefirst step up.
So around 750 metres around itoff sea level, and Shaal

(03:41):
actually stands for Shav AmladMato.
It's actually a abbreviationwhich I didn't know, but it's
what we actually believe andstand for.
So it worked well.
How did I get here to shal?
I worked for Castel for fiveyears and Castel used to buy
grapes from the Golan, and thegrapes that they bought from the
Golan were from here, from shal, and so we bought shul.
Once they ferment all thegrapes from each separate plot.

(04:03):
We then taste all the wines,and every year, year on year,
the grapes from the shale scorethe highest.
So we decided that if therewill come a time and we want to
plant a vineyard, this was thegrand vin.
So this is the grand vin.

Rivka Baum (04:16):
Here and a bit further up.

Sam Baum (04:17):
So this is the place to be.
And then, as I started to studythe land more and more and more
and more this specific area,this pocket of microclimate I
realised that this really iswhat I believe to be the best
area in the whole of the Levant.
For a few reasons.
I'll just go over them very,very briefly.
A the ground is very, very deep.
There's a lot of earth.

(04:37):
It's almost actually regardedas clay because there's 50% of
kharsit, which is the brownearth.
So that makes it clear, whichmeans it has good water
retention.
However, it has also a highpercentage of basillic rock,
which makes it able to be verywell drained.

Rivka Baum (04:53):
Everywhere where we are now was once a volcano.

Sam Baum (04:56):
Yeah, exactly.

Rivka Baum (04:58):
Which is the?

Sam Baum (04:59):
basillic magma, so the water can drain off and there's
also water retention in theearth which keeps the vines
alive.
Secondly, the height thedifference between the nights
and the days.
Thirdly, the pH of the soil islower than anywhere else in
Israel.
Here the pH of the soil isaround 6.8 6.7, which makes all
the minerals in the soil muchmore available to the plant.
Once you go up to 7, 7.2, 7.3,which is all you have in the

(05:22):
rest of Israel, then theminerals are actually held in
the soil and not released to theplants.
And the people the people hereare fantastic and they make this
great agriculture and they'revery helpful and that makes it
much easier to actually growanything.
They're full of good advice andgood pointers and what to do
and how to do, and that's theearth, the Tewar, which is Adama

(05:45):
Akrim and Adaf, the threepeople, the three things.
This vineyard, specifically, isbeing planted according to our
blend, so we decided that theblend we're going to grow the
varieties is Syrah and Carignac.
That's the blend and that'swhat we've already 80-20.
80-20.
Okay, and that that's the blend.

Rivka Baum (06:02):
And that's what we've already 80-20, 80-20.

Sam Baum (06:05):
Okay, and that's what we've already started making now
in 2024 80% Syrah, 20% Cabernet.

That's right.
I take Carignan.

Sam Baum (06:10):
Carignan, yeah, that's right and 2024 was the first
vintage that we did that blend.
We took Syrah from here andCarignan we took from Misguer,
from Ms Gerrit Baatje, becauseno one grows in the north of the
Golan.
Karunyan.
They say that maybe in theDuwama Golan, in the south of
the Golan, there's someone whogrows, but I haven't managed to
put my hands on him so I don'tknow who it is, but we will be

(06:31):
for sure the first people togrow it here in the north of the
Golan, which in my eyes isfascinating and the right place
to grow level, because it'soften growing in very, very warm
places.
It runs away once it ripens,but because here, specifically,
the nights are always cold.
In fact this morning was likewinter, it was like 20 degrees,

(06:52):
19 degrees here, gray, yeah.
Until 11 o'clock, so hopefullyit will hold on to its pH level.
And the wind?
The wind happens every day from1 o'clock.

It's like this till the evening, every day,
every day.
You're also surrounded byterroir all of this stuff that
can bring in complexity andflavors right, all the different
crops that are around so

Rivka Baum (07:13):
we've got the opposite, which is one of the
reasons why the fence around you, we're going to be planting it
with a cannot, with therootstock right, and so that if
any, any sort of fungi oranything comes at us, we'll see
it first outside the vineyard,on the On the fence.
On the vines before it gets toour actual vines that we need to
Wow.

Sam Baum (07:30):
There's an area in the cauldron.

Rivka Baum (07:32):
Exactly, exactly exactly exactly so.

Sam Baum (07:34):
we're surrounded here by cherries.

So you're the first person to explain to me
why people do that, and it makesa whole lot of sense.

Sam Baum (07:41):
Three reasons A it's very pretty, yeah.
B there's more than threereasons B it can really stop a
fire, because a green fence canreally slow down a fire and make
it stop from getting to yourfield.

Rivka Baum (07:52):
So if you look there , that's why he's done that.

Sam Baum (07:54):
He's done that because he's organic, and so whoever
sprays there, he doesn't want itto go into his field.
But those are like Firebombs.
Those trees are really bad forfires.
So here, the green fence.
See, the rootstock wakes up twoweeks earlier or three weeks
earlier than the variety Right.
So when we get to the springand it starts leaving the

(08:15):
dormant period, we'll see itfirst in the rootstock.
So I'll now have to make sure Ifinish all the pruning.
It'll give me a great, greatindication and, like Rufka said,
anything that sort of flowsinto the field herbicides,
pesticides, fungicides we'll seeit first around the fence,
which is great.
And how are we planting?
So the carignan?
We've decided to do a goblet.

(08:36):
That's why it's single.
How?

are you going to run cables to support this?
Right, because some of it evencurves, right?
So all the rows, all the rowsare actually this way.

Sam Baum (08:46):
Yeah, I see Over the whole vineyard.
Okay, but because everything Iwas very pedantic that
everything should be positionedexactly.
You can't actually tell whichways the rows always go Right.
Right, however, each row isnorth to south, the home one's
there and the canoes there, soyou're doing goblet.
Yeah, and this one's this one'sgoing to be goblet.
Every vine is going to have apole, each vine for a pole every
metre and a half and threemetres.

(09:06):
Between the rows and the otherside there's a valley in the
middle which goes down to NaharParash, which is just over the
valley, over the Shlucha, andthat's actually good, because it
will grab anything that sitsdown to the Nahar and take it
down to the Yardenit.
Ok, that's where Sirah's goingto be down there and Sirah's
going to be on the other side.
In the middle, there's nothing.
There's six metres between allthe different plots.

Rivka Baum (09:27):
There's a big pathway.
The way I see it is very muchlike a big Italian-style long
table down there like to do anevent.

Sam Baum (09:34):
It's going to be amazing Down in the middle.

Rivka Baum (09:36):
That's the dream, that's the plan.

Sam Baum (09:48):
So I have a friend, friend, the dove, okay uh.
Jeselson who has anava, okay,oh yeah, and he we had, we
actually had the first harvest.

They had a dinner in the middle of the
vineyard with a big table andset, and it was.

Sam Baum (09:58):
There's nothing better , there's just I just heard your
podcast that you just did withanava.

I did yeah but the first one.
I I didn't even do a podcastabout the dinner in the middle
of the vineyard, but that waslike over the top.
It was amazing, wow, wow,absolutely amazing.

Sam Baum (10:13):
Strong little lights.

Wow, and they served crazy food and it was
just absolutely gorgeous,amazing.
Yeah, you'll have it here.
It's such a good.

Sam Baum (10:23):
I mean, you'll have it here, you'll have a good idea
to do that and and the otherside is going to be almost like
in vey, ma'akhal open v, butreally open like his shita, okay
, completely open, and then thegrapes will hang.
A lot of shade, but a muchshorter.
Nof, a much shorter.
How do you say it?
Like the leaves the wholeoverhang much shorter.

(10:44):
Nof, a much shorter.
How do you say it?
Like the leaves the wholeoverhang much shorter.
So like one meter, 21 meter.
And at the bottom Rivka saidthere's no way we're not making
a white wine.

Rivka Baum (10:51):
This is our point of contention of working together
in business.

Sam Baum (10:54):
Every so often it happens.

Rivka Baum (10:57):
So this is my Pinot Gris that's being planted.

I was wondering what you're going to ask for.
So that's good.

Rivka Baum (11:05):
Yeah, I want something fresh, acidic, young
cut, because the syrah is verywell, you'll see there's I'm not
telling you to be risky oranything.

There's what's the varietal that's coming from?
Uh?

Sam Baum (11:22):
they planted it in a few places.
Yes, dalton planted it and hedid in Shmulik from Chateau.

Goulain.

Sam Baum (11:33):
Agoura is also planting Assyrtiko.
It makes sense to plant it here.
They have a lot of problemsright now with the vine.
Most of them didn't wake upfrom the winter.
Yeah, there's huge problemswith the surrogate specifically.
So good, no, yeah, yeah, yeah,you got.
Yeah, peanut butter is great.

We're taking quite a lot.

Rivka Baum (11:51):
One risk at a time.

Sam Baum (11:52):
Yeah, exactly one risk at a time, only one right.

Rivka Baum (11:55):
I'm thinking about four or five.
So yeah, yeah, we're on number,we're thinking about five, but
that's okay.
It's okay we believe in them.

Sam Baum (12:02):
Yes, yes, all of this will be planted this summer.

Rivka Baum (12:05):
This will be planted in two weeks, that's the plan,
so I've got the pipes to run thewhole irrigation system he's
done on his own.

Sam Baum (12:13):
Yeah, most of it's done by me.
I saw you with the, with thepipes and the wakhlim,
everything.
We very much see our ethos asto be a farm to table, but
winery so really only our grapes, only grown by sam, bottled,

(12:34):
labeled, given, drunk with froma to z, no uh, winery service
and no dicking.
This gives 8 000 bottles.
That's all I have.
It gives 11 000 bottles.
That's all I have.
That's it.

Rivka Baum (12:43):
I see almost a bit like raising a child.
Like there's, you want maximal,maximum manipulation when they
need to get their feet off theground and really putting your
input to get what you want.
And then after that, oncethey're ready and the wine's
going to be made, then minimalinterference, like hopefully
you've done what you weresupposed to do with them, enough
that it's gonna wow that's theway.

Sam Baum (13:04):
So what's that way?
This, okay, the german.

Rivka Baum (13:07):
I promise you, it's the first time I've never seen
the german, I'm not jokingeveryone in the goland says, on
a clear day you can see thegerman, but you actually can
this this is 357 degrees thisway, so the north is just
slightly to the right where thathuge tree is.

Sam Baum (13:23):
Yeah, that's true north, yep, and true south is
that tree on the ridge therejust slightly to the right.

Rivka Baum (13:28):
Where that huge?

Sam Baum (13:29):
tree is.
That's true north and truesouth is that tree on the ridge
there, the lone one, the lonetree.
So that is, if you carry onstraight, apart from the
minefields, you'll hit theCanary, and if you carry on
straight you'll hit Majd al-Shamand the Hermon, and then
opposite us is Emek al-Khula andon the other side is all of Ha
Galil.

So you can see from here the Hermon one.
Yeah, I'm not joking, I knowEvery day.

Sam Baum (13:48):
Every day.
Yeah, Every every day.

I'm asking you a different question.
Yes, I'm looking at thisvineyard that you planted, that
you will plant.

Sam Baum (13:56):
Yes, please go ahead and it'll be beautiful.

And then I can see there's an open space from
that vineyard to the nexthilltop, or what have you?
The cow buries it.

Sam Baum (14:05):
That's all.
Shetakh Mir'eh, there's 200cows.

Pasture land right there yeah pasture land.

Sam Baum (14:09):
Thank you.
There's 200 cows that belong toour who.
We rent our house from our flatfrom.

Rivka Baum (14:13):
He has 200 cows.

Sam Baum (14:14):
He has 200 cows and they roam all the way around.

But I'm just saying, as you're ready for the
next varietals Potential.

Rivka Baum (14:21):
You wish Everything around here is taken, and Sam,
there's another 20 nachalot likeestates, which you get 1.2
dunam to build and 50agriculture.
Yeah, For now they've given out80, and there's supposedly
another 20, and it's knownaround here that Sam Baum is
here to stay until he gets one.

Okay, all right, good, so how much?
What do you have here?

Sam Baum (14:42):
Okay, so the entire field's 14.
All right, good, so what do youhave here?

Okay, so the entire field is 14.
14 dunam.

Sam Baum (14:46):
Yeah, 14 altogether.
And then I lost from thefencing another three dunam and
then I decided that I wanted tosplit all the fields, so I lost
another dunam dunam and a half.
So planted actually plantedwill be 10 dunam Nine dunam red
and one dunam pinot gris.

That's right.
I just want to know what thefuture holds.
That's the reason why I askedthe question.
Okay, good.

Sam Baum (15:09):
The future holds hopefully very, very
high-quality wine farm-to-tablethat I have no question about.

I just wanted to know what varietals can
dissipate.
Once this is up and running,it's actually a very good
question because it would makesense.

Rivka Baum (15:25):
There is a very, very clear plan.
Okay, also was once upon a timea point of contention which
we've covered.
We overcome sam wants to makeone flagship wine, family-bound
winery make one syrah carinianblend.
It's the only one we have.
We sell it on futures.
Thank god up until now it'sbeen sold out every year and
that's it which is why I foughtfor my white, because there's no

(15:46):
way I'm bringing people herefor just what.
It will be fantastic, but thereneeds to be something else.

Sam Baum (15:54):
I know they've been around almost a thousand, I
don't know how many hundreds ofyears, but the truth is the opus
one.
I'm not saying I'm I'm thereyet, but in 30, 40 years down
the line, the vineyard will bethere.
Hopefully the winemaking willbe there and there's no reason
that there can't be a wine likethat from the Levant.

That was Elie Benzakian's dream at the very
beginning as well To have GrandVin.
All the rest of the stuff isjust noise.

Sam Baum (16:16):
I don't want to focus on that, I just want to focus on
the Grand Vin, but ElieBenzakian maybe made it possible
for us to do it because the 30years of the high-end wine
industry in Israel has enabled,maybe, maybe, hopefully, someone
to come along and now say okay,we're going to make one wine,
this is the wine of the region.
If you want these flavors, thisis where you get it Beautiful.
So we'll see.

Rivka Baum (16:36):
I love it 2023 was really our Judean Hills finale,
where we were doing a Bordeauxblend whatever we could get our
hands on, and you'll see 2024.
What you're going to drink nowis the first.
I really think the first yearwe had.
We made wine with intention ofwhat we actually wanted it to be
from the maceration process.

Sam Baum (16:56):
You took it from here yeah, yeah, 80% of the cereal is
from here and the Carignan isfrom.
It's from Mizgeri, the Batya,okay, from Ira Levine, a great
guy.

Rivka Baum (17:03):
Let's go drink some wine.

Sam Baum (17:07):
Yes, awesome.

Yeah, Awesome, awesome, awesome awesome.

Sam Baum (17:10):
I love this.
If you come back in two, threeweeks, you'll see a lot of white
boxes and many, many, manygreen vines inside.

So you're trying to get it done before Tushbav
yeah, before Tushbav, okaybefore.

Sam Baum (17:21):
Tisha B'Av.
The Friday before Tisha B'Av.
Okay so someone said to me canI plant in the nine days?
So I said I think you know theHamidash is coming and they're
going to need wine, so we betterstart planting, we better get
ready.
That's true.
I mean, that's what the fast isabout.

No, the real trick is to get it absolutely in
before Tisha B.
It's advance warning there Twobarf has to be done.
Has to be done.

Sam Baum (17:44):
Because you need a month in the year to be able to
count the year.
Yeah, that's right.
Okay, and now it's the seasonof nectarines and peaches.
That's what's being pickedGreat Nectarines, peaches, okay,
so so now we're Now.
We're in the winery, in thecellar, in the cellar.
This is the cellar.
This will be only the barrelroom.

(18:04):
Okay, and what we've done.
When we came here so we lookedfor a place to actually make the
wine and someone had a makhsanit's a sort of equipment for a
restaurant Right and we emptiedout the equipment.
We started to make the.
We made all of the wine in here, all the wine, and then we we

(18:29):
got to the barrel stage.
And okay, we got to the barrelstage and we decided we took all
the vats out, we put themoutside, we put the barrels
inside and then we said, okay,but next year, because the wine
rests for two years, matures fortwo years.
So next year what we're goingto do because the room has to be
at 18 degrees and thefermentation has to be depends,
depends how we'll do it, about22 degrees, 20 degrees, so on
and so forth.
You need to control it, so weneed to control it.

(18:51):
So what we decided to do isturn this place only into the
cellar room.
There'll only ever be barrelsin here and outside.
We took an empty piece of land.
We put concrete over the entirearea.
It was stones, like outside,like pebbles, yeah, concrete of
the entire area.
Bought five tailor-made vats infrom china and that just came on

(19:14):
wednesday or thursday.
It's just empty.
No, we haven't been outside yet.
I don't really want to.
We can go outside, but kef, butit's whenever you're ready,
okay, but there's fivetailor-made vats.
I realized for my winemakinglast year because we did, we
brought in around three and ahalf to four.
We can go outside, but Kev, butit's whenever you're ready, but
there's five tailor-made vats.
I realized from my winemakinglast year because we did we
brought in around three and ahalf to four tons with different
sizes of vats.
So we had a thousand liter, 700liter, 600 liter just the

(19:36):
equipment that I had and werealized that the a thousand
liter was the same height as the700, but much wider, and the
wine from the thousand liter vatwas far superior.
So all of our vats are much,much wider.
They're about a metre and ahalf wide and shallower than any
other vats that I've seen.
Each vat is 1800 litres.

(19:56):
So we designed them like wewanted.
They just arrived and that's alloutside.
All needs to be set up with thechilling system, so on and so
forth.
And then in here is just theballroom and our lounge visitor
centre.
It's specifically tailored tothe idea that there isn't just
an open visitor centre, but ifpeople want to come, then the
visit is tailor-made to whateverthey want Time of day, what

(20:19):
they want to have, what theywant to drink, so on and so
forth, because that's also theidea of the winery itself.
Everything's very personal,very business to consumer, and
so we want also the experiencehere to be the same idea.
And because there's no otherwine to serve.
So all the wine that you'redrinking now is from the barrels
.
What we started to do the lastthree weeks is take out wine
from a barrel three to fourhours before the visit, and now

(20:42):
we'll take out in the glassesdirectly from the barrel and
you'll taste the difference ofwine that's coming out straight
away and the flavors, and thenwhat comes out a couple hours
before.
What we're talking aboutdrinking is the 2024.
2024.
It's been in the barrels sinceNovember, so it's the 20th of
November 2024.
So who put it in?

Did you put it in?

Sam Baum (21:02):
Rivka made 23.
If you want to get the 23bottle while I Simon has it.
Oh yeah, you have it so 23,.

Rivka Baum (21:09):
This is one of those good problems.
It's a good problem to have,but I basically really oversold
this vintage and for our archivewe only have three left.

Sam Baum (21:17):
Wow.

Rivka Baum (21:17):
I wanted between 7 to 10, but that didn't happen
For good reasoning.
But whatever this year will be,the jump is from 600 to 2000 so
there's no more availableunless she oversells it.
No, no, you can't do that again.

Sam Baum (21:37):
We need something some way to market.
Yeah, literally some way tomarket this is our fourth
vintage, so we did.

Rivka Baum (21:47):
Yeah, first is 21.

Sam Baum (21:48):
2021 started because I was moved from the winemaking
process in Castel to the winegrowing process and I wanted to
do both sides.
But Castel basically said, oncewe had planted 400 dunam, that
I needed to be full-time.
So it started because we tookour wedding savings whatever.
It was 30,000.
Shekel bought a micro wineryand that's how it began.

(22:10):
The first harvest was about 600litres, or 600 kilo, and we
built.
Whilst we were bringing in thegrapes, we were building the
Keter shed around.
Wow, it was quite ridiculous.
And that we we brought out 200bottles.
It was actually thanks to AviMoskowitz.

Rivka Baum (22:26):
Yeah.

Sam Baum (22:26):
Because he said just get the wine out there.
I said it's not the rightvariety, it's not the right
quality From.

Birbasson.

Sam Baum (22:31):
Yeah, he said just get it out.
He's a really special person.
He said just get it out.

Rivka Baum (22:34):
Just stop building the brand.
He said, sam, stop being suchan artist.
You have drinkable wine.
Because I used to.
I opened like a secretInstagram because Sam hated all
of that.
And then the day I think itstarted, when we were bottling
2021, I said, okay, sam, we'relive and, like I wanted it to

(22:55):
have really been built up.
So I like built it up onprivate and then we opened it
and really that's how we soldvintages 21, 22 and 23 was
entirely via Instagram, and thisyear, when we grew up a bit so
we opened a website and that'swhen we started to introduce
pre-orders was with this vintage.
I love hudu sauce.

(23:29):
Actually, everything on thetable is from shawl from the
eucalyptus.
Our friend Dol grows theeucalyptus.
The fruit is from Meshech Malon, the cheese and the fruit
leather is all handmade from acouple who live in Kibbutz Al
Tal.
All locally sourced.

Yeah.

Sam Baum (23:50):
And hopefully we'll be able to be here till the 10,000
bottle mark, that's the plan.

Wow, you should be able to do it.
Yeah, I believe so.

Rivka Baum (24:01):
Buying the grapes yeah.
Because you're not involvedright now in harvesting so you
can do your planting Exactly.
Vintage 2028 will be our firstvintage made from our own grapes
, but it's only going to comeout in 2030.

Sam Baum (24:14):
But we'll have to form the vineyard until then.
That'll be three years ofmanaging it, building it,
looking after it.

But that's your love.

Rivka Baum (24:23):
That's what you wanted to do man.

That's the beauty.

Rivka Baum (24:26):
Yeah, where do you press All outside?
Outside, around the corner,there's gates, the iron gates.
Behind the iron gates is allthe equipment.

Yeah, and the greats, the gates from whom?

Rivka Baum (24:38):
This here, the Siraz from Schech, from Gabi Sharabi,
and the Karinian is from IraLavin and Miskeret Batya.

Miskeret Batya.
My father was born in it, ohreally yeah.

Sam Baum (24:52):
Long time ago, so this was harvested at around 13%,
13.5% alcohol.

Rivka Baum (24:59):
Sam called me from Gaza.
He was supposed to come out twodays later.
He's like listen, we have toharvest it in four days.
I'm like, ok, well, when areyou coming out?
He's like listen, we have to.
We have to harvest in four days.
Okay, well, when are you comingout?
He's like I think tomorrow,maybe in two days.
And we literally had toorganize the entire thing.
He came out and a day later weyeah, the timing is never good

(25:20):
never, ever works in our favorever but it has to happen.

Sam Baum (25:23):
that's the great thing about the harvest you can't
stop it.

Rivka Baum (25:29):
So it has to happen.

Sam Baum (25:31):
So there's no planning around it.
You plan around it, not aroundyou.
So, yeah, and this all happenedbecause on Pesach time, we
offered some of the investors.
That's how we all managed tomake this happen, because we
decided that we didn't want tobuy grapes forever and be caught
in this sort of you know, it'svery wise, it's different, it's

(25:52):
very wise Vintage 23 is the lastone we did alone, solely alone.
And then 24 we said we wanted tocontrol the whole, the whole
system.
And so we brought in the money,gave away some of the business,
but we invited them on Pesachand they said, yeah, sure we'll
come.
And Rifkin said you know, wehave to fix the bathroom,
there's a toilet behind you.
So I said okay, fine, and thenI decided to fix all the, the

(26:14):
whole room.
So we did the lava, we did thewalls the table and the chairs
about 25.

I saw the pictures.
That was great.
It was amazing.

Rivka Baum (26:25):
The kids planted the trees that you can see outside
in the barrels.

Sam Baum (26:27):
Those barrels are the first barrels we used, the first
barrels we used to make wineand everything is very much
generational.
We had to have four generationsand what we'll drink soon is
the ouzo.
These glasses were made by mygrandfather in England, dancing
glass, and it was his companyand everything's hopefully a
legacy which.
So we'll drink some wine, yes,so this is the 24.

This is the 24.
And this is 24.

Sam Baum (26:50):
Right out of the barrel, right out of the barrel
Came out 30 seconds ago.

Yeah, just now, mmm.

Sam Baum (27:00):
Yeah, I believe you have the true funk of Silla.
Yeah, I believe you have thetrue funk of Sira.
Thank you, thank you.

Let's start with Baruch Rehagaf.

Sam Baum (27:28):
Baruch Atah Adonai.
Amen we plan to I think we sortof learn our lesson through
drinking a bit more wine andalso making more wine is that

(27:50):
this will be bottled in January,february and come out in July.
So we'll sit here in the bottlefor around six months, around
two hours time.
We're still wondering when itwill come out, but the flavours
continue to develop in thebottle and people want to open
it, even though I say to peoplewhich the one that just came out
, wait till Rosh Hashanah, it'sbetter, so on and so forth.

(28:11):
They can't, they cannot, right.

Rivka Baum (28:14):
Because they've already waited so long.
No, you're right, it makessense.

Sam Baum (28:16):
They even text me saying listen, I know you told
me to wait, but I can't, so Iopened it.

People are always telling me you know like
well, did you open it?
No, I didn't open it yet youknow like I want to give it a
chance here.

Sam Baum (28:32):
So, yeah, this is a very different style.
I mean, I'm getting a lot ofsort of red Coming Chi-Chi
there's Chi-Chi, mommy's comingA lot of red fruits and on the
other side, much deeper flavors,very, very little oak, if any
oak, because all the barrels arereused.
The first time we used them inthe winery where they've already

(28:53):
gone through three harvests atKasta All of the barrels, so
nothing's new.

You can tell from there from.

Sam Baum (28:59):
Kasta, yeah, exactly so you can see.
You can see the emblem here.
It's not even the emblem.

It's not even the emblem, it's the, the
staining.
It's no, it's the red, it's not, it's the.
What's it called?
The painting, the ring.

Sam Baum (29:14):
The ring, the two rings that are around the rim of
the barrel.

Yes, yes, I have not seen it.
I've seen it in Israel, exceptin Kastan.
It really protects the barrels.

Sam Baum (29:25):
And here now, you know .

Yeah, no, if it starts to get eaten away by
anything, you know that you'vegot a problem that you've got to
solve before the barrels go.

Sam Baum (29:35):
And then I think, you know, I think I feel a lot of
much deeper tones, if it'stobacco, if it's leather, if
it's manure, if it's deep, deeptones, a bit like blue cheese,
and as it opens, up, which isfun now to in a bit to taste.

So tell me a second yes, because you said
that this year is the last.
That's not your own vineyard,no, no.

Sam Baum (30:01):
No, because they've got to grow it for three more
years.
Three more years, three moreyears.

No, I to the end of November by Three more years
.
No, I know.
So you're going to be buyinggrapes for at least three more
years.
Yes.

Rivka Baum (30:11):
But the same one, the same.

Same place.

Rivka Baum (30:14):
Yeah, it's not experimenting no Okay.

Sam Baum (30:18):
And the vineyard's on the way, which is, you know,
anyways, years.
I have to wait three years.

So at least, no, I was hoping you weren't going
to say to me no, we've decidedwe're not making wine until
that's ready.
And I'm saying no, no, don't dothat, don't do that.

Sam Baum (30:30):
No, even if it means that I'm you know, I haven't
said this before but even if itmeans that once we harvest our
own grapes and the complexity ofthe wine lessens, then the
price, you know, in accordance,because something that exists in
europe doesn't exist here, butthe quality of the wine is
mirrored in the price of thebottle.
I'm not sure the Israeli marketor the Jewish market is able to

(30:51):
accept that, but I think, as asmall enough supplier of wine,
where the interactions, you know, are high frequency between us
and the clients, then you canactually explain the idea of a
vineyard being young and eventhough sometimes a young
vineyard, can you know, cansurprise the first, the fourth
year, the fifth year.
So we'll ride the wave, but,yes, 28, we'll be harvesting 20,

(31:14):
30, the one will come out.

Rivka Baum (31:17):
We initially said we'll bring out our first
vintage when he's vomits faster.
We're doing well.

Sam Baum (31:22):
Yeah.

Rivka Baum (31:23):
Cause we're already four down.

Sam Baum (31:25):
I was just thinking today that the north isn't, it's
not holidayed enough by peoplecoming.
I didn't know it myself.
I fell in love with the Negevfirst of all.
Where?

in the.

Rivka Baum (31:37):
Negev.

Sam Baum (31:38):
I was in Arad for three years when I was in the
army in Nachal, so I wastraining there for a long time.

I fell in love with Nachal Tov Bayerad Was it
Batar.

Sam Baum (31:45):
No Bayerad Tel Arad, ah, tel Arad.
Yeah, oh yeah, nachal Tov.
So, yeah, that's right, not farfrom Har Hamasa, not far, not
far.
So and then Rivka said, no,you're not sending me to the

(32:07):
bedroom or go somewhere else,and I will say that the only
advice so I'll get to the winethe only advice I ever got from
eddie benzerkin was when I toldhim that I want to go and plant
a vineyard down south and hesaid he didn't speak to me, just
said no, up north.
But so, and as I've come hereand seen the quality of the soil
and done the soil test, it'sreally a different level.

(32:28):
It's a different level.

If your goal is to make the absolutely best wine
you can make in Israel, theonly place you can make it is
here, yes, or the Judean hills.
And the Judean hills is only ifyou catch the right vine, micro
right, the right microclimate.
Otherwise, if you catch theright vine, micro right, right,
the right microclimate, I agree.
Otherwise you have to be here.
Yeah, there's no other choice.

Sam Baum (32:51):
I agree, there's a vine.
There's a woman here calledNetta.
She is a agronomist or avintner for Golan Winery.
Yeah, they put in the bigwindmills.
Mm-hmm, she said they picked upa vine with a 12-meter root.
When they put down the torbino,the windmills, they picked up a
vine and the vine's root wentdown 12 meters.

(33:14):
Yeah, because there's nothingreally stopping it.
There's no like you have in theJudean hills.
There's no mother rock, it'sall stone.
Yeah, here you have the abilityto really drop all the way down
into the minerals.
And I'll show you here, as Ipour the wine rocks, random
rocks I've picked up not that Ilooked for them, that I picked
up from the vineyard which arejust full of minerals, calcium,
I don't know what else it is,but so these are just rocks from

(33:39):
the vineyard.
Wow, there's a green mineral.
Yeah, that's it.
Just minerals are being pickedup inside the rock.
That's just from the field.
Nothing, you know, no sort ofexcavation, just that's what's
happening, because the this isthe basalt yeah, that's the
basalt, that's right whichactually isn't magma rock.

(34:01):
Baselic rock is called basaltrock.
That's the name also in English.
It's not magma, it's adifferent type of rock.
I tried to research as much asI could, and that's what I found
.
There's a place near here thatactually, if you put a compass
down, your north is off.
Because of the magnetic fieldaround the rocks, sorry.

Is this the same like this?

Sam Baum (34:23):
So this is from a different barrel.
It's also actually veryinteresting.
Just two weeks ago we tried allthe barrels.
We wanted to do a date night wedo it every week, but we had a
lot of work to do so we camehere to the winery and they said
they're going to try all thebarrels.
So it was a fantastic datenight and we tried all of them
and they're all different.
All of them are different.
All of them are different.
Some are softer, some areharsher, some are more

(34:46):
approachable, some have to openup.
Some are more fruity, becausewe're going to blend all of it
together in a vat 1800 litersand then it will come out how
many bottles will come out ofthem oh, I think we'll hit
around 1900 bottles.
It's difficult to say becausesomething that I actually
learned from a podcast with well, it gave me the confidence
sorry, from a podcast here withla fol de blanche.

(35:07):
Yeah, so he's a wonderfulwinemaker, so he said in the
podcast that he's happy to leavethe wine on the lees the whole
way throughout.
Now, where I was brought up inCastel, after four months it's
taken off the lees and thenbrought back down to the barrels
.
And I felt that I don't need tobecause I only put in very,

(35:28):
very fine lees into the barrelswhen we barreled and it gave me
the confidence to go with it.
So it hasn't come off its leessince November, but I don't plan
to take off its lees.

Rivka Baum (35:37):
And that reduces the amount of wine you can.

Sam Baum (35:40):
I won't lose less wine , but the intensity and the
complexity will be higher.
As long as there's no sort ofreduction in the wine, then we
can can keep it, which so farwe're good.

So so this one was air.

Sam Baum (35:58):
It's been out for about two, three hours.

More intense, definitely more intense flavour.
No, you can tell I get moreflavour, more fruit.
I'm getting it's coming out ofthe chow.

Sam Baum (36:11):
Yeah, definitely comes out of the chow.
It's not often that people getto taste from the barrel because
you're in the middle of theprocess, and so either people
don't appreciate it and then askif we have any other wine
Doesn't usually happen, but theysort of look at it Terrible.
No, they want to know if there'sanything ready, cause they say
taste something in the processknow, ask if we have any other
wine doesn't usually happen, butyou know, they sort of they
sort of look at no, they want toknow if there's anything ready,

(36:31):
because I think you're takingsomething in the process.
Now what often happens is I'llput it to the nose at the
beginning, they'll sort of lookaround a bit uncomfortable and
then, whilst they sit here andthe wine opens up, they come out
and they end up almost always,or you know, ordering.
So it just takes time.
It takes time and for peoplewho are wine lovers it's
actually for me, having peoplecome and like wine it's

(36:54):
fascinating.
It's fascinating because youget to see it throughout the
entire process.
But yeah, as it opens up, thepeople also open up.

Rivka Baum (37:05):
Are you trying it?

Sam Baum (37:06):
yet.

No, not yet.

Sam Baum (37:06):
Yeah, go ahead, try.
Yeah, I think it's going in theright direction.
I like it a lot.
I like it a lot Me too.
I think it's one of the firstones.
I really personally like itmore Rivka's the nose, I'm just
the hands.
I think it's the first onewhich I really stand behind

(37:29):
Seriously from all the vintagesthat I've done.
It's the first one which I said.
This is, you know, I've come tosay something I've come to say
something different.

This is your first blend, right?

Sam Baum (37:37):
This is your this is our first Syrah of Carignan.
The others were Cabernet andCabernet Petit.
But this is the first time I'mhappy with, I'm bringing a
different dish, I'm bringing adifferent angle and not from
some sort of you know, I don'tthink anyway some weird funk
angle, of some weird process.
I believe the variety is comingout, the variety at 13% alcohol

(37:57):
, sitting on its knees, not toomuch interference.
You know, a long macerationprocess.
It was on its skins for almost,almost two months and fully
malolacted, fully to the lastgram.
So you know, I often describeit as it may not be sultano, but
sort of a black silk dress.

(38:19):
It's sort of relatively start,simple but also very complex,
falls perfectly, there's adeepness to it, but it's not in
your face, it's very in yourface.
It's very elegant,sophisticated, it's level.
But as someone once said to me,the most important factor is

(38:42):
the yummy factor.
Yeah, and if it's not yummy?

then no one cares what you have to say.

Sam Baum (38:50):
Well then you have to talk a lot more yeah, 100% To
feel the body coming out.

Rivka Baum (38:59):
Yeah.

Sam Baum (39:00):
Much more than when it comes out straight out the back
.

Rivka Baum (39:02):
Today.
It took time.
Normally I have the barrel.
I like it.

Sam Baum (39:05):
Yeah, it's always different, it's always changing,
always.

Rivka Baum (39:10):
Also, each barrel somehow goes through its own
little thing.

Sam Baum (39:15):
I just took my legendary daylight that we had
to.

Rivka Baum (39:18):
Oh yeah.

They're not really the same because the
barrels are used, pre-used.
The barrels are pre-used, sosomething's been in there before
.
For sure, even if you wash themout For sure They've all got
origins that them out.
For sure They've all gotorigins that came out of
different situations and youthink that it doesn't do
anything.
But also the lots, the parts ofthe vineyards that you've taken

(39:43):
the grapes from are sodifferent.
You know, you think I've got itfrom the same vineyard.
What's the big deal?
They're all the same grapes.
Yeah, that's not how it works,no, so it's amazing that you get
.
It's amazing that you can make ablend that's even remarkably
you know, reasonably consistentfrom year to year.

Rivka Baum (40:01):
Yes, I will only know this year.

Sam Baum (40:05):
I think the fact that you have from the Golan and from
the Sgeret Batya, maybe that'swhat gives it its complexity.

Rivka Baum (40:11):
Yeah, I think also we.
Something else we werediscussing about this year
coming up the 25th harvest isSam wants to try this year with
all-natural yeast wild yeast andwe never add nitrogen, ever
Like, thank God we've never hadthat issue.

(40:31):
Like the fermentation, we leaveit on its own yeast and it does
its own thing.
But yeah, I think maybe if wego with doing wild yeast, I
would maybe add just for thefear of it not getting stuck.

Sam Baum (40:44):
sounds like no, I don't think so.
Just go for, because thevariety will talk even more, the
area will talk even more.

Yeah, by starting out with your own new
fermentation tanks.
You can do that.

Sam Baum (41:10):
Yeah.

The trick is, once you've done it, like if you
had the fermentation tanks inthis room and you've used xyz
yeast then it's anywayeverywhere, it's everywhere,
yeah so what happens is usuallypeople end up using commercial
yeast or you know manufacturedyeast specifically, and you use

(41:34):
it in enough quantity tooverpower whatever else is there
so that you have some controlover what you're doing.
So you'll see.

Rivka Baum (41:45):
I mean to do.

it is great.
It's just it's a lot more work,yeah it's more work.

Sam Baum (41:51):
I don't think it's kind of work I know I can see.
And then because we're a winerythat only makes one wine, can
you hear?
So there's obviously an amountof wine that isn't at the
standard If it's the heavierleaves, so on and so forth.
So we took that, we made a ouzowhich is what's here on the

(42:13):
table.

Cool, and that ouzo was made with David.
David Zubel, zubel, zubel,zubel, zubel From the Golan
Iguacillerie.

Rivka Baum (42:18):
Someone's cultured enough to say a French name and
it's not us.

I don't know.

Sam Baum (42:22):
So this is.

I'm probably wrong.

Sam Baum (42:24):
That's why I always call her so this is from our
wine, our base, syrah, and heyeah, we asked him for it to be
a uh, an uso and not an arak,because that's what we like.
So 50 is quite high, but we putthe.

Okay, we asked him to do this one.
We asked him to to do the blend.

Rivka Baum (42:47):
So he put it together Really good.

Sam Baum (42:49):
And he took the botanicals which were Coriander,
etrog, lavender, zatar andnisam fennel.

Wow, and the mazi pan is the syrah coming
through.

Rivka Baum (43:04):
It's super intense.

Yeah, no, but it's really, it's very
interesting.

Sam Baum (43:08):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, no, but it's really.
It's very interesting, yeah, Ilove it.
And he says did you say themarzipan?
He thinks it's from the Syrah.

But still, the anise is the big one, yeah, yeah
.

Sam Baum (43:15):
Anise fennel a trog coriander and za'atar oh.

Yeah, lots of flavours, very strong, but it
smells amazing.

Sam Baum (43:23):
Yeah, it's sort of a palate cleanser between
different wines or for a minutebreak.

Rivka Baum (43:35):
Yeah, His mouth's so dramatic.
I'm like, yeah, I think also wewanted, in the same way that we
want the wine, to show off theToa de Levant and what it has to
offer, so anything that was.
As soon as he said we'll do itwith all local botanicals, we
were like, ok, fine, in thebeginning we thought maybe we'll
get involved and we didn't havewhat we're doing.
He was like sad.

That's what was interesting with Agur with.
Elad, who you know, and Ayal.

Rivka Baum (44:01):
Yeah.

They make a vermouth, that they collect all
of these botanicals from allover the Judean hills and it's
almost like tasting the terroir.

Sam Baum (44:12):
Yeah, yes, that's what the terroir is made from.
Yeah, and they do lick it.
They literally go out into thefields and they taste and they
try it.

You want.
These raspberries are crazydelicious.
They're good.
Right, Go ahead.

Rivka Baum (44:28):
Thanks, we actually haven't.
We actually have the label.
We haven't taken it toproduction yet but the label of
the ouzo, it's called theDreamers and it's the four of
our grandfathers and what theydid and it's like an ode to them
.
A lot of them dreamt about itor were Zionistic and whatever,
and they never actually made ithere and that's why we serve it
in these, which were GrandpaLaurie, who was a chemist.

(44:51):
When he got to the end of his,when he got bored in life.
They went to Croatia on holiday, if I'm not mistaken, and they
decided to start making what'scalled dancing glass and it was
like stained glass that wasusable.
So it's all in his.
I'll get a picture of the label.
It's very cool.

Sam Baum (45:09):
Yeah, dreamers, because they dreamt about coming
and we actually arrived.

Rivka Baum (45:13):
We were having Shabbat lunch and Sam started
benching and we got to likeChacholmim and we were like
Chacholmim.
That's the user that's what itis, chacholmim.

Sam Baum (45:22):
Where are you from?
So one side of mine is fromEngland, a few generations, and
before that Poland.
My mum's side is German.
Yeah, braunschweig and Leipzig,rivka, england also.

Rivka Baum (45:38):
Yeah, my grandpa was Swiss, escaped somewhere to
Switzerland and then came toLondon, and my dad's side is
Russian, lithuanian.
Dekkers Portnoy means toffer,all dreamers were in England
actually.

Sam Baum (45:53):
Yes, All four dreamers lived in England.

Rivka Baum (45:56):
My sabba was one of the head.

Sam Baum (46:01):
Donators, Not donators , he like bought.

Rivka Baum (46:05):
Yeah, he bought the.
He got all the funding fromEngland.

Sam Baum (46:08):
Like Friends Of yeah, exactly, friends.

Rivka Baum (46:09):
He got all the funding from England Like.
Friends Of yeah exactly FriendsOf Exactly exactly.
Let me find it.

So I have a question for you.
Yes, of course, judean Hills tothe Golan Heights is a pretty
substantial change.
How are you guys handling itand how's your young man over
here handling?

Sam Baum (46:35):
it my young man's a legend.
Really, he's been through awhirlwind since he was born,
really.

Rivka Baum (46:42):
The first two years he doesn't really remember but
the second two years, when he'sthree or four, there were some
really deep cutting comments.

Sam Baum (46:49):
That was last.
Yeah, exactly, but the secondtwo years when he was three or
four.

I mean, there were some really, you know,
beautiful yeah, deep, deep,cutting comments.

Sam Baum (46:54):
when I was in the army .
He went to bed, went to sleep,woke up.
I didn't come back for threemonths, something like that, he
like went for a nap.
And then over the next twoyears I was awake.
So there were things like youknow asking random, you know is
he their dad.
I'm not sure.
Yeah, yeah, but he's as youknow, he's as strong as they

(47:16):
come A lion, lion boy.
I was in, I'm in Khativat Eser,which is Halil, and I'm in the.
I'm in the company.
Yeah, they're tanks and theyhave each.
The brigade of tanks has onecompany of foot soldiers.

So yeah, yeah, and where were you in the
station?

Sam Baum (47:33):
We were in Ghazm yeah.

Just like the rest of us.

Sam Baum (47:37):
Yeah, I mean not me, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, just like
most of you so.
But since we've come here,we've settled down and I and
then we went about a month agoto do the deliveries around
Israel and I realized what sortof it took.
You know what sort of justalmost like another country we

(48:00):
come up from, I did a very sortof obnoxious thing to say I was
not coming from an obnoxiousplace at all, but I said it's
not fair that we live in a placeso quiet and so calm, and so,
and the rest of the country, soyou're the one who cursed syria,
yeah yeah, I guess it was me.

Rivka Baum (48:22):
I think also I've worn the iron arm the past two
years it's been very much likesam's been in and out of of life
, like for pockets of of timeeach time, and then we never
know when the next time is.
And now more or less we know iswhen the next time is.
But our actual, our entire life, we changed everything and the
only thing that hasn't changed,let's say, in my life is salmon

(48:44):
loving, like that's it.
Like I was a nurse in internalmedicine.
I actually learned with yoursister, your sister.
I learned with dina wow yeah,and I was working in punimi and
for me it was too muchadrenaline and life and death at
home and with him, and I wasonly doing night shifts so he
wouldn't feel that like we'renot both there.
It was insane and we wentthrough some stuff ourselves.

(49:06):
We have personal losses,miscarriages, like during the
whole in Gaza, out of Gaza.
It was an insane time of life.
And then after the first round,we went to Sri Lanka for three
weeks, all three of us, and itwas very much like a family
rehabilitating.
We just needed we couldn't evenstart to process anything
whilst we were here.
Exactly, exactly.

You went where?
Sri Lanka, sri Lanka, sri Lanka.

Rivka Baum (49:30):
Yeah, yeah as you do ?

You couldn't have picked somebody at least
closer?
Someone closer in Sri Lanka?

Rivka Baum (49:35):
We didn't want anyone to be able to call us and
that maybe she'd come home.

You're right, Nobody's going to call you.
I mean they could, but there'sno way to get back.

Rivka Baum (49:44):
Yeah, Right, right yeah, and also when we didn't
realize it didn't have anysignificance then, but we did
the harvest on October 5th andthen also October 7th happened,
and I know how to get to the endof fermentation, I know how to
check when a wine is dry, butafter that I've got no idea.
Like I sit with the camera and Imake things look nice, I don't

(50:04):
you know.
And then I basically had todecide okay, either I can
somehow make this wine happenand make it, or we'll just leave
it and we'll come back to it.
And in my head I was like Idon't know who or what Sam's
going to lose when he goes in,and I didn't want this, for him
to come out and everything we'dbuilt to also have just
collapsed.
So, with the help of hisfriends, Ishai and David in

(50:27):
Castell they are incredible,they are, they're two Haredi
boys and they said to me likethis is our Milouin.
They literally came.
They.
They cleaned the barrels, theysteamed the barrels, they
brought the barrels back for me,they ran all my lab tests.
Incredible, Amazing.
And without them, like Iwouldn't have been able to fix
it Once I put in.

(50:48):
How many grams I put in?
I really overdid the SO2.

Yeah, which can make it turn from wine into
impossible, right.

Rivka Baum (50:59):
I was so stressed I was like, do I call Sam whilst
he's in Gaza and tell him, or isthat like, do you not do that,
or do I need to do that?
I literally called thempanicking.
Anyway, they were like no, it'sfine.

Over time you that, or do I need to do that?
Or I literally called them likepanicking.
Anyway, they were like no, it'sfine, over time, you would
anyway add that amount you waitand anyway, thank god it, it was
fine.

Rivka Baum (51:17):
Yeah, you just don't want to drink it soon.
Yeah, it was right at thebeginning it was right after my
lactate anyway, so anyway likenow that I'm in school for it, I
understand that like all I wasdoing was killing it very sharp
and abruptly, whatever was goingon in terms of like using it as
like an antioxidant andantimicrobial, which at the time
I had I was just putting inwhite powder.
I didn't know the differencefrom anything.
But then we managed to bringthat wine here and that, for me,

(51:42):
was when I realized I just fellin love with it and I didn't.
I left nursing fully.
Me and Sam had a wholeconversation.
I said to him listen, like thisis your thing, so I don't want
to like be that woman.
That's like piggybacking yourdreams, like either we can do it
like properly partners, or likeyou do it and then I come more
than happy to you know, justjust do the Instagram kind of

(52:02):
thing.
And that was when we like wentin it full-time and Sam just
Instagram slash from the wholebusiness.
Sam.
Sam was supposed to study andhe missed the whole first
semester because it started inOctober.
And we randomly were talkingabout it I don't even know why
because in our heads we'd kindof given up on it because he
started a new job and it didn'tmake sense for him to do it.
And then I said you did it hesaid you're the one who studies

(52:25):
out the two of us like.
I don't sit in front of a book,you do like you can't, so
that's it.
I'm in year three now.
I'm a bit of cultural neurologyin tal kai and where tal kai,
tal kai yeah iran is so earlythis course I was supposed to be
for 12 days in champagne for acourse about champagne, alsace
and champagne.
It's going to be the first timeI ever left la vie.

(52:45):
I psyched myself up.
I do it.
I can, makiali.
I've been on my own with it.
Then the Iranians started.
They cancelled the whole trip.
That was the end of that.

They're supposed to do it?
Makiala Exactly.

Rivka Baum (52:57):
I psyched myself up yeah, exactly.
So they said, maybe I'll do itbefore the next harvest but it
will probably be.

It'll be next year in the end, and for me
you've got time before you hitchampagne, because it's so, so
different and it's such acomplex thing and I'm making it.

Rivka Baum (53:15):
Yeah, I just wanted to drink it, that's okay.
That was where I was going yeah, no drinking.

Sam Baum (53:21):
It is wonderful, but it's the process I asked
somebody if I made any otherwine, you'd'd make champagne,
but it's so not fine art, it'snot practical in any way, shape
or form.

And I always asked, I even asked Ellie Benz.
I said I don't understand, guys, you know you're making
champagne.
This is crazy.
It's so much more work and it'sso much effort and the timing
has to be right and all the restof this stuff.
And somebody finally said to meyou know, though, you can take

(53:55):
the wine the before you beforeyou turn it into champagne, you
can have it.
Well, once you have it sittingin champagne, you don't have to
bottle it, you can leave it onthe leaves forever.
Yeah and yeah.
But that's amazing.
I mean, that's like putting inthe effort and then letting it
just sit there and percolate foryears and years and years and

(54:17):
years.
Champagne.

Sam Baum (54:18):
It's something with it yeah, it's so complex that
people, people understand why itshould be 400 shekel, 500
shaker.
It's way more complex than anyveg you're going to drink.
Way more complex.
It's double fermentation fromthe bottle.
It is insane.

You have to freeze the ends of them upside
down so that you get the yeastback out and then pop it out.
I listen to the podcast.
It's insane.

Rivka Baum (54:43):
It's nuts.
It's an insane process.
I'm an avid listener, whetheryou like it or not.

Sam Baum (54:46):
I actually drink.
They have a fantastic one.
I know he's always mentioned inyour podcast because he's a
legend Eviatar, eviatar anytimeme and Sam have had something to
celebrate.

Rivka Baum (54:55):
We moved to Charles on our own.
We got a package, the firstpackage to reach my house in the
Golan and burst out crying.
Eviatar sent us a champagne ablanc de blanc.
He's like you guys have tocelebrate.
And then recently again, whenwe Basically whenever I drink
champagne, it's sponsored byAviator.
He decides when we should drinkchampagne.

He's really special.
You only need to know SarahNetanyahu, you get a lot of
champagne.

Sam Baum (55:19):
We drink from.

Rivka Baum (55:20):
Alsace, the family-bound winery, says out of
politics, yeah, thefamily-bound winery says out of
politics we're apolitical.
We, we're apolitical, we justlike wine which champagne did
you send me?

Alsace, alsace, which one it's a kosher
champagne from Alsace.

Sam Baum (55:31):
In the traditional method it's about 110 shekel
fantastic so far there, so farthere which one?

do you remember the name?

Rivka Baum (55:39):
no, it's initial, the Alden one no, no, no, it's
from Alsace oh, I don't knowwhat it's called Koenig Koenig
K-O-E-N-I-G.

Sam Baum (55:47):
Okay, koenig, koenig, fantastic.

Yeah.

Sam Baum (55:50):
Fantastic.

It's from outside, it's right.
It's German, right, yeah, no,but yes, that's amazing.
But actually some of the bestchampagne style because you
can't call them champagnesparkling wines that's made is
the wine from Golan Heights.

Rivka Baum (56:13):
Oh yeah, you know that, mayerden got sued because
they wrote a Champagne.

Sam Baum (56:19):
Chalateva and champagne sued them Seriously In
another language and they stillfound a way to sue them?
Yeah, of course.

They've got to make money somehow.
The only only people who can'tsue is Herzog, because, herzog,
when they came out with the lawabout only you have to have it
from the region of Champagne inFrance, they had been making
Champagne in New York beforethat.

(56:50):
Oh really, yes.
So because it predated it, theycouldn't stop them from using
that name.
And so they still make kosherNew York champagne.

Rivka Baum (57:04):
That's very cool.
We never knew until recently,Someone was here, someone from
New York, and they told us thathalls that are catered in New
York you can only have, orAmerica in the five towns.
You can only have Mavushal wine.

Sam Baum (57:15):
You use Mavushal.

I did not know that.
Caterers restaurants In the USthat's the rule.

Sam Baum (57:22):
Everything.

Rivka Baum (57:22):
Anything under the remnant of Mavushal.

So that puts Israeli wines like in a no,
there's a lot of Israeli winesin the Domevushel.

Rivka Baum (57:30):
Really.

A lot now.
A line specifically for Exactly, specifically to do,
specifically to get into therestaurants in America.
They're not even thinking aboutthe caterers, but the
restaurants.
But the truth is that there's.
This is not.
You're not looking at this.

Rivka Baum (57:50):
You're not generating a volume that you
need to work on.

No, but it's not only that, you're not looking.
This is not the price levelthat you want to be selling in
places.
You've got enough customersthat are just going to eat this
up.

Rivka Baum (58:00):
I really see it as milestone wine.
I want people to take it to themilestones, like specifically,
like it's actually.
Is it Sunday?
Yeah, oh no, we have peoplefrom all that you can see over
here.
This, we have people from allthat you can see over here.
This is all exported.
There's Hong Kong, australia,uk and USA, they're all coming
here.

(58:20):
No, Whatever's notbubble-wrapped we're keeping for
them until they next come toIsrael.
Whatever's bubble-wrapped isgoing to EMS, it's being shipped
.
And there's two people One, shetold me, she's giving birth in
mid-August and she wants it forthe Brits.
Someone's getting marriedmid-August.
They want it under theirchuppah.
That is exactly where I wantour wine to go.

So the reason we limited the sales.
Yeah, you can only buy up tothree bottles this year.
I know I know, because I boughtnine bottles.
He can only buy three, but thatdoesn't say anything about me,
right.

Rivka Baum (58:50):
No, 100% you can use emails.

Sam Baum (58:52):
However, it just means because we I say this also
because it's about Tiffany, butit's the ability for someone.
I fell in love with Shirazthrough Shiraz Kayumi Yep.
That's how I fell in love withShiraz.
Their 2013 or 2016 bottle areincredible Kayumi.
Vineyards yeah, KayumiVineyards.

Which are gone, which are exactly.
I drive past them the wholetime.

Sam Baum (59:13):
The whole time I drive past them, you still have the
sign, which is Kevin moving out,and the ability that someone
can go and buy a bottle.

Rivka Baum (59:19):
Try a different barrel.

Sam Baum (59:20):
Even if it's 100, you know, if the price of wine is
160 shekel, people can allowthemselves I personally a bottle
over 160 shekel I may buy,twice a year maybe, but there
are wines I'm able to buybecause the sales are limited
and I want people, you know, whowant to celebrate a special
occasion, who want, you know, beable to buy a single bottle,

(59:41):
are able to, and not just for itto be so next year, when 25,
when we harvest, yes, there'llbe one, three, six, nine, 12.
But still it's not going to be.
See, I thought I'd done.

Rivka Baum (59:52):
It Makes my job a lot easier, because if it wasn't
Limited sales, I would havesold out Already.
24.

Sam Baum (59:56):
Yeah, we sold out 50%.
I sold out 50% In the first 12hours, but because it was
limited.

Rivka Baum (01:00:01):
I had to refund so many people.

Sam Baum (01:00:03):
So many bottles.

It's not really a fair game.
I'm a head of marketing, butaccording to Sam's rules, so
it's a bit A bit of a botchedgame.

S. Simon Jacob (01:00:14):
I game, I don't know.
My wife only buys things basedon social media, you're right.
So I didn't do it in the orderthat you're supposed to do it in
.
So I ordered nine bottles and Ithought oh, I got nine bottles,
that's cool.

(01:00:34):
And then I get a call, my phoneringing.
It's like sam.
He goes I'm very, very sorry,but you're only allowed three.
I said but I bought nine chargeit too bad.

I uh, I'm gonna make a just for my own pride and ego
of all the bottles I'verefunded, just so I can tell Sam
how quickly I would have soldout if I was allowed.
I understand it though.
We're growing a client base.
It makes sense it's just not sofun for me.
This is barrel number one, twothree, four barrel, four.
Okay, yeah, going for it, youcan be the poorer.

(01:01:14):
Barrel four barrel four I'm.

Okay, you can be the poor Arrow for powerful.

Sam Baum (01:01:24):
I'm keeping track.
You can't buy barrel, for youcan only blend, but you can
taste our for now, yeah, and Iwouldn't mind for the wine to
you know.
That's how it in mind.
Well, there's a restaurant in11 Madison Square which is the
top Michelin restaurant in NewYork.
Which one 11 Madison Square topMichelin restaurant in New York
?
And for them to have 11 MadisonSquare, they won the best
restaurant in the world, I think, two years running, and they
went completely vegan and keptall three stars.
It's very different.
Ooh, this one is different.

So it's not kosher.
No, no, fascinating, as long asyou don't have to worry about
kosher.

Sam Baum (01:01:50):
You know, I think that's not fair.

Because if I only eat in a kosher restaurant,
that means I don't have accessto it, unless I come here.

Sam Baum (01:01:57):
Kethys can be sold, and I often take bottles of wine
to a restaurant.
That's the truth.
That's the truth.
We do from time to time.
There is etiquette which youhave to make sure it's not on
the list and you have to pay thebottle opener, but then you can
drink a wine that you enjoy andyou have to.
You know there is etiquette toit, but it's allowed Restaurants

(01:02:19):
.

You know they plan for that.
You're allowed to take wineinto a restaurant in New York, a
kosher restaurant, but only.

Sam Baum (01:02:27):
I've asked for a Heckscher.

No, it's not a Heckscher, it's a.
Mavusha Really.

Sam Baum (01:02:33):
Even if you bring it.

Yeah, even if you bring it, go for a
restaurant in Israel.
There's plenty of really goodrestaurants in Israel and
they're not going to sit thereand say it's not Mavushal.

Sam Baum (01:02:42):
He's aiming for.

Michelin-starred restaurants in New York that
are just not Asherah.
That also works.
Both won't work.
You know where you could go to?
There's a kosher restaurant,michelin star, only one in
barcelona.
Barcelona, really, yeah, what'sit called?
It's a lot closer, it's justkosher michelin star restaurant,
it's only it only opens upkosher one night a week why in

(01:03:07):
the rest of the time it's notkush?

Sam Baum (01:03:08):
yeah, I guess fascinating it is.
It's really fascinating thegoolan still isn't yet an area
of Apple.
That's an interesting project.

Not yet.
They're working on it.

Sam Baum (01:03:19):
Yeah.
They have problems because it'safter 67.
That's why I understood.
That's also why I understoodbecause of I'll fix that soon
enough.
Yeah, nachon, no Yadav.
Shomron also has the same idea.

The Judean Hills same idea, so judean hills, that
might take a little longer.

Sam Baum (01:03:33):
Yeah, but it was going to include technically as a
region, but I didn't becausethey were advised not to do it
interesting.
Yeah, no, they said that thelegals would be so complicated
and people will just be stoppeda little longer, but hopefully
this happens soon but in termsof terroir and the region it's
the same yeah and the negev isextremely interesting.

Oh yeah, it's got some incredibly complex,
creative wines, but if you'retrying to make, if you're trying
to have a go at the best winein israel or the world, or in
the world, you don't that'salready tying at least one of
your hands behind your back.

(01:04:18):
Yes, for sure so that's ofcourse say two hands.
Yeah, you want.
Do you want to go for it witheverything you can powerful very
nice yeah for coming.
Thank you for all the time.
As the sun dipped over theGolan Heights and the wind still

(01:04:46):
sang through the young vines,it was impossible not to feel
the momentum building.
Here at the Baum Family Winery,sam and Rivka aren't just
planting grapes, they'replanting the future.
One row of Shiraz, grenache andyes Pinot Gris at a time,
tasting their first Golan-bornvintage straight from the barrel

(01:05:09):
, was a reminder of what makeswine so captivating it's a
living story shaped by the land,the weather and the people who
pour their hearts into it.
And here in Sha'al, that storyis just beginning.
I can't wait to return in theyears ahead to walk these same

(01:05:31):
rows when the vines have maturedand to see how this bold new
chapter unfolds.
Until then, here's to vision,resilience and the thrill of
starting something extraordinary.
This is Simon Jacob, again yourhost of today's episode of The
Kosher Terroir.
I have a personal request nomatter where you are or where

(01:05:56):
you live, please take a momentto pray for our soldiers' safety
and the safe and rapid returnof our hostages.
Please subscribe via yourpodcast provider to be informed
of our new episodes as they arereleased.
If you're new to The KosherTerroir, please check out our
many past episodes.

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