April 16, 2025 • 43 mins
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir
The vineyard of tomorrow is materializing before our eyes, and kosher wine isn't just keeping pace—it's positioned to lead this technological revolution.
Imagine walking through a Galilee vineyard where robots delicately prune vines while AI algorithms track each grape variety's development. Picture winemakers wearing augmented reality glasses that display real-time data on sugar levels and hydration metrics. At the fermentation station, sensors fine-tune temperatures as machine learning predicts the perfect fermentation development curve—all while maintaining impeccable kosher supervision.
This isn't science fiction—it's the emerging reality of kosher winemaking. As we explore ten groundbreaking innovations transforming the industry, from smart irrigation systems that conserve precious water in desert vineyards to blockchain technology creating unbreakable chains of kosher certification, we discover how technology is enhancing rather than replacing the sacred traditions of kosher wine production.
We focus on how global challenges have accelerated transformation. October 7th disrupted Israeli agriculture and skilled workers were called to military service, technology became not just an innovation but a necessity. Drones now monitor vineyards too dangerous to access, while remote supervision technology helps rabbinical authorities maintain oversight when physical presence is impossible.
For the kosher wine consumer of tomorrow, this technological revolution promises unprecedented transparency and connection. They'll scan a bottle to see a digital timeline of production, verify rabbinical supervision through blockchain, and experience kosher wines that compete on quality and values, not just certification.
What emerges isn't just better wine—it's a more resilient tradition. By embracing these technologies thoughtfully, kosher winemaking isn't abandoning its sacred roots but ensuring they continue to thrive through challenging times. After all, what could be more kosher than using every tool at our disposal to create wine with greater intention, transparency, and reverence?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S. Simon Jacob (00:09):
Welcome to The Kosher Terroir.
I'm Simon Jacob, your host forthis episode from Jerusalem.
Before we get started, I askthat, wherever you are, please
take a moment and pray for thesafety of our soldiers and the
safe return of all of ourhostages.
Welcome back to The KosherTerroir, the podcast where
(00:32):
tradition meets terroir andstories of wine connect cultures
, communities and climates.
I'm your host and today we'restepping into the vineyard of
the future.
Imagine this A lush Galileevineyard where robotic arms
gently prune the vines, guidedby AI algorithms that understand
(00:55):
each grape variety's historyand microclimate.
A winemaker walks through therows not with a clipboard, but
with augmented reality glassesdisplaying sugar levels and
hydration metrics in real time.
Walks through the rows not witha clipboard, but with augmented
reality glasses displayingsugar levels and hydration
metrics in real time.
At the fermentation station,sensors fine-tune every degree
in seconds while machinelearning predicts the ideal
(01:16):
barrel aging curve, all whilemaintaining full kosher
supervision and compliance.
This isn't science fiction.
Kosher supervision andcompliance this isn't science
fiction.
This is the edge of what'spossible and what's already
quietly happening in the worldof wine and kosher wine.
It's not just included, it'spoised to lead.
(01:37):
In this episode, we explore howartificial intelligence,
humanoid robotics andbreakthrough technologies from
drone tech to blockchain togenetic engineering are
reshaping kosher winemaking.
Over the next five years, theentire production process, from
soil prep to harvest, fromfermentation to final bottling,
(01:59):
could undergo a transformationas radical as the move from
foot-stomping grapes tostainless steel vats.
We'll explore 10 cutting-edgeinnovations, starting from the
subtle yet essential building upto the most impactful and
paradigm-shifting technologiesthat could redefine how we think
(02:20):
of kosher wine entirely.
Now let's journey into the veryheart of this transformation.
Over the next five years,kosher wine production is going
to feel very different.
Some of these changes will besubtle, behind the scenes,
invisible to the average winelover.
Others, they'll berevolutionary.
(02:42):
Together, these tentechnological innovations are
shaping the next vintage, notjust of wine, but of kosher
winemaking itself.
Let's start with the ground wewalk on, literally.
The first major area ofinnovation is smart irrigation
and soil sensing.
Now, this may not soundglamorous, but it's a game
(03:04):
changer.
Imagine your vineyard soil Dryin one section, too wet in
another.
Without tech, you're justguessing, but with embedded
sensors that speak to a centralsystem, your vineyard can
hydrate itself like a livingorganism.
The tech understands exactlywhen and where to release water
(03:25):
and nutrients, conservingprecious resources, especially
in places like Israel's desertor parts of California.
The benefits Enormous Healthiergrapes, better expression of
terroir and a serious reductionin waste.
The drawbacks Installationcosts can sting and you'll need
(03:47):
a bit of training to manage thedata, but the return on
investment, both financially andenvironmentally, is substantial
.
And, best of all, with clearboundaries, this system can
fully respect all ritual lawsand guidelines.
Next up AI-driven pestprediction systems.
Vineyards across the globe dealwith pests From mealybugs to
(04:12):
downy mildew, and koshervineyards are no exception.
Ai can now analyze patternsfrom weather, soil and even
drone footage to predict anoutbreak before it happens.
That's prevention instead ofreaction.
That means fewer chemicals,more organic options and a
vineyard that feels as clean andpure as the wine you hope to
(04:35):
produce.
Sure, the system may take timeto learn and, yes, early models
can give false alarms, but overtime it learns your vineyard, it
protects your yield and it'sespecially useful for
maintaining eco-kosher practiceswhere synthetic treatments are
limited or discouraged Frompests to people, or rather
(04:59):
paperwork.
Blockchain technology is aboutto quietly revolutionize kosher
certification.
Think of blockchain as adigital chain of trust, a record
that can't be altered,manipulated or faked.
Every step of wine production,from grape sourcing to barrel
aging, to who turned on thepasteurization unit can be
(05:22):
logged, timestamped andvalidated.
Imagine scanning a QR code onyour bottle and seeing a digital
timeline of every productionand ritual checkpoint.
Consumers gain confidence,exporters gain trust and
rabbinical supervision.
They gain clarity.
It's not perfect, training isrequired and it may be overkill
(05:44):
for tiny boutique wineries, butfor anyone exporting to large
Jewish communities around theworld, it's a no-brainer.
Transparency has never tastedso good.
Let's talk now about atechnology that looks like it's
straight out of a sci-fi movieAugmented reality in the
vineyard.
We're not talking aboutholograms.
(06:06):
We're talking about AR glassesthat display real-time data as
you walk the vineyard rows Graperipeness, vine health,
hydration status all right infront of your eyes, hands-free
For rabbinical supervision.
It's an incredible tool foroversight For winemakers.
It turns every walkthrough intoa data-rich experience.
(06:30):
There are, of course, costsinvolved, both financial and
cultural.
Some will resist the shift awayfrom traditional tactile
vineyard work, but used wisely,ar can enhance intuition, not
replace it.
Speaking of replacing things,let's head into the fermentation
room.
Here, ai fermentation systemsare making magic.
(06:53):
Real-time adjustments totemperature, sugar content and
yeast activity can mean thedifference between a flawed
batch and a gold medal vintage.
What's powerful here isconsistency, especially for
kosher wines, wherepasteurization can impact flavor
, and timing is critical.
Ai doesn't sleep, it doesn'tget distracted, but it must be
(07:17):
reined in.
We're not looking to replacethe intuition of a great
winemaker or override rabbinicaloversight.
Instead, ai becomes a partner,a sort of digital assistant
winemaker that flags issuesbefore they arise and helps keep
fermentation on the path toexcellence.
We're moving towards somethingthat truly redefines labor.
(07:39):
This one is huge.
Imagine robots, some humanoid,others more like smart rovers
Pruning vines, thinning leaves,even harvesting, all with
surgical precision For kosherproduction, especially when it
comes to grapes before theboiling process.
This could eliminate the needfor supervision of non-Jewish
(08:00):
labor not handling alreadyliquid grape products.
That alone makes this tech apotential ritual breakthrough,
and yet it comes with realphilosophical questions.
Can a robot make real decisions?
Is it subject to intent?
The answer is not yet.
So we'll need hybrid models,humans overseeing and
(08:22):
programming every step, withrabbis guiding the ritual
framework.
Still, we are entering a worldwhere vines will be trimmed and
trellised without a single humantouch A surreal but very
possible future.
Next, we look beneath the vines,literally to genetic rootstock
matching.
Here AI pairs grape varietieswith rootstocks optimized for
(08:45):
the local soil, diseaseresistance and even drought
resilience.
It means using natural variantsmore intelligently.
Think of it like matchmakingfor vines.
Want a cabernet that thrives inrocky soil and resists
phylloxera?
The system can find the perfectmatch.
This kind of precisionviticulture can reshape entire
(09:08):
regions, especially those facingheat waves or unpredictable
rains.
Yes, it's slow to bear fruit,sometimes literally, and yes, it
may raise eyebrows amongtraditionalists, but if done
transparently and respectfully,it's a tool that could help
Israeli wine regions adapt andthrive for generations.
(09:28):
Then, of course, there's thesky.
Drone technology is alreadycommon in large vineyards, but
the next step is multispectralimaging using drones to scan the
health of every vine, spotearly signs of disease and map
out microclimates within asingle vineyard.
This creates the kind ofprecision that enables targeted
(09:51):
harvesting, better canopymanagement and real-time
troubleshooting.
It even helps with security andsupervision.
Drones can monitor workersduring labor-sensitive times.
The only drawbacks workersduring labor-sensitive times.
The only drawbacks Costs andairspace regulations, especially
near airports or security zones.
But with proper permissions andgrowing adoption, drones will
(10:13):
become standard in every seriousvineyard.
And now we approach somethingbig Automated kosher compliance
monitoring.
This isn't replacing rabbinicalsupervision, far from it.
It's about empowering it.
Ai-powered cameras, objectrecognition systems and process
(10:34):
trackers can verify thateverything from bottling to
boiling happens under strict,ritual-driven conditions.
This could be especiallyhelpful during the heat of
production Think large winerieshandling hundreds of batches
during harvest.
By giving rabbinicalsupervisors remote eyes and
recorded logs, mistakes can becaught or prevented entirely.
(10:56):
This system will never replacethe rabbinic mind, but it can
multiply the reach of aconscientious supervisor.
And finally we arrive atperhaps the most transformative
force of all, but it canmultiply the reach of a
conscientious supervisor.
And finally, we arrive atperhaps the most transformative
force of all AI-driven flavorand market prediction.
This is where wine meetspsychology, sociology and big
(11:17):
data.
Algorithms are already beingtrained to understand how age,
gender, location and evenweather affect a person's flavor
preferences.
Now imagine pairing that withtasting notes, vintage reports
and buying history.
The result A winery that knowswhat its audience wants before
(11:38):
they do Want to launch a roséfor the Miami market.
Ai can tell you what alcohollevel, acidity and label color
will appeal most.
For kosher winemakers, whoalready navigate tight markets
and varied cultural expectations, this is pure gold.
Of course, we must treadcarefully.
Wine is art.
(11:58):
Data should guide, not dictate.
But when tradition meetsinsight, that's where magic
happens.
So there they are Tentechnologies ascending in impact
that together point to aradically different kosher
winemaking world, a world whererobots prune, ai predicts the
perfect pour and drones overseeyour vineyard from dawn till
(12:22):
dusk.
It's not just efficient, it'sintentional and, if we do it
right, it will be not onlykosher in certification, but
kosher in spirit, respectful oftradition, guided by wisdom and
full of soul.
There's something we have totalk about, not just as
winemakers or wine lovers, butas people living through times
(12:45):
of enormous uncertainty, becausethe truth is, technology
doesn't just evolve in a vacuum.
It accelerates under pressure,it grows when there's no other
choice.
We saw this during COVID.
One minute, the idea of holdinghigh-level meetings over Zoom
felt distant, clunky, almostsecond tier.
(13:07):
The next minute, the entireworld had pivoted Courts,
schools, shuls, familyget-togethers, even wine
tastings, all online.
The technology wasn't new, butthe mindset shift that was
seismic and it was born fromnecessity.
And here in Israel, sinceOctober 7th, we've experienced
(13:28):
another kind of seismic shift.
The heartbreaking events ofthat day and the war that
followed didn't just disruptlife, they disrupted labor, most
of our skilled Israeliagricultural workers, those who
know the land, who understandthe vines, who've worked
harvests year after year, werecalled into military service.
(13:51):
Overnight we lost entire teamsand the foreign workers we've
long relied on.
Many left the country in fear,while others found themselves
unable to return due to flightsuspensions, border restrictions
and safety concerns.
Suddenly, the hands we trustedto pick, to prune, to press were
(14:14):
gone.
And that's not the only layer.
In both the North and the South,our vineyards have faced not
just logistical barriers butphysical danger.
Katyusha rockets and droneattacks have made it too risky,
sometimes impossible, to accessvines at critical moments in the
growing cycle.
Vraison waits for no ceasefire.
(14:35):
Ripeness doesn't pause forconflict.
The vines go on, whether we canreach them or not.
In these moments, in the painand frustration, the
helplessness and urgency, aquiet realization has emerged we
need new tools, not to replacepeople, but to protect the work,
(14:55):
to ensure that, even in crisis,even when human presence is
impossible or unsafe, thevineyard lives on.
And that's why we're seeing anaccelerated shift, a pivot
toward the very technologieswe've been talking about.
Drones can fly over restrictedareas, scan canopy health and
(15:15):
detect ripening from the safetyof a command center kilometers
away.
Robotic harvesters can bedeployed when human crews cannot
reach the field.
Smart irrigation can operateautonomously when no one can
physically access the vineyardfor days.
Fermentation and bottlingsystems monitored and adjusted
(15:35):
by AI can keep wine stable evenwhen staff numbers are down or
travel is disrupted.
In normal times, these toolsare luxuries.
In times of crisis, they'relifelines.
There's another factor at playhere resilience.
If the last few years havetaught us anything, it's that
the wine industry, especiallythe kosher wine industry, must
(16:00):
build deeper resilience into itssystems.
Climate change, war, pandemicthe unexpected has become the
everyday, and we owe it to ourland, our legacy and our people
to prepare for that.
We've already seen somewineries in the Negev begin to
experiment with autonomousmonitoring tools because the
(16:22):
physical distance is too greatand the danger too real.
In the Galilee, some winemakersare working with AI-driven
weather prediction tools thatcan help them make harvesting
decisions remotely.
Remotely, a few are evenexploring underground sensor
networks low maintenance, highimpact that continue to function
(16:43):
whether there's staff on siteor not, and let's not forget
Kashrut.
During these challenging times,rabbinic supervisors have also
faced restrictions on movement.
Remote supervision technology,enhanced by blockchain, live
camera feeds and AI process logs, is no longer a fantasy.
(17:05):
It's an emerging necessity, andrabbinical bodies, long
cautious with new tech, arebeginning to recognize the need
for structured adaptation.
None of this is about replacingthe heart and soul of
winemaking Quite the oppositeit's about protecting it Through
drought.
Then we have a foundation onwhich to rebuild.
(17:26):
We are in a moment when thepain of today is helping to
plant the seeds of tomorrow and,like any good vintage, the
(17:50):
results may not be immediate,but they will be worth the wait.
So let's take a deep breath andimagine it.
The year is 2030, just fiveshort harvests from now.
You're standing in the middle ofa kosher vineyard somewhere in
the upper Galilee.
The early morning sun is rising, casting long golden rays
(18:13):
across rows of thriving vines.
But this isn't just a beautifulvineyard.
It's a smart one, it'sresponsive and, most of all,
it's sacred.
As you look around, you noticethere are no tractors roaring in
the distance.
Instead, you see sleek, quietvineyard robots gliding between
the rows.
(18:33):
One is trimming canopies withthe gentle precision of a
surgeon.
It's arm-guided by machinelearning that knows the vine's
stress levels better than anyhuman could.
Another is checking soilmoisture, its internal sensors
communicating directly with thesmart irrigation system,
ensuring that not a drop ofwater is wasted Overhead.
(18:56):
A drone zigzags silentlycapturing thermal images and
multi-spectral scans.
It sees everything the humaneye can't, from a tiny patch of
fungal growth to a developingripeness imbalance in the syrah
block.
The data goes straight to thewinemaker's ar headset.
She sees it in real time redzones that that need thinning,
(19:19):
yellow patches that areharvest-ready.
No more guesswork, justintelligent, data-backed choices
that maximize flavor, minimizeloss and protect the environment
.
But what's even morerevolutionary and perhaps even
more moving, is the way rabbinicintegrity is preserved
throughout this.
(19:39):
High-tech space.
Surveillance systems equippedwith AI object detection monitor
production areas 24-6.
A supervising rabbi, perhaps inJerusalem or Brooklyn, can log
in anytime to see the action inreal time, reviewing process
logs with timestamps and koshercertification seals tracked on
(20:00):
blockchain.
There are no gaps, no doubts.
From grape to glass, the wine'skosher status is transparent,
traceable and trustworthy.
In the winery itself,fermentation tanks glow softly
alive with automated systemsfine-tuning temperature and
sugar levels every second.
Automated systems fine-tuningtemperature and sugar levels
(20:22):
every second.
The rabbinical supervisor isn'tsidelined.
He's collaborating with thetech, approving processes,
validating transitions, steppingin only when ritual demands it.
The machines don't override,they support, they enhance.
Even during bottling, precisionrobots ensure that no errors
occur in labeling orpasteurization.
(20:44):
In fact, an alert systemdetects if a ritual protocol
hasn't been followed to theletter and pauses production
instantly.
That's not just innovation,that's accountability at a level
we've never had before.
Now let's talk weather, the wildcard that has haunted vintners
for millennia.
In this future, vineyard AImodels have already absorbed
(21:09):
years of climate data, soilbehavior and varietal tendencies
.
They know when to hedge againstdrought, when to delay harvest
because of late season rains andwhen to deploy covers or fans
to fight early frost.
The vineyard isn't justreacting anymore, it's
anticipating.
As for disease, we've crackedthat too.
(21:31):
Through carefully guidedgenetic selection, not genetic
modification.
We now have grapevines withnatural resistances to mildew,
root rot and even certain insectinfestations.
These aren't sci-fi hybrids.
They're the product ofcenturies of tradition enhanced
by a decade of data.
They're pure, they're naturaland they're strong.
(21:54):
And then there's the wineitself.
The profiles have evolved.
Ai-assisted market analysis hasgiven winemakers the confidence
to try new things.
Boutique wineries are exploringkosher pet gnats, kosher orange
wines, low-alcohol reds thatstill have body and bold dessert
(22:14):
wines that finally get theaging they deserve.
Consumer preferences aren'tjust tracked, they're understood
, empathized with, evenpredicted, and for the global
kosher wine drinker, whetherthey're sipping in Johannesburg,
sao Paulo or Singapore, they'repart of a connected experience.
(22:34):
They can scan a bottle and seewhere the grapes were picked,
when the wine was racked, whosupervised it and how it scored
against their own preferences.
Kosher wine has gone global,gone digital, and yet it's never
been more grounded in identity,tradition and intention.
(22:55):
All of this is coming, not indecades, in vintages, and it's
coming fast.
But here's the real takeawaywe're not replacing the
winemakers, we're empoweringthem.
We're not replacing therabbinical supervisors, we're
amplifying them.
We're not sidelining tradition,we're giving it a platform,
(23:16):
tools and reach that ourancestors never could have
imagined.
Kosher wine, once constrainedby perception, limited in
selection and doubted in quality, is entering a renaissance
fueled by technology but rootedin holiness.
We can resist the changes or wecan shape them, shape them in
(23:37):
our image, in our values, in ourstory, because in the end the
tools may change, but the soulof the wine.
Or we can shape them, shapethem in our image, in our values
, in our story, because in theend the tools may change, but
the soul of the wine, thatsacred whisper of the vineyard,
must remain, and now it can.
To fully understand thetransformation unfolding in
kosher wine.
We have to zoom out Way out,because the shift we're seeing
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in the vineyards of Israel, theRhone Valley or the Judean hills
, it's not happening inisolation.
It's part of something muchbigger a global agricultural
revolution, one that's beenaccelerated by the most powerful
forces of our time pandemic,war and climate disruption.
(24:21):
Let's rewind to 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit theworld like a lightning bolt.
Suddenly, borders closed, labordisappeared, supply chains
broke and, across the globe,farmers found themselves staring
down empty fields they couldn'tplant crops, they couldn't
harvest, and markets that hadvanished overnight.
(24:43):
Dairy farmers dumped milk,grain elevators overflowed,
vineyards, even some kosher ones, left grapes hanging on the
vine.
But what happened next wasextraordinary.
Agriculture adapted rapidly.
In a matter of months, farmsbegan integrating tools that had
previously been seen as fringe,expensive or maybe someday
(25:07):
Drones for crop monitoring,artificial intelligence for
yield forecasting, autonomoustractors, blockchain for
traceability, digitalmarketplaces, remote sensors,
robot harvesters.
It wasn't just about stayingefficient, it was about staying
alive.
And this shift, thisrecalibration of expectations,
(25:29):
didn't end with the pandemic,because shortly after, the world
was shaken again by war, theRussian invasion of Ukraine
didn't just devastate lives.
It threw the global food supplyinto chaos.
Ukraine and Russia together hadaccounted for almost a third of
the world's wheat exports.
When that supply stopped,prices surged, not just for
(25:52):
bread, but for fertilizer,grain-fed livestock and shipping
itself.
It affected everything,including wine.
Now, combine that withincreasing climate volatility,
record-breaking droughts inCalifornia, historic floods in
Europe and hailstorms in Chilethat wiped out entire harvests,
(26:13):
and you get a picture of anindustry under pressure from
every side.
So what's the result?
The quiet emergence of a newagricultural mindset, one that
sees technology not as an add-onbut as infrastructure, one that
views automation not as aluxury but as insurance, one
(26:39):
that understands data not as anovelty but as a necessity for
resilience.
And kosher wine is right in themiddle of this evolution.
In Israel, the post-October 7threality has only deepened this
urgency, with large swaths ofskilled labor redirected to
military service, foreignworkers unable to enter the
country, and vineyards in thenorth and south often
(26:59):
inaccessible due to rocket fire.
Wineries are living the globalshift in hyperspeed Technology
that might have once beendiscussed in theory robotic
pruning, drone-assisted harvestplanning, remote fermentation
management is now being pilotedin real time, not as innovation,
(27:21):
but as adaptation.
And this is where it getsinteresting, because kosher wine
, unlike much of the generalwine world is already structured
around intentionality,supervision and standards.
That means we're uniquelypositioned to lead in this next
wave.
While many general wineproducers are scrambling to
(27:43):
layer transparency andtraceability into their systems,
kosher wineries already havethe mindset and frameworks for
it.
Now we just need to digitizethem.
What if kashrut compliance logswere stored on blockchain?
What if fermentation wastracked by AI and audited
remotely by rabbinic authorities?
(28:04):
What if drones weren't just forcanopy analysis, but also for
supervising remote agriculturalteams?
These aren't far-fetched ideas.
They're natural extensions ofwhere the rest of agriculture is
going and where we must go too.
And perhaps most crucially, thisglobal shift is changing the
(28:26):
conversation about tradition,because around the world,
farmers are learning to blendancient wisdom with modern tools
, just as Jewish winemakers havealways done.
It's no longer a question ofwhether to embrace tech.
It's a question of how and whowill do it with integrity.
That's the opportunity rightnow for kosher wine To take the
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best of what's happeningglobally the precision, the
automation, the resilience andinfuse it with our unique values
, our sacred standards and ourstorytelling, because the
post-COVID, post-crisis worldwill not wait for us to catch up
, but it will listen if we leadTo understand the future of
(29:13):
kosher winemaking, especially asit leaps forward into AI,
robotics and digital supervision.
We have to look back Not just afew years, but centuries, even
millennia, Because in the Jewishworld, crisis and innovation
are not strangers to one another.
They are dance partners,reluctant, yes, but often
(29:36):
inseparable.
Think about it Almost everymajor transformation in Jewish
wine production has come notduring times of comfort and
plenty, but during moments ofdisruption, exile and necessity.
Let's start in the Roman Empire.
After the destruction of theSecond Temple, jews were
(29:56):
scattered throughout theMediterranean and beyond.
Suddenly, they could no longerrely on the centralized
offerings of wine forsacrificial purposes.
So what did they do?
They adapted, developinghomegrown systems for wine
production, supervision and eventrade, which allowed Jewish
communities to survive andspiritually thrive in places far
(30:20):
from Jerusalem.
Fast forward to medieval Europe,wine was central to Jewish life
, and yet Jews were banned inmany areas from owning land or
operating public vineyards.
So they found new roles asbrokers, as cellar masters, as
private vintners within tightlegal frameworks.
(30:41):
They preserved tradition whilenavigating laws stacked against
them, and when they couldn'tproduce wine themselves, they
innovated around it, developinglong-distance trade networks to
ensure kosher wine reached eventhe smallest kehillah.
Then came the pogroms andexpulsions In Spain, in France,
(31:02):
in Eastern Europe, again andagain Jewish wine communities
were uprooted.
But somehow the rituals ofShabbat, of Passover, of Kiddush
, those sacred moments thatrequire wine, endured.
And each time the Jewish peoplewere forced to move, they
brought their winemakingknowledge with them.
(31:23):
They brought yeast strains,pruning techniques and regional
Jewish customs that would seednew vineyards and new lands.
Now think about the 20th century, after the Holocaust, when so
many Jewish communities andtheir wineries were decimated.
New centers of kosherwinemaking rose from the ashes
(31:46):
In California, in South Americaand, of course, in Israel.
It was there, in the rocky soilof the Galilee and the desert
heat of the South, thatinnovation returned with force.
Suddenly, the Israeli wineindustry wasn't just about
survival, it was aboutexcellence.
Israeli winemakers beganexperimenting with European
(32:09):
varietals, modern vinificationtechniques and climate-smart
irrigation.
Decades before these werebuzzwords, and they did it, not
in spite of hardship but becauseof it.
Even the practice ofpasteurization boiling the wine
to preserve kosher status whenhandled by non-Jews is a
(32:29):
response to diasporic challenge.
For centuries it was acompromise, a way to uphold
kosher laws in foreign lands.
But today wineries are pushingthat boundary further, exploring
lower-temperature flashpasteurization and using AI to
preserve taste and structure.
What began as a necessity isnow becoming an art.
(32:52):
And now here we are again, in atime of crisis war in the north
and south, loss of skilledlabor to military service,
foreign workers unable to return, climate threats from every
direction.
We could freeze, we could mournthe past and long for the way
things were, but we won't.
(33:13):
Because if there's one thingJewish winemaking has taught us,
it's this we innovate not inspite of crisis, but because of
it.
The vineyard, after all, hasnever been a place of comfort.
It's a place of endurance, ofcycles of growth after pruning,
of sweetness drawn fromadversity and the Jewish people.
(33:35):
We're much the same.
Today, ai and automation mayseem foreign to our sacred
traditions, just as steel tanksonce did, or global shipping or
mechanized bottling.
But each generation of Jewishwinemakers has faced the same
question how do we protect thesoul of the wine, even as we
change the tools we use to makeit?
(33:57):
And just as they did before, wewill answer that question Not
by retreating but by rising, notby fearing change, but by
infusing it with holiness.
So the next time you open abottle of kosher wine, whether
it's from the hills of Tuscanyor the sands of southern Israel.
Take a moment, remember thatinside that bottle is more than
(34:21):
fermented grape juice.
There's history, there'sinnovation and there's a story
of a people who, no matter what,found a way to sanctify the
moment through crisis, throughchange and through wine.
Let's take a moment to shiftfocus Not to the vineyard, not
to the cellar, but to the table,to the person pouring the wine,
(34:44):
to the one scanning the label,reading the back of the bottle,
checking for a kosher seal andwondering what does this wine
say about me?
Because the kosher wineindustry isn't just evolving
behind the scenes with tech, aiand robotics.
It's also changing because theperson on the other end of the
(35:05):
bottle, the consumer, ischanging Rapidly.
We are entering an era of thewine consumer of tomorrow and,
make no mistake, they are notlike the generations before.
This next generation of kosherwine lovers, from Los Angeles to
Tel Aviv, johannesburg to Paris, is more connected, more
(35:26):
curious and more conscious thanever before.
They want more than a greatlabel.
They want meaning, they wanttransparency.
They want to know that whatthey're drinking aligns with who
they are.
It used to be enough to saythis wine is kosher.
That was the headline, that wasthe reassurance.
But for today's consumer,kosher is just the beginning.
(35:49):
They want to know Is this winesustainable?
Were the workers treated fairly?
Is this winery reducing itswater use or its carbon
footprint?
What's the story of thisvarietal, this vineyard, this
vintage?
Can I see the process, not justthe final product?
They want access and they wanttheir wine to reflect their
(36:16):
values, jewish and otherwise.
This isn't just speculation.
We're seeing the data.
Studies show that Gen Z andyounger millennials, who now
make up the fastest-growingsegment of the wine-drinking
public, are more likely tochoose a bottle that aligns with
a cause than with a region.
(36:36):
They care less about vintageand more about impact, less
about appellation and more aboutauthenticity.
For the kosher wine worldthat's a huge opportunity,
because kosher already impliesintentionality, supervision,
standards.
It's a built-in valueproposition.
But now we have the tools toexpand that story.
(36:59):
Imagine a bottle of koshergranache from the Galilee and on
the back a QR code.
You scan it and up pops adigital timeline when the grapes
were picked, which rabbinicalsupervision certified the
pressing, how the fermentationwas tracked using AI, a note
(37:21):
from the winemaker about soilhealth, even a 30-second clip of
that actual vineyard duringharvest.
That's not science fiction.
That's the expectation of thewine drinker of tomorrow.
They also want personalization.
With the rise of AI-driventaste profiling, we're entering
(37:41):
a world where wine suggestionswill be tailored not just to
your general preferences but toyour sensory fingerprint.
You like high-acid reds withsavory notes and moderate oak.
There's an algorithm that canpoint you to three kosher wines
you've never tried but arestatistically likely to love.
It's the Spotify-ization ofwine, and for kosher producers,
(38:05):
that means we can finallycompete not just on ritual but
on relevance.
There's also the communityfactor.
The new consumer doesn't want abrand to speak at them.
They want to be part of theconversation.
They want live virtual tastings, real-time feedback, instagram
(38:30):
Q and A's with winemakers.
They want to be insiders, evenfrom across the world.
And we haven't even talkedabout aesthetics.
This consumer wants bottlesthat look good on their shelves,
their tables and, yes, theirsocial media.
Labels that reflect moderndesign with meaning, baked in
Fonts and graphics that feellike today, not 1998.
Does this mean for us?
(38:58):
It means we must invite them in, not just with tradition but
with transparency, not just withheritage but with heart, not
just with a heckscher but with anarrative, because the kosher
wine consumer of tomorrow isready to fall in love with a new
grape, a new vineyard, a newwinemaker.
But they need a story thatresonates with their world, a
(39:18):
story that speaks their languagedigital, ethical, intentional.
And if we tell that story well,we don't just keep kosher wine
alive, we make it thrive.
And so, as we close the book, orperhaps uncork the bottle on
this episode of the KosherTerroir, I want to leave you
with a thought.
(39:39):
For centuries, the making ofkosher wine has been an act of
reverence, of careful hands andancient laws, of time-honored
techniques watched over bypeople who understand that every
grape, every vessel, everygesture matters, who understand
(39:59):
that every grape, every vessel,every gesture matters.
Now, with the arrival ofartificial intelligence,
robotics and precisionagriculture, we're not
abandoning that reverence, we'reelevating it, because what
could be more kosher thanintention?
What could be more sacred thanstewardship?
This moment, this blend oftradition and technology, gives
us a rare opportunity to makewine that is not only clean,
(40:21):
consistent and world-class, butalso reflective of our ethics,
our responsibility to creativityand clear rabbinical guidance.
The future will be as rich andvibrant as the best wines we've
(40:42):
ever known.
But, of course, thisconversation is far from over.
In the coming weeks, we'll beturning theory into practice.
I'll be sitting down with aremarkable lineup of winemakers
who are not just thinking aboutthe future, they're building it.
From the rolling hills ofTuscany, we'll hear from an
(41:02):
Italian kosher winemakerexperimenting with biodynamic
techniques and AI-guidedharvesting.
In Bordeaux, I'll speak with aFrench vintner pioneering kosher
expressions of classicleft-bank blends.
Vintner pioneering kosherexpressions of classic left-bank
blends, with drones flyingoverhead and sensors buried in
limestone soil.
And, of course, we'll head backhome to Israel, where I'll be
(41:25):
interviewing some of the mostforward-thinking minds in the
Galilee and Judean hillswinemakers who are integrating
cutting-edge tech while stayinggrounded in Jewish law, spirit
and sustainability.
These conversations won't justbe technical, they'll be
personal.
We'll talk about identity,philosophy, climate change,
(41:48):
innovation and the taste oftomorrow.
So if you've ever wondered wherekosher wine is headed Not just
in process but in soul You'regoing to want to stay with us.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please leave us a review, share
it with your wine-lovingfriends and subscribe wherever
(42:09):
you get your podcasts.
And if you wantbehind-the-scenes content, links
to the tech we discussed or asneak peek of our interview
lineup, head to www.
T heKosherTerroir.
com.
I'm your host, reminding you inevery drop of wine there's a
story In kosher wine.
That story is sacred Until nexttime, l'chaim.
(42:32):
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
you live, please take a momentto pray for our soldiers' safety
(42:55):
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.
Welcome to The Kosher Terroir.
I'm Simon Jacob, your host forthis episode from Jerusalem.
Before we get started, I askthat, wherever you are, please
take a moment and pray for thesafety of our soldiers and the
safe return of all of ourhostages.
Welcome back to The KosherTerroir, the podcast where
(00:32):
tradition meets terroir andstories of wine connect cultures
, communities and climates.
I'm your host and today we'restepping into the vineyard of
the future.
Imagine this A lush Galileevineyard where robotic arms
gently prune the vines, guidedby AI algorithms that understand
(00:55):
each grape variety's historyand microclimate.
A winemaker walks through therows not with a clipboard, but
with augmented reality glassesdisplaying sugar levels and
hydration metrics in real time.
Walks through the rows not witha clipboard, but with augmented
reality glasses displayingsugar levels and hydration
metrics in real time.
At the fermentation station,sensors fine-tune every degree
in seconds while machinelearning predicts the ideal
(01:16):
barrel aging curve, all whilemaintaining full kosher
supervision and compliance.
This isn't science fiction.
Kosher supervision andcompliance this isn't science
fiction.
This is the edge of what'spossible and what's already
quietly happening in the worldof wine and kosher wine.
It's not just included, it'spoised to lead.
(01:37):
In this episode, we explore howartificial intelligence,
humanoid robotics andbreakthrough technologies from
drone tech to blockchain togenetic engineering are
reshaping kosher winemaking.
Over the next five years, theentire production process, from
soil prep to harvest, fromfermentation to final bottling,
(01:59):
could undergo a transformationas radical as the move from
foot-stomping grapes tostainless steel vats.
We'll explore 10 cutting-edgeinnovations, starting from the
subtle yet essential building upto the most impactful and
paradigm-shifting technologiesthat could redefine how we think
(02:20):
of kosher wine entirely.
Now let's journey into the veryheart of this transformation.
Over the next five years,kosher wine production is going
to feel very different.
Some of these changes will besubtle, behind the scenes,
invisible to the average winelover.
Others, they'll berevolutionary.
(02:42):
Together, these tentechnological innovations are
shaping the next vintage, notjust of wine, but of kosher
winemaking itself.
Let's start with the ground wewalk on, literally.
The first major area ofinnovation is smart irrigation
and soil sensing.
Now, this may not soundglamorous, but it's a game
(03:04):
changer.
Imagine your vineyard soil Dryin one section, too wet in
another.
Without tech, you're justguessing, but with embedded
sensors that speak to a centralsystem, your vineyard can
hydrate itself like a livingorganism.
The tech understands exactlywhen and where to release water
(03:25):
and nutrients, conservingprecious resources, especially
in places like Israel's desertor parts of California.
The benefits Enormous Healthiergrapes, better expression of
terroir and a serious reductionin waste.
The drawbacks Installationcosts can sting and you'll need
(03:47):
a bit of training to manage thedata, but the return on
investment, both financially andenvironmentally, is substantial
.
And, best of all, with clearboundaries, this system can
fully respect all ritual lawsand guidelines.
Next up AI-driven pestprediction systems.
Vineyards across the globe dealwith pests From mealybugs to
(04:12):
downy mildew, and koshervineyards are no exception.
Ai can now analyze patternsfrom weather, soil and even
drone footage to predict anoutbreak before it happens.
That's prevention instead ofreaction.
That means fewer chemicals,more organic options and a
vineyard that feels as clean andpure as the wine you hope to
(04:35):
produce.
Sure, the system may take timeto learn and, yes, early models
can give false alarms, but overtime it learns your vineyard, it
protects your yield and it'sespecially useful for
maintaining eco-kosher practiceswhere synthetic treatments are
limited or discouraged Frompests to people, or rather
(04:59):
paperwork.
Blockchain technology is aboutto quietly revolutionize kosher
certification.
Think of blockchain as adigital chain of trust, a record
that can't be altered,manipulated or faked.
Every step of wine production,from grape sourcing to barrel
aging, to who turned on thepasteurization unit can be
(05:22):
logged, timestamped andvalidated.
Imagine scanning a QR code onyour bottle and seeing a digital
timeline of every productionand ritual checkpoint.
Consumers gain confidence,exporters gain trust and
rabbinical supervision.
They gain clarity.
It's not perfect, training isrequired and it may be overkill
(05:44):
for tiny boutique wineries, butfor anyone exporting to large
Jewish communities around theworld, it's a no-brainer.
Transparency has never tastedso good.
Let's talk now about atechnology that looks like it's
straight out of a sci-fi movieAugmented reality in the
vineyard.
We're not talking aboutholograms.
(06:06):
We're talking about AR glassesthat display real-time data as
you walk the vineyard rows Graperipeness, vine health,
hydration status all right infront of your eyes, hands-free
For rabbinical supervision.
It's an incredible tool foroversight For winemakers.
It turns every walkthrough intoa data-rich experience.
(06:30):
There are, of course, costsinvolved, both financial and
cultural.
Some will resist the shift awayfrom traditional tactile
vineyard work, but used wisely,ar can enhance intuition, not
replace it.
Speaking of replacing things,let's head into the fermentation
room.
Here, ai fermentation systemsare making magic.
(06:53):
Real-time adjustments totemperature, sugar content and
yeast activity can mean thedifference between a flawed
batch and a gold medal vintage.
What's powerful here isconsistency, especially for
kosher wines, wherepasteurization can impact flavor
, and timing is critical.
Ai doesn't sleep, it doesn'tget distracted, but it must be
(07:17):
reined in.
We're not looking to replacethe intuition of a great
winemaker or override rabbinicaloversight.
Instead, ai becomes a partner,a sort of digital assistant
winemaker that flags issuesbefore they arise and helps keep
fermentation on the path toexcellence.
We're moving towards somethingthat truly redefines labor.
(07:39):
This one is huge.
Imagine robots, some humanoid,others more like smart rovers
Pruning vines, thinning leaves,even harvesting, all with
surgical precision For kosherproduction, especially when it
comes to grapes before theboiling process.
This could eliminate the needfor supervision of non-Jewish
(08:00):
labor not handling alreadyliquid grape products.
That alone makes this tech apotential ritual breakthrough,
and yet it comes with realphilosophical questions.
Can a robot make real decisions?
Is it subject to intent?
The answer is not yet.
So we'll need hybrid models,humans overseeing and
(08:22):
programming every step, withrabbis guiding the ritual
framework.
Still, we are entering a worldwhere vines will be trimmed and
trellised without a single humantouch A surreal but very
possible future.
Next, we look beneath the vines,literally to genetic rootstock
matching.
Here AI pairs grape varietieswith rootstocks optimized for
(08:45):
the local soil, diseaseresistance and even drought
resilience.
It means using natural variantsmore intelligently.
Think of it like matchmakingfor vines.
Want a cabernet that thrives inrocky soil and resists
phylloxera?
The system can find the perfectmatch.
This kind of precisionviticulture can reshape entire
(09:08):
regions, especially those facingheat waves or unpredictable
rains.
Yes, it's slow to bear fruit,sometimes literally, and yes, it
may raise eyebrows amongtraditionalists, but if done
transparently and respectfully,it's a tool that could help
Israeli wine regions adapt andthrive for generations.
(09:28):
Then, of course, there's thesky.
Drone technology is alreadycommon in large vineyards, but
the next step is multispectralimaging using drones to scan the
health of every vine, spotearly signs of disease and map
out microclimates within asingle vineyard.
This creates the kind ofprecision that enables targeted
(09:51):
harvesting, better canopymanagement and real-time
troubleshooting.
It even helps with security andsupervision.
Drones can monitor workersduring labor-sensitive times.
The only drawbacks workersduring labor-sensitive times.
The only drawbacks Costs andairspace regulations, especially
near airports or security zones.
But with proper permissions andgrowing adoption, drones will
(10:13):
become standard in every seriousvineyard.
And now we approach somethingbig Automated kosher compliance
monitoring.
This isn't replacing rabbinicalsupervision, far from it.
It's about empowering it.
Ai-powered cameras, objectrecognition systems and process
(10:34):
trackers can verify thateverything from bottling to
boiling happens under strict,ritual-driven conditions.
This could be especiallyhelpful during the heat of
production Think large winerieshandling hundreds of batches
during harvest.
By giving rabbinicalsupervisors remote eyes and
recorded logs, mistakes can becaught or prevented entirely.
(10:56):
This system will never replacethe rabbinic mind, but it can
multiply the reach of aconscientious supervisor.
And finally we arrive atperhaps the most transformative
force of all, but it canmultiply the reach of a
conscientious supervisor.
And finally, we arrive atperhaps the most transformative
force of all AI-driven flavorand market prediction.
This is where wine meetspsychology, sociology and big
(11:17):
data.
Algorithms are already beingtrained to understand how age,
gender, location and evenweather affect a person's flavor
preferences.
Now imagine pairing that withtasting notes, vintage reports
and buying history.
The result A winery that knowswhat its audience wants before
(11:38):
they do Want to launch a roséfor the Miami market.
Ai can tell you what alcohollevel, acidity and label color
will appeal most.
For kosher winemakers, whoalready navigate tight markets
and varied cultural expectations, this is pure gold.
Of course, we must treadcarefully.
Wine is art.
(11:58):
Data should guide, not dictate.
But when tradition meetsinsight, that's where magic
happens.
So there they are Tentechnologies ascending in impact
that together point to aradically different kosher
winemaking world, a world whererobots prune, ai predicts the
perfect pour and drones overseeyour vineyard from dawn till
(12:22):
dusk.
It's not just efficient, it'sintentional and, if we do it
right, it will be not onlykosher in certification, but
kosher in spirit, respectful oftradition, guided by wisdom and
full of soul.
There's something we have totalk about, not just as
winemakers or wine lovers, butas people living through times
(12:45):
of enormous uncertainty, becausethe truth is, technology
doesn't just evolve in a vacuum.
It accelerates under pressure,it grows when there's no other
choice.
We saw this during COVID.
One minute, the idea of holdinghigh-level meetings over Zoom
felt distant, clunky, almostsecond tier.
(13:07):
The next minute, the entireworld had pivoted Courts,
schools, shuls, familyget-togethers, even wine
tastings, all online.
The technology wasn't new, butthe mindset shift that was
seismic and it was born fromnecessity.
And here in Israel, sinceOctober 7th, we've experienced
(13:28):
another kind of seismic shift.
The heartbreaking events ofthat day and the war that
followed didn't just disruptlife, they disrupted labor, most
of our skilled Israeliagricultural workers, those who
know the land, who understandthe vines, who've worked
harvests year after year, werecalled into military service.
(13:51):
Overnight we lost entire teamsand the foreign workers we've
long relied on.
Many left the country in fear,while others found themselves
unable to return due to flightsuspensions, border restrictions
and safety concerns.
Suddenly, the hands we trustedto pick, to prune, to press were
(14:14):
gone.
And that's not the only layer.
In both the North and the South,our vineyards have faced not
just logistical barriers butphysical danger.
Katyusha rockets and droneattacks have made it too risky,
sometimes impossible, to accessvines at critical moments in the
growing cycle.
Vraison waits for no ceasefire.
(14:35):
Ripeness doesn't pause forconflict.
The vines go on, whether we canreach them or not.
In these moments, in the painand frustration, the
helplessness and urgency, aquiet realization has emerged we
need new tools, not to replacepeople, but to protect the work,
(14:55):
to ensure that, even in crisis,even when human presence is
impossible or unsafe, thevineyard lives on.
And that's why we're seeing anaccelerated shift, a pivot
toward the very technologieswe've been talking about.
Drones can fly over restrictedareas, scan canopy health and
(15:15):
detect ripening from the safetyof a command center kilometers
away.
Robotic harvesters can bedeployed when human crews cannot
reach the field.
Smart irrigation can operateautonomously when no one can
physically access the vineyardfor days.
Fermentation and bottlingsystems monitored and adjusted
(15:35):
by AI can keep wine stable evenwhen staff numbers are down or
travel is disrupted.
In normal times, these toolsare luxuries.
In times of crisis, they'relifelines.
There's another factor at playhere resilience.
If the last few years havetaught us anything, it's that
the wine industry, especiallythe kosher wine industry, must
(16:00):
build deeper resilience into itssystems.
Climate change, war, pandemicthe unexpected has become the
everyday, and we owe it to ourland, our legacy and our people
to prepare for that.
We've already seen somewineries in the Negev begin to
experiment with autonomousmonitoring tools because the
(16:22):
physical distance is too greatand the danger too real.
In the Galilee, some winemakersare working with AI-driven
weather prediction tools thatcan help them make harvesting
decisions remotely.
Remotely, a few are evenexploring underground sensor
networks low maintenance, highimpact that continue to function
(16:43):
whether there's staff on siteor not, and let's not forget
Kashrut.
During these challenging times,rabbinic supervisors have also
faced restrictions on movement.
Remote supervision technology,enhanced by blockchain, live
camera feeds and AI process logs, is no longer a fantasy.
(17:05):
It's an emerging necessity, andrabbinical bodies, long
cautious with new tech, arebeginning to recognize the need
for structured adaptation.
None of this is about replacingthe heart and soul of
winemaking Quite the oppositeit's about protecting it Through
drought.
Then we have a foundation onwhich to rebuild.
(17:26):
We are in a moment when thepain of today is helping to
plant the seeds of tomorrow and,like any good vintage, the
(17:50):
results may not be immediate,but they will be worth the wait.
So let's take a deep breath andimagine it.
The year is 2030, just fiveshort harvests from now.
You're standing in the middle ofa kosher vineyard somewhere in
the upper Galilee.
The early morning sun is rising, casting long golden rays
(18:13):
across rows of thriving vines.
But this isn't just a beautifulvineyard.
It's a smart one, it'sresponsive and, most of all,
it's sacred.
As you look around, you noticethere are no tractors roaring in
the distance.
Instead, you see sleek, quietvineyard robots gliding between
the rows.
(18:33):
One is trimming canopies withthe gentle precision of a
surgeon.
It's arm-guided by machinelearning that knows the vine's
stress levels better than anyhuman could.
Another is checking soilmoisture, its internal sensors
communicating directly with thesmart irrigation system,
ensuring that not a drop ofwater is wasted Overhead.
(18:56):
A drone zigzags silentlycapturing thermal images and
multi-spectral scans.
It sees everything the humaneye can't, from a tiny patch of
fungal growth to a developingripeness imbalance in the syrah
block.
The data goes straight to thewinemaker's ar headset.
She sees it in real time redzones that that need thinning,
(19:19):
yellow patches that areharvest-ready.
No more guesswork, justintelligent, data-backed choices
that maximize flavor, minimizeloss and protect the environment
.
But what's even morerevolutionary and perhaps even
more moving, is the way rabbinicintegrity is preserved
throughout this.
(19:39):
High-tech space.
Surveillance systems equippedwith AI object detection monitor
production areas 24-6.
A supervising rabbi, perhaps inJerusalem or Brooklyn, can log
in anytime to see the action inreal time, reviewing process
logs with timestamps and koshercertification seals tracked on
(20:00):
blockchain.
There are no gaps, no doubts.
From grape to glass, the wine'skosher status is transparent,
traceable and trustworthy.
In the winery itself,fermentation tanks glow softly
alive with automated systemsfine-tuning temperature and
sugar levels every second.
Automated systems fine-tuningtemperature and sugar levels
(20:22):
every second.
The rabbinical supervisor isn'tsidelined.
He's collaborating with thetech, approving processes,
validating transitions, steppingin only when ritual demands it.
The machines don't override,they support, they enhance.
Even during bottling, precisionrobots ensure that no errors
occur in labeling orpasteurization.
(20:44):
In fact, an alert systemdetects if a ritual protocol
hasn't been followed to theletter and pauses production
instantly.
That's not just innovation,that's accountability at a level
we've never had before.
Now let's talk weather, the wildcard that has haunted vintners
for millennia.
In this future, vineyard AImodels have already absorbed
(21:09):
years of climate data, soilbehavior and varietal tendencies
.
They know when to hedge againstdrought, when to delay harvest
because of late season rains andwhen to deploy covers or fans
to fight early frost.
The vineyard isn't justreacting anymore, it's
anticipating.
As for disease, we've crackedthat too.
(21:31):
Through carefully guidedgenetic selection, not genetic
modification.
We now have grapevines withnatural resistances to mildew,
root rot and even certain insectinfestations.
These aren't sci-fi hybrids.
They're the product ofcenturies of tradition enhanced
by a decade of data.
They're pure, they're naturaland they're strong.
(21:54):
And then there's the wineitself.
The profiles have evolved.
Ai-assisted market analysis hasgiven winemakers the confidence
to try new things.
Boutique wineries are exploringkosher pet gnats, kosher orange
wines, low-alcohol reds thatstill have body and bold dessert
(22:14):
wines that finally get theaging they deserve.
Consumer preferences aren'tjust tracked, they're understood
, empathized with, evenpredicted, and for the global
kosher wine drinker, whetherthey're sipping in Johannesburg,
sao Paulo or Singapore, they'repart of a connected experience.
(22:34):
They can scan a bottle and seewhere the grapes were picked,
when the wine was racked, whosupervised it and how it scored
against their own preferences.
Kosher wine has gone global,gone digital, and yet it's never
been more grounded in identity,tradition and intention.
(22:55):
All of this is coming, not indecades, in vintages, and it's
coming fast.
But here's the real takeawaywe're not replacing the
winemakers, we're empoweringthem.
We're not replacing therabbinical supervisors, we're
amplifying them.
We're not sidelining tradition,we're giving it a platform,
(23:16):
tools and reach that ourancestors never could have
imagined.
Kosher wine, once constrainedby perception, limited in
selection and doubted in quality, is entering a renaissance
fueled by technology but rootedin holiness.
We can resist the changes or wecan shape them, shape them in
(23:37):
our image, in our values, in ourstory, because in the end the
tools may change, but the soulof the wine.
Or we can shape them, shapethem in our image, in our values
, in our story, because in theend the tools may change, but
the soul of the wine, thatsacred whisper of the vineyard,
must remain, and now it can.
To fully understand thetransformation unfolding in
kosher wine.
We have to zoom out Way out,because the shift we're seeing
(23:59):
in the vineyards of Israel, theRhone Valley or the Judean hills
, it's not happening inisolation.
It's part of something muchbigger a global agricultural
revolution, one that's beenaccelerated by the most powerful
forces of our time pandemic,war and climate disruption.
(24:21):
Let's rewind to 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit theworld like a lightning bolt.
Suddenly, borders closed, labordisappeared, supply chains
broke and, across the globe,farmers found themselves staring
down empty fields they couldn'tplant crops, they couldn't
harvest, and markets that hadvanished overnight.
(24:43):
Dairy farmers dumped milk,grain elevators overflowed,
vineyards, even some kosher ones, left grapes hanging on the
vine.
But what happened next wasextraordinary.
Agriculture adapted rapidly.
In a matter of months, farmsbegan integrating tools that had
previously been seen as fringe,expensive or maybe someday
(25:07):
Drones for crop monitoring,artificial intelligence for
yield forecasting, autonomoustractors, blockchain for
traceability, digitalmarketplaces, remote sensors,
robot harvesters.
It wasn't just about stayingefficient, it was about staying
alive.
And this shift, thisrecalibration of expectations,
(25:29):
didn't end with the pandemic,because shortly after, the world
was shaken again by war, theRussian invasion of Ukraine
didn't just devastate lives.
It threw the global food supplyinto chaos.
Ukraine and Russia together hadaccounted for almost a third of
the world's wheat exports.
When that supply stopped,prices surged, not just for
(25:52):
bread, but for fertilizer,grain-fed livestock and shipping
itself.
It affected everything,including wine.
Now, combine that withincreasing climate volatility,
record-breaking droughts inCalifornia, historic floods in
Europe and hailstorms in Chilethat wiped out entire harvests,
(26:13):
and you get a picture of anindustry under pressure from
every side.
So what's the result?
The quiet emergence of a newagricultural mindset, one that
sees technology not as an add-onbut as infrastructure, one that
views automation not as aluxury but as insurance, one
(26:39):
that understands data not as anovelty but as a necessity for
resilience.
And kosher wine is right in themiddle of this evolution.
In Israel, the post-October 7threality has only deepened this
urgency, with large swaths ofskilled labor redirected to
military service, foreignworkers unable to enter the
country, and vineyards in thenorth and south often
(26:59):
inaccessible due to rocket fire.
Wineries are living the globalshift in hyperspeed Technology
that might have once beendiscussed in theory robotic
pruning, drone-assisted harvestplanning, remote fermentation
management is now being pilotedin real time, not as innovation,
(27:21):
but as adaptation.
And this is where it getsinteresting, because kosher wine
, unlike much of the generalwine world is already structured
around intentionality,supervision and standards.
That means we're uniquelypositioned to lead in this next
wave.
While many general wineproducers are scrambling to
(27:43):
layer transparency andtraceability into their systems,
kosher wineries already havethe mindset and frameworks for
it.
Now we just need to digitizethem.
What if kashrut compliance logswere stored on blockchain?
What if fermentation wastracked by AI and audited
remotely by rabbinic authorities?
(28:04):
What if drones weren't just forcanopy analysis, but also for
supervising remote agriculturalteams?
These aren't far-fetched ideas.
They're natural extensions ofwhere the rest of agriculture is
going and where we must go too.
And perhaps most crucially, thisglobal shift is changing the
(28:26):
conversation about tradition,because around the world,
farmers are learning to blendancient wisdom with modern tools
, just as Jewish winemakers havealways done.
It's no longer a question ofwhether to embrace tech.
It's a question of how and whowill do it with integrity.
That's the opportunity rightnow for kosher wine To take the
(28:51):
best of what's happeningglobally the precision, the
automation, the resilience andinfuse it with our unique values
, our sacred standards and ourstorytelling, because the
post-COVID, post-crisis worldwill not wait for us to catch up
, but it will listen if we leadTo understand the future of
(29:13):
kosher winemaking, especially asit leaps forward into AI,
robotics and digital supervision.
We have to look back Not just afew years, but centuries, even
millennia, Because in the Jewishworld, crisis and innovation
are not strangers to one another.
They are dance partners,reluctant, yes, but often
(29:36):
inseparable.
Think about it Almost everymajor transformation in Jewish
wine production has come notduring times of comfort and
plenty, but during moments ofdisruption, exile and necessity.
Let's start in the Roman Empire.
After the destruction of theSecond Temple, jews were
(29:56):
scattered throughout theMediterranean and beyond.
Suddenly, they could no longerrely on the centralized
offerings of wine forsacrificial purposes.
So what did they do?
They adapted, developinghomegrown systems for wine
production, supervision and eventrade, which allowed Jewish
communities to survive andspiritually thrive in places far
(30:20):
from Jerusalem.
Fast forward to medieval Europe,wine was central to Jewish life
, and yet Jews were banned inmany areas from owning land or
operating public vineyards.
So they found new roles asbrokers, as cellar masters, as
private vintners within tightlegal frameworks.
(30:41):
They preserved tradition whilenavigating laws stacked against
them, and when they couldn'tproduce wine themselves, they
innovated around it, developinglong-distance trade networks to
ensure kosher wine reached eventhe smallest kehillah.
Then came the pogroms andexpulsions In Spain, in France,
(31:02):
in Eastern Europe, again andagain Jewish wine communities
were uprooted.
But somehow the rituals ofShabbat, of Passover, of Kiddush
, those sacred moments thatrequire wine, endured.
And each time the Jewish peoplewere forced to move, they
brought their winemakingknowledge with them.
(31:23):
They brought yeast strains,pruning techniques and regional
Jewish customs that would seednew vineyards and new lands.
Now think about the 20th century, after the Holocaust, when so
many Jewish communities andtheir wineries were decimated.
New centers of kosherwinemaking rose from the ashes
(31:46):
In California, in South Americaand, of course, in Israel.
It was there, in the rocky soilof the Galilee and the desert
heat of the South, thatinnovation returned with force.
Suddenly, the Israeli wineindustry wasn't just about
survival, it was aboutexcellence.
Israeli winemakers beganexperimenting with European
(32:09):
varietals, modern vinificationtechniques and climate-smart
irrigation.
Decades before these werebuzzwords, and they did it, not
in spite of hardship but becauseof it.
Even the practice ofpasteurization boiling the wine
to preserve kosher status whenhandled by non-Jews is a
(32:29):
response to diasporic challenge.
For centuries it was acompromise, a way to uphold
kosher laws in foreign lands.
But today wineries are pushingthat boundary further, exploring
lower-temperature flashpasteurization and using AI to
preserve taste and structure.
What began as a necessity isnow becoming an art.
(32:52):
And now here we are again, in atime of crisis war in the north
and south, loss of skilledlabor to military service,
foreign workers unable to return, climate threats from every
direction.
We could freeze, we could mournthe past and long for the way
things were, but we won't.
(33:13):
Because if there's one thingJewish winemaking has taught us,
it's this we innovate not inspite of crisis, but because of
it.
The vineyard, after all, hasnever been a place of comfort.
It's a place of endurance, ofcycles of growth after pruning,
of sweetness drawn fromadversity and the Jewish people.
(33:35):
We're much the same.
Today, ai and automation mayseem foreign to our sacred
traditions, just as steel tanksonce did, or global shipping or
mechanized bottling.
But each generation of Jewishwinemakers has faced the same
question how do we protect thesoul of the wine, even as we
change the tools we use to makeit?
(33:57):
And just as they did before, wewill answer that question Not
by retreating but by rising, notby fearing change, but by
infusing it with holiness.
So the next time you open abottle of kosher wine, whether
it's from the hills of Tuscanyor the sands of southern Israel.
Take a moment, remember thatinside that bottle is more than
(34:21):
fermented grape juice.
There's history, there'sinnovation and there's a story
of a people who, no matter what,found a way to sanctify the
moment through crisis, throughchange and through wine.
Let's take a moment to shiftfocus Not to the vineyard, not
to the cellar, but to the table,to the person pouring the wine,
(34:44):
to the one scanning the label,reading the back of the bottle,
checking for a kosher seal andwondering what does this wine
say about me?
Because the kosher wineindustry isn't just evolving
behind the scenes with tech, aiand robotics.
It's also changing because theperson on the other end of the
(35:05):
bottle, the consumer, ischanging Rapidly.
We are entering an era of thewine consumer of tomorrow and,
make no mistake, they are notlike the generations before.
This next generation of kosherwine lovers, from Los Angeles to
Tel Aviv, johannesburg to Paris, is more connected, more
(35:26):
curious and more conscious thanever before.
They want more than a greatlabel.
They want meaning, they wanttransparency.
They want to know that whatthey're drinking aligns with who
they are.
It used to be enough to saythis wine is kosher.
That was the headline, that wasthe reassurance.
But for today's consumer,kosher is just the beginning.
(35:49):
They want to know Is this winesustainable?
Were the workers treated fairly?
Is this winery reducing itswater use or its carbon
footprint?
What's the story of thisvarietal, this vineyard, this
vintage?
Can I see the process, not justthe final product?
They want access and they wanttheir wine to reflect their
(36:16):
values, jewish and otherwise.
This isn't just speculation.
We're seeing the data.
Studies show that Gen Z andyounger millennials, who now
make up the fastest-growingsegment of the wine-drinking
public, are more likely tochoose a bottle that aligns with
a cause than with a region.
(36:36):
They care less about vintageand more about impact, less
about appellation and more aboutauthenticity.
For the kosher wine worldthat's a huge opportunity,
because kosher already impliesintentionality, supervision,
standards.
It's a built-in valueproposition.
But now we have the tools toexpand that story.
(36:59):
Imagine a bottle of koshergranache from the Galilee and on
the back a QR code.
You scan it and up pops adigital timeline when the grapes
were picked, which rabbinicalsupervision certified the
pressing, how the fermentationwas tracked using AI, a note
(37:21):
from the winemaker about soilhealth, even a 30-second clip of
that actual vineyard duringharvest.
That's not science fiction.
That's the expectation of thewine drinker of tomorrow.
They also want personalization.
With the rise of AI-driventaste profiling, we're entering
(37:41):
a world where wine suggestionswill be tailored not just to
your general preferences but toyour sensory fingerprint.
You like high-acid reds withsavory notes and moderate oak.
There's an algorithm that canpoint you to three kosher wines
you've never tried but arestatistically likely to love.
It's the Spotify-ization ofwine, and for kosher producers,
(38:05):
that means we can finallycompete not just on ritual but
on relevance.
There's also the communityfactor.
The new consumer doesn't want abrand to speak at them.
They want to be part of theconversation.
They want live virtual tastings, real-time feedback, instagram
(38:30):
Q and A's with winemakers.
They want to be insiders, evenfrom across the world.
And we haven't even talkedabout aesthetics.
This consumer wants bottlesthat look good on their shelves,
their tables and, yes, theirsocial media.
Labels that reflect moderndesign with meaning, baked in
Fonts and graphics that feellike today, not 1998.
Does this mean for us?
(38:58):
It means we must invite them in, not just with tradition but
with transparency, not just withheritage but with heart, not
just with a heckscher but with anarrative, because the kosher
wine consumer of tomorrow isready to fall in love with a new
grape, a new vineyard, a newwinemaker.
But they need a story thatresonates with their world, a
(39:18):
story that speaks their languagedigital, ethical, intentional.
And if we tell that story well,we don't just keep kosher wine
alive, we make it thrive.
And so, as we close the book, orperhaps uncork the bottle on
this episode of the KosherTerroir, I want to leave you
with a thought.
(39:39):
For centuries, the making ofkosher wine has been an act of
reverence, of careful hands andancient laws, of time-honored
techniques watched over bypeople who understand that every
grape, every vessel, everygesture matters, who understand
(39:59):
that every grape, every vessel,every gesture matters.
Now, with the arrival ofartificial intelligence,
robotics and precisionagriculture, we're not
abandoning that reverence, we'reelevating it, because what
could be more kosher thanintention?
What could be more sacred thanstewardship?
This moment, this blend oftradition and technology, gives
us a rare opportunity to makewine that is not only clean,
(40:21):
consistent and world-class, butalso reflective of our ethics,
our responsibility to creativityand clear rabbinical guidance.
The future will be as rich andvibrant as the best wines we've
(40:42):
ever known.
But, of course, thisconversation is far from over.
In the coming weeks, we'll beturning theory into practice.
I'll be sitting down with aremarkable lineup of winemakers
who are not just thinking aboutthe future, they're building it.
From the rolling hills ofTuscany, we'll hear from an
(41:02):
Italian kosher winemakerexperimenting with biodynamic
techniques and AI-guidedharvesting.
In Bordeaux, I'll speak with aFrench vintner pioneering kosher
expressions of classicleft-bank blends.
Vintner pioneering kosherexpressions of classic left-bank
blends, with drones flyingoverhead and sensors buried in
limestone soil.
And, of course, we'll head backhome to Israel, where I'll be
(41:25):
interviewing some of the mostforward-thinking minds in the
Galilee and Judean hillswinemakers who are integrating
cutting-edge tech while stayinggrounded in Jewish law, spirit
and sustainability.
These conversations won't justbe technical, they'll be
personal.
We'll talk about identity,philosophy, climate change,
(41:48):
innovation and the taste oftomorrow.
So if you've ever wondered wherekosher wine is headed Not just
in process but in soul You'regoing to want to stay with us.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please leave us a review, share
it with your wine-lovingfriends and subscribe wherever
(42:09):
you get your podcasts.
And if you wantbehind-the-scenes content, links
to the tech we discussed or asneak peek of our interview
lineup, head to www.
T heKosherTerroir.
com.
I'm your host, reminding you inevery drop of wine there's a
story In kosher wine.
That story is sacred Until nexttime, l'chaim.
(42:32):
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
you live, please take a momentto pray for our soldiers' safety
(42:55):
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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