January 15, 2025 • 44 mins
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Welcome to another episode of “The Kosher Terroir.” Today, we have the pleasure of hosting Yael E. Geller, a distinguished figure in the kosher wine community. Yael is a seasoned wine writer, contributing insightful articles to publications such as The Jewish Press and The Jewish Link, where she explores the rich narratives behind wineries and the people who bring them to life. Beyond her writing, Yael co-administers the vibrant Facebook group “Kosher Wines: Sharing & Experiences,” a thriving community of over 8,000 members dedicated to discussing and appreciating kosher wines. Her deep knowledge and passion for wine are complemented by her personal connections; she is married to Gabriel Geller, a prominent wine influencer and the PR Director and Manager of Wine Education at Royal Wine Corporation. Join us as we delve into Yael’s journey, her insights into the world of kosher wines, and the stories that continue to inspire her work.
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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.
On today's episode of TheKosher Terroir, we have the
(00:31):
pleasure of hosting Yael E.
Geller, a distinguished figureand influencer in the kosher
wine community.
Yael is a seasoned wine writer,contributing insightful
articles to publications such asthe Jewish Press and the Jewish
Link, where she explores therich narratives behind wineries
and the people who bring them tolife.
(00:52):
Beyond her writing, Yaelco-administers the vibrant
Facebook group "Kosher Wines,sharing and Experiences, a
thriving community of over 8,000members dedicated to discussing
and appreciating kosher wines.
Her deep knowledge and passionfor wines are complemented by
(01:13):
her personal connections, as sheis married to Gabriel Geller, a
prominent wine influencer andthe PR director and manager of
wine education at Royal WineCorporation.
Join us as we delve into Yael'sjourney, her insights into the
world of kosher wines and thestories that continue to inspire
her work.
If you're driving in your car,please focus on the road ahead.
(01:36):
If you're relaxing in your home, please select a wonderful
bottle of kosher wine, sit back,relax and enjoy listening in on
this fun and informativeconversation.
All right, Yael, welcome toT heKosher Terroir.
It's a real pleasure.
Yael Geller (01:51):
Thanks so much for having me.
S. Simon Jacob (01:53):
It's a super pleasure.
You know people see yourcomments and they basically
think you're a hanger-on toGabriel, and that's not true at
all.
I know you're a wine enthusiaston your own, even before
Gabriel, and I wanted to talk toyou about it.
Yael Geller (02:15):
Well, that's certainly true.
I'm not a hanger-on, although Imay appear as one, because my
life has gotten quite busy sincewe got married.
We have three very active boysright now, so definitely not a
hanger on earth, but Iappreciate the opportunity to
talk to you today.
S. Simon Jacob (02:33):
Pleasure, really a pleasure.
Okay, so what I want to startwith is can you tell me a little
bit about your earliestexperiences and memories with
wine and how it shaped yourperspective of wine today?
Yael Geller (02:47):
Okay, this is really a loaded question.
I'm going to rewind back to mychildhood.
I would say that there are twovery distinct memories in my
mind right now about specificwines or wine in general.
So obviously, growing up in areligious home, wine is at the
centerpiece of every singlesimcha celebration etc.
(03:12):
Life event.
So obviously that HavdalahKiddush.
Like everyone else, however, myfather really had an interest
in wine culture.
He is not the most wine-ccultured person even now after
many years of reading books.
He's a busy guy.
He was an anesthesiologist he'snow retired but when I was
(03:36):
younger, he came across winesfrom the brand Gan Eden.
I was maybe four or five yearsold when he started purchasing
wine from our friend CraigWinchell, who's now our friend,
but back then I was a little kid.
So I basically grew up with GanEden wines at my Shabbos table
(03:57):
almost every single week.
We definitely had Herzog winesas well, but Gan Eden really
stood out because the label hada beautiful garden on the front.
I'm not sure if you've seenthem or if you remember them.
S. Simon Jacob (04:09):
I remember it, I'm a little older than you.
Oh really, that was one of thefirst wines really really
well-made kosher wines that justhad this beautiful distinctive
label.
Yael Geller (04:26):
It's a gorgeous label.
Actually, craig had sent us afew posters of it, but I'm not
sure where they went over time.
This was years ago already.
But we did have them in ourfirst apartment.
So I remember the label verywell and my father was a big fan
of Black Muscat.
That was his go-to wine forKiddush.
It was great.
It was so balanced.
Even in my memories it wasamazing.
(04:48):
I don't know if I would like itnow, probably because Craig
really was a great winemakerback in the day I mean, he
probably still is now too but hewould buy cases upon cases of
it directly from Craig and Craigwould ship it to Scranton,
(05:10):
pennsylvania, which is basicallythe boondocks of nowhere.
And I remember once BlackMusket was out of stock.
So my father bought theGewurztraminer, which was
amazing.
It was so sweet.
I remember it was a sweeterGewurzt, not a dry one, maybe
probably off dry, and that's howit really started for me.
Those are my memories.
We also had a neighbor, a veryelderly neighbor, an old
pediatrician, and they weregetting older and they decided
to sell their house and theyinvited us to come in and they
(05:33):
said you know, anything you wantyou could take.
We're downsizing.
So I went in with my mom anddad.
I'm the youngest of fivechildren and I'm like the real
youngest, like I did all theirfun stuff with them.
I'm like the real youngest,like I did all their fun stuff
with them.
And I remember my father pickingup some really old bottles of
caramel not the 76 that you have, that's like the first one.
That probably tasted good inthe day, but these were like
(05:54):
syrupy awful, I mean oxidized tothe core, definitely older than
me and my dad brought them homeand every week we would open a
different one and that wasinsufferable, but probably
because of the age of the wine.
So those are two very distinctmemories for me in my much
younger years that reallystarted, I would say, the rest
(06:16):
of my life, the rest of my lifein the wine industry, not that
I'm really in it, but you knowI'm living parallel to it.
S. Simon Jacob (06:25):
I would say You're married into it.
Yael Geller (06:27):
Yeah, exactly.
S. Simon Jacob (06:29):
When did it suddenly become you and not your
family's experience?
Yael Geller (06:34):
So I would say that age was definitely a
restriction.
However, every time, me and myfamily me and my parents,
specifically because I'm theyoungest we would go to visit
Israel every couple of years,sometimes every year it really
depends on the year because Ihad siblings who were either
learning in yeshiva or inseminary there.
So we would go to visit Israeland almost every single time my
(06:57):
father would want to book a tripto a winery.
We went to Dalton, we went toYardane I have a few pictures at
Gush and that was really, youknow, we learned about the
process there.
I mean, I'm sure you've been ona zillion wine tours so you
know what the deal is.
But they make it reallykid-friendly.
(07:18):
I was maybe eight on my firsttrip to Israel, maybe seven.
So they make it interactive forkids and there's a lot of
history and they really like tryto engage the whole crowd.
So that's where it reallyreally started.
The tour at Yardane is reallylike life changing.
I really would say that,interestingly enough, because
(07:39):
it's an enormous winery,enormous and it's really geared
towards tourists and they havelike the beautiful displays.
I haven't been there in manyyears.
I would say it's been eightyears since I've been there, but
they have beautiful displaysand I even remember to this day
from you know, from when I waseight years old.
So that kind of got meinterested in the, in the
(08:00):
backstory of the wine, not just,you know, having it at a table.
But there's a lot more to winethan just when you bring it home
on cork it and pour it intoyour glass.
There's a whole history,there's a passion, there's the
stories of the winemakers,there's the stories of the
vineyard and especially Israeliwine is a story of our people
(08:20):
and there's so much more to itthan just drinking it.
S. Simon Jacob (08:25):
It's funny Cause I have never, well not in my
remembrance, visited theArdennes Winery.
Yael Geller (08:35):
Really, isn't that crazy.
You definitely have got to go.
S. Simon Jacob (08:38):
I've gone to all of these little boutique
wineries and some of the bigwineries, but I've never gone to
Ardennes.
So one day, one day soon.
Yael Geller (08:46):
I'm sure that somebody can connect you with
someone there, but it'sfantastic.
They have they kept manybottles from each vintage and
they have them, like thewineries in France, in some sort
of temperature control thingwhere you can look at all the
vintages and they keep them, Iassume, for their anniversary.
(09:07):
You know parties and stuff likethat, but it's really, really
nice.
But when we went eight yearsago, which was the last time I
was in Israel, we had abeautiful tour and we actually
had a tasting in like thechampagne barrel room, which was
very, very exciting, with thewinemaker who makes.
He only made champagne, but notchampagne, but bubbly sparkling
(09:27):
wines.
So definitely worth a shot.
S. Simon Jacob (09:32):
How has your appreciation of kosher wine
evolved over time, because nowyou've got exposure to a lot
more wines.
Yael Geller (09:40):
Yeah, oh, it's changed a lot.
I mean, when I turned 21, thatwas really the time for me to
have the freedom to explore whatwas out there.
Um, there are several winestores that I can think of in my
mind.
Most notably is actually inmuncie, at rockland, kosher,
there's a wine store.
It's still there and the theclerk there or the owner I don't
(10:05):
know if he's the owner or not.
I'm sure if I went to talk tohim today he would not remember
me, but he really guided me onto what I should taste, what I
shouldn't taste, what'sinteresting, what's not, and I
would say that at that time Ihad all the doors open to me.
However, I would say in thelast nine years obviously
(10:27):
marrying Gabriel, who openedmany other doors in a lot of
different ways to kosher winesand to wines that many people
don't have the opportunities andthey do I think that in general
in the last nine years youcould disagree with me, but I
think you will agree with meKosher wine has changed a lot.
(10:49):
It has evolved into somethingthat we can't even harness
anymore, like it's very, veryhard to taste every single
kosher wine that's producedtoday.
So I would say that there wasmy before and my after.
So the before I tried to tastewhat I could and tried to learn
what I liked, and it was justfun, it was a social thing, I
(11:11):
mean.
And then, after we got married,there was, I would say there
was a wine boom, but there wasalso a personal wine boom where
I had access to a lot more thanI did before.
So I would say that it evolveda lot.
The best way.
People are always asking likehow do I learn about wine?
How do I know what's good,what's bad?
(11:33):
Is price a factor?
Is more expensive wine better,things like that?
They're always asking thesequestions and I'm like you know
what.
It just boils down to whoyou're with.
That's my personal opinion andit's like the experience of
connecting to the people thatyou're with over whatever meal
it is or whatever occasion it is, that really changes the
(11:53):
experience.
S. Simon Jacob (11:55):
So it's, it's, it's so, spot on, so true, at
least from my perspective.
The people are what it's allabout.
Um, the wines are wonderful,but they're just facilitators to
connect socially.
Yael Geller (12:09):
It's true.
I mean the truth is that we metyou through wine.
I remember that you came to ourfirst apartment in Cedarhurst
many years ago probably nineyears ago and I remember you
brought Avi with you.
That was not the first time wewas it the first time we met Avi
.
It could be the first time wemet Avi DeVito so I'm sure has
(12:30):
been on your podcast but so manyfriendships and relationships
have blossomed through wine andI mean I married my spouse
through wine, through theconnection of wine on our first
date.
I mean we can recall whatvintage wine we had and all the
special occasions and all thosethings.
So it really does connectpeople and we have friends now
(12:52):
from all over the world.
S. Simon Jacob (12:55):
Tell me about it , because people think that you
know he's the wine guy andyou're just there and I remember
you telling me about a closetyou had in your room and, yeah,
maybe you just want to sharesome things.
Yael Geller (13:11):
Yes, okay.
So after college I was lookingfor a job.
I was living in Queens and Ihad an apartment with a few of
my friends shout out to them,and I had an apartment with a
few of my friends Shout out tothem.
They put up with my wine closetand I had a favorite wine store
which was Suhag Wine andLiquors.
Shout out to them too.
(13:31):
I was probably their bestcustomer at the time and I would
bring wine back to my family inScranton for holidays or if I
went for Shabbos, becausethere's very strict laws in
Pennsylvania about having winesold.
It's a state-run liquor storethat they have there and then
there's some sacramental thingsI'm not quite sure the laws, but
(13:52):
I would bring back wine for,let's say, pesach, like a lot of
wine, and I just got reallyinterested.
I noticed a lot of winespopping up in different regions
and it was just.
There was a lot of selectionthere and I said you know what?
I cannot drink all this wine atonce.
Maybe I'll save some for aspecial occasion or for a
Shabbos when I'm going away.
(14:13):
So I started to collect wine inmy closet, in my clothing
closet, and I would stack it upvery nice and neat and I had
these little shells and that'sreally where it really started
getting crazy.
I had taken a trip to Californiaum, for one of my friends one
of my best friends weddings inLA, and one of the stops that we
(14:34):
made was at Herzog and I hadbought a few like limited
edition Herzogs there.
I had a wine called GPS, whichis no longer in service, but at
the time it was very cool.
We used to have those likeGarmin GPS.
This is so interesting, when isthis?
And I had held that for a whileand I had gone to a wine sale
in Muncie once where Yoshua wasselling his wine.
(14:55):
Yoshua worked.
He used to have a wine tastingevery year, so I would go to
that.
And then one of the wine storesthat I went to in Queens
invited me.
They told me about KFWE, so itwas the first year I was able to
go, because I was 21.
And I went to KFWE the firsttime and I was like this is my
land Like this is my peopleWelcome home, exactly.
(15:17):
I was like I'm so glad he toldme about this, anyways.
So then I started going to thatand like I would meet all these
people and like I just likethere are a few people that
really stick out that I had metat these things.
I had gone to the city winerytasting.
I remember I met Josh Phillipsthere for the first time and I
said and and Haim, who used towork for Moeshi Meyer I forgot
(15:37):
his last name, but I met himthere too and I remember telling
him I need to shit off.
And he's like like, don't worry, we'll find you someone.
Anyways, in that time period,sometime in 2014, 13 to 15,
gabriel was on the other side ofthe universe in his living in
Israel doing his thing andFacebook groups started becoming
(15:57):
very popular.
I noticed a food group aboutrestaurants, which was mildly
interesting to me, but I didn'treally want to join that.
It looked like you know, know,everyone's fighting, like being
annoying and saying food isgross or whatever, and then,
like they suggest groups for youon Facebook.
And then I see like a groupkosher, on sharing and
experiences and I said you know,I'm not going to join the food
group because it came up rightnext to the wine one.
(16:18):
But the wine one looks sointeresting to me because I'm
collecting all this wine.
So I joined that group and,like I don't, you were not in
the group yet.
You did not join the group tilllater.
I remember when you joined thatwas after you had met Gabriel
initially, but there were notmany young single women in that
(16:38):
group.
So almost instantaneously allof the single men started
falling into my inbox, likeevery single single man in that
group and there was like maybe600 members.
There was like it was me andlike Stacy was the other woman
in the group, so obviously I wasthe main target.
So I'm getting a lot ofsolicitations to go on dates and
(17:02):
to share wine and this and that.
And I started sharing mycollection and like asking
people when to drink certainthings, especially that GPS wine
.
And I was a big fan of LouisPascoe's wine.
I bought a lot of that at hisfirst vintage of the Pascoe
project and I had posted that.
But I was getting a lot ofattention from everyone, like
every single male that was inthat group at that time fell
(17:23):
into my inbox.
But Gabriel was one of them andI kept thinking, ah, these guys
, they're all such creeps.
I'm not hanging out with any ofthem, I'm not meeting them, I'm
going to continue on my course,you know, going on my set
updates and you know whatever.
But Gabriel was prettypersistent and he was also, you
know, refined.
Let's just leave it at that, yes, he is, and he would.
(17:47):
He would talk to me.
You know, he would wish me goodShabbos.
I remember it was like beforethe Israeli election.
He was saying, oh, I just gotup, I went to vote.
It's very important to me Justsharing like little bits about
him, sharing what he's drinking,where he's going, what he's
doing.
And I at the time I didn'treally think much of it because
I was, I don't know.
I was busy, I was relativelyyoung, I was doing my thing, I
(18:09):
was busy with school, I had afull-time job.
At the time, I was living inNew York, you know.
I had it going and then, afterseveral months this was probably
like March he suggested thathe's going to come to America
and he wanted to meet me and Iwas like, oh no, like this is
going to be a disaster, likethis guy I mean I hope he's
(18:33):
making a trip to America anywayslike coming to be a tourist and
not, like you know, puttingeverything into dating me
because I don't know anythingabout him.
He's a foreigner like we had.
We could not find it.
I personally was like I need tofind someone in common with him
to make sure he's not a serialkiller.
Eventually, we did find severalpeople in common though, which
(18:53):
is interesting, that's a veryinteresting story.
But I said, you know, I isinteresting, that's a very
interesting story.
But I said, you know, I'mfinishing my master's degree in
June.
Come after I submit, you know,the last of my papers and go to
graduation, and then we'll,we'll, we'll meet, you know.
And he said, okay, gave me histicket information.
And then it came the end ofJune and he texted me okay, I'm
(19:16):
coming, you know, next week,tuesday, I'm landing, or
Wednesday, or whatever.
And then it came the end ofJune and he texted me okay, I'm
coming, you know, next weekTuesday, I'm landing, or
Wednesday, or whatever.
And then, like literally like ashe landed, he's like okay, I'm
here, I'm ready to meet.
I'm like what Now?
I just got home from work, like, can I go take a shower?
Like I don't know, can I, youknow, clean myself up a little
bit?
I used to work in a hospital,so that was kind of important to
(19:37):
like clean myself up and makesure that I was ready for this.
Like you know, we've beenleading up to this and I I
really didn't think much of it,but anyways, I said, you know
what let's, let's you know.
Pause a little bit and go to.
Let's meet up tomorrow fordinner.
And he said okay, that's fine.
S. Simon Jacob (20:11):
I'm in Queens, I was excited to meet up and talk
to you in person and all thesethings, and that's a serious guy
.
And I think he saw anotherserious wine woman.
Wow, that's like hard to find awoman who knows anything about
wine.
I mean, I don't want to sayanything bad about women,
(20:32):
because we have a lot of womenwho follow my podcast now, in
those days, it was very rare tohave a person who knew anything
about wine, let alonehistorically, kosher wine, which
is like crazy that you had ahistory of kosher wine, which is
amazing.
Yael Geller (20:52):
Yeah, definitely All right.
S. Simon Jacob (20:57):
How about the wine group?
Now?
You're now kind of one of theadministrators, the
administrator, I think.
I don't know if anybody elsehas time to do it, and I know
you don't, but you still do.
Yael Geller (21:10):
No, I'm not as active as I was, time
constraints.
I have a six-month-old baby andwe also have a three year old
and a seven year old boy.
So that's very busy and wereally fell out of posting a lot
.
But we're going to try torevive it if we have anything
interesting, which I tried to doa couple of weeks ago.
So the wine group it just grewand grew and grew.
(21:32):
I think culture in the Orthodoxcommunity and the non-Orthodox
community, but in the koshercommunity, has really changed a
lot in the last, I'll say, 10years.
People are much more interestedin higher end things.
They're interested in culture.
They're not, you know, drinkingKing David or Manischewitz
anymore.
For kiddish, like you know,people are like although we are
(21:56):
having a move back to likemanischewitz, matzo balls.
But but for wine people areinterested in home cooking, you
know, fancy meats, curing theirown.
They're interested in, likeartisanal things and wine has
just gone with that too, andwith that our wine group really
has exploded.
So Gabriel took me on, I want tosay, maybe a year after we got
(22:20):
married, because he needed help.
He has two wine groups, one andhe manages it.
He managed it with other people, but they're also very busy
with their own businesses etc.
There's a French group I'm notquite sure, because I don't ever
look at it anymore.
It doesn't really pop up on myfeed.
I'm not quite sure, because Idon't ever look at it anymore.
It doesn't really pop up on myfeed.
But he took me in and then weadded we added Aaron Hollander
(22:42):
to be also a moderator and wedid yeah, and it's I think it's
close to eight thousand peoplein the English speaking group.
Crazy, it's a lot of people.
And you know there are peoplewho post a lot and then there
are random people who arelooking for something.
Or every once in a while I seein another group that someone's
looking for a recommendationabout wine and I'll tag the
(23:04):
group to add them to the group.
Um, so then we get like aninflux of like five or ten
people that saw it in anothergroup and that's how things grow
in social media.
And, um, that's basically whathappened.
Um, in the beginning I reallytook no prisoners.
I believe one of thejournalists wrote an article
about gabrielle and he discussedit and he's like she takes no
(23:24):
prisoners.
You know, I don't have time tolike pick apart the wine.
I want to enjoy it.
I want it to taste good.
Once in a while I want to havea bad wine because you know, if
you have only good wines, youhave nothing to compare it to
Like.
I want my wine to be corkedsometimes so that I remember
what it's like, but basicallyjust making sure that everyone's
(23:47):
behaving in the group whichmost people do and trying to
give suggestions.
People want to know when toopen wines.
You know how it is.
Everyone has a question.
S. Simon Jacob (23:56):
Yeah, are there any?
Okay, now I'm going to ask youa loaded question.
Go ahead.
Have you ever had to moderate acontroversial or divisive topic
?
Yael Geller (24:09):
um, I wouldn't say that I leave that to me.
I usually ask gabriel ifsomething, if I see something
that's not, either people arenot acting nicely to each other
or someone brings it to myattention which happened, which
used to happen a lot.
It happens once in a while here, here and there, but for the
most part people people behaveand if something really is not
(24:31):
okay, I make gabriel deal withit.
You know, kind of like if ananimal goes through your garbage
, you're not going out to pickit up.
You make your husband take careof that.
Certain things you let the daddeal with or the man of the
house.
I agree.
S. Simon Jacob (24:49):
Can you share a really particularly interesting
or compelling story that camefrom the group?
Do you remember any specificstory that was just really cool
or compelling?
Yael Geller (25:04):
Um, uh, this one, I have to think.
S. Simon Jacob (25:10):
I didn't give you any heads up on these.
Yael Geller (25:12):
I know I'm trying to think of something specific.
I can say that a lot of therelationships have become very
close.
It's interesting when you livein a metropolitan area.
People pass through here a lot,through this area a lot, and
(25:33):
some of my neighbors or friendswho come over or whatever, they
can't believe that we havewinemakers at our table several
times a year or staying with usor stopping in.
So that's kind of interestingin terms of relationships.
But a specific I can't think ofanything.
S. Simon Jacob (25:56):
I can't think of anything.
No, you know, you're 100% rightabout being in the center,
because I feel like I'm in thecenter, being in Jerusalem,
there is almost nobody who'sJewish who doesn't come through
here sometime, that's very true.
Some people come through muchmore often and what have you?
Much more often and what haveyou and this wine, the wine
(26:17):
groups have just snowballedfriendships that are just
amazing Friendships in England,the whole UK group of people,
all the people across the UnitedStates like Jerry Parnas is
(26:38):
just a doll.
There's all sorts of people whoI've become super close with
who come through Israel and stopby and we have dinner and what
have you and, truthfully, thewinemakers are unbelievable
group of people.
Yael Geller (26:55):
They're so sweet winemakers are unbelievable
group of people.
They're so sweet.
I think what struck me asreally interesting when I
married Gabriel especially, isthat the winemakers I don't know
you think of celebrities liketotally untouchable but the
winemakers are within less thanone degree of separation from us
in the kosher industry, whichis very interesting, meaning
(27:18):
like they're accessible.
Like if I want to ask Amichai aquestion and I don't know him
and I'm not related to Gabriel,let's say, in this scenario it's
very easy to get in touch withhim and I'm talking about
Amichai from Shiloh for anyonewho is not in the wine sphere.
S. Simon Jacob (27:35):
Sorry, yeah, you're right, amichai Luria, I
should clarify.
Yael Geller (27:38):
And you know it's everyone.
It's Louis Pascoe who is at mytable.
It's Etty from Carmel.
Stops in she.
You know my kids love her, butthey're so accessible to
everyone it's not just for theVIPs, you know, right.
So that is very interestingbecause I think in the outside
world it would be very unusualfor a regular consumer to meet a
(28:01):
winemaker and like know thatthey're at someone's house in,
for example, for a dinner orsomething like that alicia will
comes to mind as well, because,um, she's awesome, she's just
she's amazing.
Did you have her on your podcast, I think you did I?
I talked to her quite often,mostly not about wine.
(28:23):
I consider her one of my veryclose friends and I I've said to
her and I've actually said toetsy as well that we should have
some sort of alliance of womenin the kosher wine industry.
It would be very interesting toget us together and just hang
out, talk about ideas, somethinglike that, because there are a
lot of women in this industrythat are kind of I don't want to
(28:45):
say they're in the shadows, buta really good example a couple
of years ago we went toBarcelona and we went to Elby I.
I had no idea that that David'smom and and Moses's wife, anna,
is the actual winemaker ofClomazora.
I had no idea.
S. Simon Jacob (29:06):
I felt really like totally dumb but she's the
one making the wine, and thesister is now too.
Yael Geller (29:15):
Yeah, and I met her actually last year.
She came into Inglewood for atasting and for KFWE, so I
actually got to meet her.
But I was like how do we notknow that?
S. Simon Jacob (29:26):
Because they're so nice and they're so central
to the marketing part of it thatyou don't see that in the
background and they're reallyspecial.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
There is a difference betweenthe way men and women approach
wine and I think it's pertinentto have a connection among the
(29:49):
ladies.
Yes, I definitely think so.
I think it's actually good andthere are more and more and more
wine people who are female, whoare involved in what have you,
so it's becoming really special.
(30:10):
In fact, they kind of like theway men some men used to drag
their wives to these winetastings.
There's a number of women whodrag their spouses, their
husbands, to these wine tastings.
Yael Geller (30:23):
Yeah.
S. Simon Jacob (30:26):
They bear with it, they're nice, they're
friendly.
Just a couple more questionsand I promise I'll let you go.
Have you noticed a differencein preferences?
Have you seen preferenceschanging in the wine industry
over the last few years?
Yael Geller (30:43):
I would say it depends on the person.
I don't want to be super snobby, but there's a lot of wealth
that we see growing in ourcommunity in general, that we
see growing in our community ingeneral, and people are willing
to spend a lot more money onluxuries like wine.
It goes in flux with theeconomy, obviously, but I see a
(31:07):
lot more, especially in theultra-Orthodox community,
spending a lot of money on wineand they're buying a lot
higher-end wines, which iswonderful for the industry, um,
especially if they're using itin a very nice way for a simcha
or kiddish or bris or somethinglike that.
So I I will say that that hasdefinitely changed a lot.
(31:29):
Um, I think that in terms oflike trends, overall, people are
interested in different wines.
It used to be that we would goto a wine tasting I'm sure
you've heard this many timesLike someone comes up to you or
in the store even they don'tusually come up to me, but I
usually tell them what I think.
Anyways, they come up to youand say, oh, can you tell me the
(31:51):
best Cabernet?
Now, cabernet is silky.
It always will be, but thereare so many different varieties
and blends and white wines whichare amazing.
I mean we had a Sauvignon Blanclast week.
It was reminiscent of theSancerre that we had together
many times at Noble.
S. Simon Jacob (32:09):
Wow, I miss that bottle of Sancerre desperately.
Every time people bring out asancerre, I go yes and no, no
but this was close.
Yael Geller (32:21):
It was the chateau olivier.
Okay, you'll get it, butanyways I I gabriel's doing the
same thing to me, because I donot really like savio monk that
much.
I'm okay with it.
It's not my favorite whitevarietal at all, um, and every
time there's a lot of newSanceres coming out and they
cannot hold a candle to thatbottle that we shared many times
(32:44):
together.
S. Simon Jacob (32:44):
I know, I just you know.
You've got that in your memory.
Yael Geller (32:48):
And it is a real memory for wines.
S. Simon Jacob (32:50):
I don't, but that wine sticks in my memory.
Yael Geller (32:53):
Yeah, there are some wines like that that you
cannot.
And, by the way, it's not justthe wine.
It was the occasions that wedrank it, and there was one time
where he found one somewhere.
Do you remember this?
It was open.
And we drank it together.
S. Simon Jacob (33:10):
It was amazing.
It was still good.
Wow, it is.
It's absolutely crazy.
It's absolutely crazy.
I find that all the time thesedays with some of the special
wines that I drank, likeIacovorius O Muscatier.
Yael Geller (33:29):
Definitely we didn't discuss them, but
definitely.
S. Simon Jacob (33:32):
Yeah.
Yael Geller (33:33):
Those wines, I mean , we did a tasting with him.
Supposedly he's coming here atsome point soon and if he
doesn't come visit me I'm goingto be very insulted.
So, yakov, if you're listening,you better come here, because
we have a very long historytogether and he went to Yeshiva
in Scranton and my parentsremember him.
S. Simon Jacob (33:51):
Really.
Yael Geller (33:51):
So yes.
S. Simon Jacob (33:53):
Wow, I didn't know that at all.
Yael Geller (33:55):
Yes, what happened was they modernized their last
name to orion, but I think Iforgot what the original is.
He'll tell you.
But yes, so we have a differentconnection besides her wine.
But I really would love to seehim.
And his wife is wonderful also.
I would love to see her tooshe's great um, right, but his.
There's something so like youcan't even describe the old
(34:20):
Musketeer I mean like it's justlike a, it's like an out-of-body
experience, almost.
S. Simon Jacob (34:26):
The maple syrup, but liquefied.
I have no idea, you know, whenI tell people that and they go,
yeah, right, okay, you know,it's one of these sweet dessert
wines.
Yael Geller (34:36):
No.
S. Simon Jacob (34:37):
And they drink it and their eyes light up and
they go.
I gave it to somebody at mydaughter's wedding.
I had a couple of bottles at mydaughter's wedding.
Yael Geller (34:46):
By the way, the pictures were amazing it was a
lot of fun.
S. Simon Jacob (34:49):
We had a blast.
Especially, we had some greatwines.
Yael Geller (34:53):
And the Kiddush cup was really.
I mean you should bring that asyour guest on the podcast.
S. Simon Jacob (35:00):
We used that for Brissim.
I found that custom from one ofthe Rebbeim I knew here, I know
here, and he used it for hisson's Brit.
It holds a magnum, it holds ohreally, yeah, it holds two full
bottles.
Wow, I thought one bottle, butyou can't really tell from the
picture Two full bottles and heused it at his son's Brit and
(35:23):
then he used it at the wedding,and it's so Wow To carry
something along that way.
So I said I've got to get oneof these and I've got to do this
from now on.
So that's what I've been doing.
Yael Geller (35:33):
I'm pretty sure that the rabbi of my parents'
town has one of those for KosEliyahu on Pesach, something
like that.
I think that's some sort oftradition as well.
S. Simon Jacob (35:44):
To have a bigger kos, but it's super.
There are some preferences thatseem to be changing here that
I've noticed, and it might bebecause of the warmer climate,
where people were focused onreds and especially cabs.
I've noticed that a lot ofpeople have started focusing on
lighter wines, like Grenachesand Pinot Noirs and what have
(36:11):
you, and also whites.
Yael Geller (36:14):
I am here for that.
I love that.
First of all, pinot is probablymy favorite varietal of all
time, even though I love blendsand I love Bordeaux's and I love
certain Israeli wines anddessert wines and I love bubbly
wines, I really do.
Um, we need to explore thoselighter bodied reds right um,
(36:35):
gamay pino, you know, we have alot of burgundies now that we
did not have 10 years ago.
Um, actually, I remember wewere in the delivery room and I
was getting ready and I said itwas Thursday and I said to
Gabriel, what if I, what if Idon't end up going home for
Shabbos?
You know?
S. Simon Jacob (36:54):
nobody brought me wine.
Yael Geller (36:55):
You better bring me that pomade, the 2015,.
I've been wanting to open itforever and my doctor looks at
me like I'm crazy and she's likeis this what you're really
thinking about?
Yes, it is, and yes, yes it is.
Yes, I waited nine months forthis Right, so he ended up
finding it, by the way, and wedrank it on Hanukkah.
(37:16):
That's great.
But Pinot, yeah, I feel like itwas an untapped not totally
untapped, because I really likedthe Hagafe and Pinot back in
the day.
Even now I tasted a recentvintage of it and I was like,
wow, it's back.
It's back to what it was.
S. Simon Jacob (37:36):
But that was also one of my favorite wines
for a very long time.
I also love their label on theHagafe.
The labels were the absolutelybeautiful grape leaves that were
kind of designed and etched in.
It was cool, very cool yeah.
Yael Geller (37:50):
I actually did visit Hugguff and Winery a long
time ago.
I forgot to mention that Ithink I went there in 2008,.
I want to say I took a tripwith my friends to California
and they actually hosted usthere and we had a wonderful
tasting there.
But we also had a wonderfulvintage bubbly there, a
(38:14):
sparkling wine which was thepre-line, which they only sell
at the winery, I think, or aspart of the wine club Right.
So that was also another memory.
S. Simon Jacob (38:26):
That's also here All of a sudden.
I have no idea why.
There's a whole bunch ofwineries that are now making
bubblies which are so much moredifficult to make, take so much
more time and effort thananything else, but they're
wonderful.
I mean, every just.
Who's making new bubblies inIsrael?
(38:48):
Kasagot makes one, kastel makesone, yaakov Uria makes one.
Yael Geller (38:53):
Right Raziel is also one.
I guess that's the Kastel one.
S. Simon Jacob (38:57):
That's the Kastel one, no, but actually.
Well, it is the Kastel one, butKastel makes a rosé version and
a regular version.
Yael Geller (39:03):
And I think Matar made one.
No, Matar.
S. Simon Jacob (39:06):
Yes, I think Matar made one.
No, matar, yes, matar, Ibelieve.
Yael Geller (39:08):
Did they as?
S. Simon Jacob (39:08):
well, yes, but they're a whole bunch, they're
proliferating and, wow, peopleare not taking the easy path,
because that is.
Yael Geller (39:20):
Yeah, it's hard to be Intensive.
S. Simon Jacob (39:24):
It's so much hands-on, intensive to create
that stuff it's crazy.
So well, it's fun.
I miss you guys.
I really miss you.
I miss coming over for dinnerand I miss you guys coming to us
for Shabbat and I really pleaseGod, in the future, look
forward to doing something wherewe get together.
Yael Geller (39:46):
I hope so.
I mean, I know it's been awhile since you've been back
here and I haven't made it toIsrael in quite a long time.
I've been a little busy andCOVID et cetera.
But um, next time you're intown you know where we live.
S. Simon Jacob (40:00):
I really look forward, but I, I, I don't, um,
I don't want to leave Israelduring the war and I hear that I
really do?
So many kids here now and somany grandkids here.
Yael Geller (40:13):
It's wonderful.
S. Simon Jacob (40:15):
All right, thank you.
Thank you for being on theKosher Tehran and being able to
come on.
Yael Geller (40:19):
Thank you for having me.
I look forward to coming back.
S. Simon Jacob (40:22):
Yes, I look forward to.
I want to discuss some hardcorewine stuff with you, but I
wanted to at least get anintroduction to who Yael Geller
is, because I don't think peopleunderstand that at all and they
don't understand that one ofGabriel's secret weapons in wine
is you.
Yael Geller (40:42):
I don't know about that.
It's interesting because peopleprobably we were discussing
this a couple of weeks ago.
Gabriel had done a series ofevents, wine events and someone
commented I also write articlesabout wine.
We didn't discuss that, but Ihelp him out and I freelance for
him, basically, you know, forRoyal, and he takes care of
(41:04):
distributing it because that'spart of his job.
But someone mentioned to him atone of the guests at the dinner
you know, I love your wife'sarticles and I said someone
actually likes them and readthem and pays attention to them.
And I said you know, it's sofunny.
They probably think like ourwhole life is centered around
wine.
But really we're just tworegular people.
(41:24):
But we definitely discuss theins and outs of certain things
in wine, you know, as part ofour every day, but we're just
like everybody else.
S. Simon Jacob (41:37):
Yeah, but you know what?
There's very few people thatyou could sit down and discuss
some of the nuances of wine, andand Gabriel is a special person
he's got incredible taste 100%as do you, and it's very hard to
find you know a pair of peoplewho could really discuss those
sort of things.
I mean, I've seen it sitting atyour dining table and having you
(42:01):
know the conversation go aroundthe table between all the
people and seeing the two of youand it's really special, it's
definitely a pleasure to hosteveryone and anyone who comes
through, from our group, fromour group's friends and the
winemakers.
Yael Geller (42:21):
It's really an honor to have people stop in.
One thing that I always say toGabriel is we have this house so
that we can be accommodating toour friends and to people who
need a warm meal when they'retraveling from Israel or want
company and a homemade dinnerwhen they're here, you know, on
(42:42):
business or visiting or whateverit is from our world.
And you know I always remindhim that even at the drop of a
hat we're always open to havingpeople.
So anyone out there who istraveling here and loves wine,
please get in touch with us.
S. Simon Jacob (42:58):
Okay, good, thank you, I'll make sure.
I'll make sure we push it, butthank you.
Thank you so much, and please.
Regards to Gabriel.
Yael Geller (43:07):
And regards to all our friends who we haven't seen
in a while too Pierre, I seeAmikai, I see Etty, you know.
S. Simon Jacob (43:15):
Stacy Jacob, Stacy right.
Yael Geller (43:16):
Stacy I saw two weeks ago.
She came here.
S. Simon Jacob (43:19):
Yeah, love to have her back.
Yael Geller (43:21):
Okay, shalom and bravo, bye.
S. Simon Jacob (43:36):
This is Simon Jacob, again your host of
today's episode of the KosherTerroir.
I have a personal request.
No matter where you are orwhere you live, please take a
moment to pray for our soldiers'safety and the safe and rapid
return of our hostages.
For our soldiers' safety andthe safe and rapid return of our
hostages, please subscribe viayour podcast provider to be
informed of our new episodes asthey are released.
If you are new to the KosherTerroir, please check out our
(44:00):
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.
On today's episode of TheKosher Terroir, we have the
(00:31):
pleasure of hosting Yael E.
Geller, a distinguished figureand influencer in the kosher
wine community.
Yael is a seasoned wine writer,contributing insightful
articles to publications such asthe Jewish Press and the Jewish
Link, where she explores therich narratives behind wineries
and the people who bring them tolife.
(00:52):
Beyond her writing, Yaelco-administers the vibrant
Facebook group "Kosher Wines,sharing and Experiences, a
thriving community of over 8,000members dedicated to discussing
and appreciating kosher wines.
Her deep knowledge and passionfor wines are complemented by
(01:13):
her personal connections, as sheis married to Gabriel Geller, a
prominent wine influencer andthe PR director and manager of
wine education at Royal WineCorporation.
Join us as we delve into Yael'sjourney, her insights into the
world of kosher wines and thestories that continue to inspire
her work.
If you're driving in your car,please focus on the road ahead.
(01:36):
If you're relaxing in your home, please select a wonderful
bottle of kosher wine, sit back,relax and enjoy listening in on
this fun and informativeconversation.
All right, Yael, welcome toT heKosher Terroir.
It's a real pleasure.
Yael Geller (01:51):
Thanks so much for having me.
S. Simon Jacob (01:53):
It's a super pleasure.
You know people see yourcomments and they basically
think you're a hanger-on toGabriel, and that's not true at
all.
I know you're a wine enthusiaston your own, even before
Gabriel, and I wanted to talk toyou about it.
Yael Geller (02:15):
Well, that's certainly true.
I'm not a hanger-on, although Imay appear as one, because my
life has gotten quite busy sincewe got married.
We have three very active boysright now, so definitely not a
hanger on earth, but Iappreciate the opportunity to
talk to you today.
S. Simon Jacob (02:33):
Pleasure, really a pleasure.
Okay, so what I want to startwith is can you tell me a little
bit about your earliestexperiences and memories with
wine and how it shaped yourperspective of wine today?
Yael Geller (02:47):
Okay, this is really a loaded question.
I'm going to rewind back to mychildhood.
I would say that there are twovery distinct memories in my
mind right now about specificwines or wine in general.
So obviously, growing up in areligious home, wine is at the
centerpiece of every singlesimcha celebration etc.
(03:12):
Life event.
So obviously that HavdalahKiddush.
Like everyone else, however, myfather really had an interest
in wine culture.
He is not the most wine-ccultured person even now after
many years of reading books.
He's a busy guy.
He was an anesthesiologist he'snow retired but when I was
(03:36):
younger, he came across winesfrom the brand Gan Eden.
I was maybe four or five yearsold when he started purchasing
wine from our friend CraigWinchell, who's now our friend,
but back then I was a little kid.
So I basically grew up with GanEden wines at my Shabbos table
(03:57):
almost every single week.
We definitely had Herzog winesas well, but Gan Eden really
stood out because the label hada beautiful garden on the front.
I'm not sure if you've seenthem or if you remember them.
S. Simon Jacob (04:09):
I remember it, I'm a little older than you.
Oh really, that was one of thefirst wines really really
well-made kosher wines that justhad this beautiful distinctive
label.
Yael Geller (04:26):
It's a gorgeous label.
Actually, craig had sent us afew posters of it, but I'm not
sure where they went over time.
This was years ago already.
But we did have them in ourfirst apartment.
So I remember the label verywell and my father was a big fan
of Black Muscat.
That was his go-to wine forKiddush.
It was great.
It was so balanced.
Even in my memories it wasamazing.
(04:48):
I don't know if I would like itnow, probably because Craig
really was a great winemakerback in the day I mean, he
probably still is now too but hewould buy cases upon cases of
it directly from Craig and Craigwould ship it to Scranton,
(05:10):
pennsylvania, which is basicallythe boondocks of nowhere.
And I remember once BlackMusket was out of stock.
So my father bought theGewurztraminer, which was
amazing.
It was so sweet.
I remember it was a sweeterGewurzt, not a dry one, maybe
probably off dry, and that's howit really started for me.
Those are my memories.
We also had a neighbor, a veryelderly neighbor, an old
pediatrician, and they weregetting older and they decided
to sell their house and theyinvited us to come in and they
(05:33):
said you know, anything you wantyou could take.
We're downsizing.
So I went in with my mom anddad.
I'm the youngest of fivechildren and I'm like the real
youngest, like I did all theirfun stuff with them.
I'm like the real youngest,like I did all their fun stuff
with them.
And I remember my father pickingup some really old bottles of
caramel not the 76 that you have, that's like the first one.
That probably tasted good inthe day, but these were like
(05:54):
syrupy awful, I mean oxidized tothe core, definitely older than
me and my dad brought them homeand every week we would open a
different one and that wasinsufferable, but probably
because of the age of the wine.
So those are two very distinctmemories for me in my much
younger years that reallystarted, I would say, the rest
(06:16):
of my life, the rest of my lifein the wine industry, not that
I'm really in it, but you knowI'm living parallel to it.
S. Simon Jacob (06:25):
I would say You're married into it.
Yael Geller (06:27):
Yeah, exactly.
S. Simon Jacob (06:29):
When did it suddenly become you and not your
family's experience?
Yael Geller (06:34):
So I would say that age was definitely a
restriction.
However, every time, me and myfamily me and my parents,
specifically because I'm theyoungest we would go to visit
Israel every couple of years,sometimes every year it really
depends on the year because Ihad siblings who were either
learning in yeshiva or inseminary there.
So we would go to visit Israeland almost every single time my
(06:57):
father would want to book a tripto a winery.
We went to Dalton, we went toYardane I have a few pictures at
Gush and that was really, youknow, we learned about the
process there.
I mean, I'm sure you've been ona zillion wine tours so you
know what the deal is.
But they make it reallykid-friendly.
(07:18):
I was maybe eight on my firsttrip to Israel, maybe seven.
So they make it interactive forkids and there's a lot of
history and they really like tryto engage the whole crowd.
So that's where it reallyreally started.
The tour at Yardane is reallylike life changing.
I really would say that,interestingly enough, because
(07:39):
it's an enormous winery,enormous and it's really geared
towards tourists and they havelike the beautiful displays.
I haven't been there in manyyears.
I would say it's been eightyears since I've been there, but
they have beautiful displaysand I even remember to this day
from you know, from when I waseight years old.
So that kind of got meinterested in the, in the
(08:00):
backstory of the wine, not just,you know, having it at a table.
But there's a lot more to winethan just when you bring it home
on cork it and pour it intoyour glass.
There's a whole history,there's a passion, there's the
stories of the winemakers,there's the stories of the
vineyard and especially Israeliwine is a story of our people
(08:20):
and there's so much more to itthan just drinking it.
S. Simon Jacob (08:25):
It's funny Cause I have never, well not in my
remembrance, visited theArdennes Winery.
Yael Geller (08:35):
Really, isn't that crazy.
You definitely have got to go.
S. Simon Jacob (08:38):
I've gone to all of these little boutique
wineries and some of the bigwineries, but I've never gone to
Ardennes.
So one day, one day soon.
Yael Geller (08:46):
I'm sure that somebody can connect you with
someone there, but it'sfantastic.
They have they kept manybottles from each vintage and
they have them, like thewineries in France, in some sort
of temperature control thingwhere you can look at all the
vintages and they keep them, Iassume, for their anniversary.
(09:07):
You know parties and stuff likethat, but it's really, really
nice.
But when we went eight yearsago, which was the last time I
was in Israel, we had abeautiful tour and we actually
had a tasting in like thechampagne barrel room, which was
very, very exciting, with thewinemaker who makes.
He only made champagne, but notchampagne, but bubbly sparkling
(09:27):
wines.
So definitely worth a shot.
S. Simon Jacob (09:32):
How has your appreciation of kosher wine
evolved over time, because nowyou've got exposure to a lot
more wines.
Yael Geller (09:40):
Yeah, oh, it's changed a lot.
I mean, when I turned 21, thatwas really the time for me to
have the freedom to explore whatwas out there.
Um, there are several winestores that I can think of in my
mind.
Most notably is actually inmuncie, at rockland, kosher,
there's a wine store.
It's still there and the theclerk there or the owner I don't
(10:05):
know if he's the owner or not.
I'm sure if I went to talk tohim today he would not remember
me, but he really guided me onto what I should taste, what I
shouldn't taste, what'sinteresting, what's not, and I
would say that at that time Ihad all the doors open to me.
However, I would say in thelast nine years obviously
(10:27):
marrying Gabriel, who openedmany other doors in a lot of
different ways to kosher winesand to wines that many people
don't have the opportunities andthey do I think that in general
in the last nine years youcould disagree with me, but I
think you will agree with meKosher wine has changed a lot.
(10:49):
It has evolved into somethingthat we can't even harness
anymore, like it's very, veryhard to taste every single
kosher wine that's producedtoday.
So I would say that there wasmy before and my after.
So the before I tried to tastewhat I could and tried to learn
what I liked, and it was justfun, it was a social thing, I
(11:11):
mean.
And then, after we got married,there was, I would say there
was a wine boom, but there wasalso a personal wine boom where
I had access to a lot more thanI did before.
So I would say that it evolveda lot.
The best way.
People are always asking likehow do I learn about wine?
How do I know what's good,what's bad?
(11:33):
Is price a factor?
Is more expensive wine better,things like that?
They're always asking thesequestions and I'm like you know
what.
It just boils down to whoyou're with.
That's my personal opinion andit's like the experience of
connecting to the people thatyou're with over whatever meal
it is or whatever occasion it is, that really changes the
(11:53):
experience.
S. Simon Jacob (11:55):
So it's, it's, it's so, spot on, so true, at
least from my perspective.
The people are what it's allabout.
Um, the wines are wonderful,but they're just facilitators to
connect socially.
Yael Geller (12:09):
It's true.
I mean the truth is that we metyou through wine.
I remember that you came to ourfirst apartment in Cedarhurst
many years ago probably nineyears ago and I remember you
brought Avi with you.
That was not the first time wewas it the first time we met Avi
.
It could be the first time wemet Avi DeVito so I'm sure has
(12:30):
been on your podcast but so manyfriendships and relationships
have blossomed through wine andI mean I married my spouse
through wine, through theconnection of wine on our first
date.
I mean we can recall whatvintage wine we had and all the
special occasions and all thosethings.
So it really does connectpeople and we have friends now
(12:52):
from all over the world.
S. Simon Jacob (12:55):
Tell me about it , because people think that you
know he's the wine guy andyou're just there and I remember
you telling me about a closetyou had in your room and, yeah,
maybe you just want to sharesome things.
Yael Geller (13:11):
Yes, okay.
So after college I was lookingfor a job.
I was living in Queens and Ihad an apartment with a few of
my friends shout out to them,and I had an apartment with a
few of my friends Shout out tothem.
They put up with my wine closetand I had a favorite wine store
which was Suhag Wine andLiquors.
Shout out to them too.
(13:31):
I was probably their bestcustomer at the time and I would
bring wine back to my family inScranton for holidays or if I
went for Shabbos, becausethere's very strict laws in
Pennsylvania about having winesold.
It's a state-run liquor storethat they have there and then
there's some sacramental thingsI'm not quite sure the laws, but
(13:52):
I would bring back wine for,let's say, pesach, like a lot of
wine, and I just got reallyinterested.
I noticed a lot of winespopping up in different regions
and it was just.
There was a lot of selectionthere and I said you know what?
I cannot drink all this wine atonce.
Maybe I'll save some for aspecial occasion or for a
Shabbos when I'm going away.
(14:13):
So I started to collect wine inmy closet, in my clothing
closet, and I would stack it upvery nice and neat and I had
these little shells and that'sreally where it really started
getting crazy.
I had taken a trip to Californiaum, for one of my friends one
of my best friends weddings inLA, and one of the stops that we
(14:34):
made was at Herzog and I hadbought a few like limited
edition Herzogs there.
I had a wine called GPS, whichis no longer in service, but at
the time it was very cool.
We used to have those likeGarmin GPS.
This is so interesting, when isthis?
And I had held that for a whileand I had gone to a wine sale
in Muncie once where Yoshua wasselling his wine.
(14:55):
Yoshua worked.
He used to have a wine tastingevery year, so I would go to
that.
And then one of the wine storesthat I went to in Queens
invited me.
They told me about KFWE, so itwas the first year I was able to
go, because I was 21.
And I went to KFWE the firsttime and I was like this is my
land Like this is my peopleWelcome home, exactly.
(15:17):
I was like I'm so glad he toldme about this, anyways.
So then I started going to thatand like I would meet all these
people and like I just likethere are a few people that
really stick out that I had metat these things.
I had gone to the city winerytasting.
I remember I met Josh Phillipsthere for the first time and I
said and and Haim, who used towork for Moeshi Meyer I forgot
(15:37):
his last name, but I met himthere too and I remember telling
him I need to shit off.
And he's like like, don't worry, we'll find you someone.
Anyways, in that time period,sometime in 2014, 13 to 15,
gabriel was on the other side ofthe universe in his living in
Israel doing his thing andFacebook groups started becoming
(15:57):
very popular.
I noticed a food group aboutrestaurants, which was mildly
interesting to me, but I didn'treally want to join that.
It looked like you know, know,everyone's fighting, like being
annoying and saying food isgross or whatever, and then,
like they suggest groups for youon Facebook.
And then I see like a groupkosher, on sharing and
experiences and I said you know,I'm not going to join the food
group because it came up rightnext to the wine one.
(16:18):
But the wine one looks sointeresting to me because I'm
collecting all this wine.
So I joined that group and,like I don't, you were not in
the group yet.
You did not join the group tilllater.
I remember when you joined thatwas after you had met Gabriel
initially, but there were notmany young single women in that
(16:38):
group.
So almost instantaneously allof the single men started
falling into my inbox, likeevery single single man in that
group and there was like maybe600 members.
There was like it was me andlike Stacy was the other woman
in the group, so obviously I wasthe main target.
So I'm getting a lot ofsolicitations to go on dates and
(17:02):
to share wine and this and that.
And I started sharing mycollection and like asking
people when to drink certainthings, especially that GPS wine
.
And I was a big fan of LouisPascoe's wine.
I bought a lot of that at hisfirst vintage of the Pascoe
project and I had posted that.
But I was getting a lot ofattention from everyone, like
every single male that was inthat group at that time fell
(17:23):
into my inbox.
But Gabriel was one of them andI kept thinking, ah, these guys
, they're all such creeps.
I'm not hanging out with any ofthem, I'm not meeting them, I'm
going to continue on my course,you know, going on my set
updates and you know whatever.
But Gabriel was prettypersistent and he was also, you
know, refined.
Let's just leave it at that, yes, he is, and he would.
(17:47):
He would talk to me.
You know, he would wish me goodShabbos.
I remember it was like beforethe Israeli election.
He was saying, oh, I just gotup, I went to vote.
It's very important to me Justsharing like little bits about
him, sharing what he's drinking,where he's going, what he's
doing.
And I at the time I didn'treally think much of it because
I was, I don't know.
I was busy, I was relativelyyoung, I was doing my thing, I
(18:09):
was busy with school, I had afull-time job.
At the time, I was living inNew York, you know.
I had it going and then, afterseveral months this was probably
like March he suggested thathe's going to come to America
and he wanted to meet me and Iwas like, oh no, like this is
going to be a disaster, likethis guy I mean I hope he's
(18:33):
making a trip to America anywayslike coming to be a tourist and
not, like you know, puttingeverything into dating me
because I don't know anythingabout him.
He's a foreigner like we had.
We could not find it.
I personally was like I need tofind someone in common with him
to make sure he's not a serialkiller.
Eventually, we did find severalpeople in common though, which
(18:53):
is interesting, that's a veryinteresting story.
But I said, you know, I isinteresting, that's a very
interesting story.
But I said, you know, I'mfinishing my master's degree in
June.
Come after I submit, you know,the last of my papers and go to
graduation, and then we'll,we'll, we'll meet, you know.
And he said, okay, gave me histicket information.
And then it came the end ofJune and he texted me okay, I'm
(19:16):
coming, you know, next week,tuesday, I'm landing, or
Wednesday, or whatever.
And then it came the end ofJune and he texted me okay, I'm
coming, you know, next weekTuesday, I'm landing, or
Wednesday, or whatever.
And then, like literally like ashe landed, he's like okay, I'm
here, I'm ready to meet.
I'm like what Now?
I just got home from work, like, can I go take a shower?
Like I don't know, can I, youknow, clean myself up a little
bit?
I used to work in a hospital,so that was kind of important to
(19:37):
like clean myself up and makesure that I was ready for this.
Like you know, we've beenleading up to this and I I
really didn't think much of it,but anyways, I said, you know
what let's, let's you know.
Pause a little bit and go to.
Let's meet up tomorrow fordinner.
And he said okay, that's fine.
S. Simon Jacob (20:11):
I'm in Queens, I was excited to meet up and talk
to you in person and all thesethings, and that's a serious guy
.
And I think he saw anotherserious wine woman.
Wow, that's like hard to find awoman who knows anything about
wine.
I mean, I don't want to sayanything bad about women,
(20:32):
because we have a lot of womenwho follow my podcast now, in
those days, it was very rare tohave a person who knew anything
about wine, let alonehistorically, kosher wine, which
is like crazy that you had ahistory of kosher wine, which is
amazing.
Yael Geller (20:52):
Yeah, definitely All right.
S. Simon Jacob (20:57):
How about the wine group?
Now?
You're now kind of one of theadministrators, the
administrator, I think.
I don't know if anybody elsehas time to do it, and I know
you don't, but you still do.
Yael Geller (21:10):
No, I'm not as active as I was, time
constraints.
I have a six-month-old baby andwe also have a three year old
and a seven year old boy.
So that's very busy and wereally fell out of posting a lot
.
But we're going to try torevive it if we have anything
interesting, which I tried to doa couple of weeks ago.
So the wine group it just grewand grew and grew.
(21:32):
I think culture in the Orthodoxcommunity and the non-Orthodox
community, but in the koshercommunity, has really changed a
lot in the last, I'll say, 10years.
People are much more interestedin higher end things.
They're interested in culture.
They're not, you know, drinkingKing David or Manischewitz
anymore.
For kiddish, like you know,people are like although we are
(21:56):
having a move back to likemanischewitz, matzo balls.
But but for wine people areinterested in home cooking, you
know, fancy meats, curing theirown.
They're interested in, likeartisanal things and wine has
just gone with that too, andwith that our wine group really
has exploded.
So Gabriel took me on, I want tosay, maybe a year after we got
(22:20):
married, because he needed help.
He has two wine groups, one andhe manages it.
He managed it with other people, but they're also very busy
with their own businesses etc.
There's a French group I'm notquite sure, because I don't ever
look at it anymore.
It doesn't really pop up on myfeed.
I'm not quite sure, because Idon't ever look at it anymore.
It doesn't really pop up on myfeed.
But he took me in and then weadded we added Aaron Hollander
(22:42):
to be also a moderator and wedid yeah, and it's I think it's
close to eight thousand peoplein the English speaking group.
Crazy, it's a lot of people.
And you know there are peoplewho post a lot and then there
are random people who arelooking for something.
Or every once in a while I seein another group that someone's
looking for a recommendationabout wine and I'll tag the
(23:04):
group to add them to the group.
Um, so then we get like aninflux of like five or ten
people that saw it in anothergroup and that's how things grow
in social media.
And, um, that's basically whathappened.
Um, in the beginning I reallytook no prisoners.
I believe one of thejournalists wrote an article
about gabrielle and he discussedit and he's like she takes no
(23:24):
prisoners.
You know, I don't have time tolike pick apart the wine.
I want to enjoy it.
I want it to taste good.
Once in a while I want to havea bad wine because you know, if
you have only good wines, youhave nothing to compare it to
Like.
I want my wine to be corkedsometimes so that I remember
what it's like, but basicallyjust making sure that everyone's
(23:47):
behaving in the group whichmost people do and trying to
give suggestions.
People want to know when toopen wines.
You know how it is.
Everyone has a question.
S. Simon Jacob (23:56):
Yeah, are there any?
Okay, now I'm going to ask youa loaded question.
Go ahead.
Have you ever had to moderate acontroversial or divisive topic
?
Yael Geller (24:09):
um, I wouldn't say that I leave that to me.
I usually ask gabriel ifsomething, if I see something
that's not, either people arenot acting nicely to each other
or someone brings it to myattention which happened, which
used to happen a lot.
It happens once in a while here, here and there, but for the
most part people people behaveand if something really is not
(24:31):
okay, I make gabriel deal withit.
You know, kind of like if ananimal goes through your garbage
, you're not going out to pickit up.
You make your husband take careof that.
Certain things you let the daddeal with or the man of the
house.
I agree.
S. Simon Jacob (24:49):
Can you share a really particularly interesting
or compelling story that camefrom the group?
Do you remember any specificstory that was just really cool
or compelling?
Yael Geller (25:04):
Um, uh, this one, I have to think.
S. Simon Jacob (25:10):
I didn't give you any heads up on these.
Yael Geller (25:12):
I know I'm trying to think of something specific.
I can say that a lot of therelationships have become very
close.
It's interesting when you livein a metropolitan area.
People pass through here a lot,through this area a lot, and
(25:33):
some of my neighbors or friendswho come over or whatever, they
can't believe that we havewinemakers at our table several
times a year or staying with usor stopping in.
So that's kind of interestingin terms of relationships.
But a specific I can't think ofanything.
S. Simon Jacob (25:56):
I can't think of anything.
No, you know, you're 100% rightabout being in the center,
because I feel like I'm in thecenter, being in Jerusalem,
there is almost nobody who'sJewish who doesn't come through
here sometime, that's very true.
Some people come through muchmore often and what have you?
Much more often and what haveyou and this wine, the wine
(26:17):
groups have just snowballedfriendships that are just
amazing Friendships in England,the whole UK group of people,
all the people across the UnitedStates like Jerry Parnas is
(26:38):
just a doll.
There's all sorts of people whoI've become super close with
who come through Israel and stopby and we have dinner and what
have you and, truthfully, thewinemakers are unbelievable
group of people.
Yael Geller (26:55):
They're so sweet winemakers are unbelievable
group of people.
They're so sweet.
I think what struck me asreally interesting when I
married Gabriel especially, isthat the winemakers I don't know
you think of celebrities liketotally untouchable but the
winemakers are within less thanone degree of separation from us
in the kosher industry, whichis very interesting, meaning
(27:18):
like they're accessible.
Like if I want to ask Amichai aquestion and I don't know him
and I'm not related to Gabriel,let's say, in this scenario it's
very easy to get in touch withhim and I'm talking about
Amichai from Shiloh for anyonewho is not in the wine sphere.
S. Simon Jacob (27:35):
Sorry, yeah, you're right, amichai Luria, I
should clarify.
Yael Geller (27:38):
And you know it's everyone.
It's Louis Pascoe who is at mytable.
It's Etty from Carmel.
Stops in she.
You know my kids love her, butthey're so accessible to
everyone it's not just for theVIPs, you know, right.
So that is very interestingbecause I think in the outside
world it would be very unusualfor a regular consumer to meet a
(28:01):
winemaker and like know thatthey're at someone's house in,
for example, for a dinner orsomething like that alicia will
comes to mind as well, because,um, she's awesome, she's just
she's amazing.
Did you have her on your podcast, I think you did I?
I talked to her quite often,mostly not about wine.
(28:23):
I consider her one of my veryclose friends and I I've said to
her and I've actually said toetsy as well that we should have
some sort of alliance of womenin the kosher wine industry.
It would be very interesting toget us together and just hang
out, talk about ideas, somethinglike that, because there are a
lot of women in this industrythat are kind of I don't want to
(28:45):
say they're in the shadows, buta really good example a couple
of years ago we went toBarcelona and we went to Elby I.
I had no idea that that David'smom and and Moses's wife, anna,
is the actual winemaker ofClomazora.
I had no idea.
S. Simon Jacob (29:06):
I felt really like totally dumb but she's the
one making the wine, and thesister is now too.
Yael Geller (29:15):
Yeah, and I met her actually last year.
She came into Inglewood for atasting and for KFWE, so I
actually got to meet her.
But I was like how do we notknow that?
S. Simon Jacob (29:26):
Because they're so nice and they're so central
to the marketing part of it thatyou don't see that in the
background and they're reallyspecial.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
There is a difference betweenthe way men and women approach
wine and I think it's pertinentto have a connection among the
(29:49):
ladies.
Yes, I definitely think so.
I think it's actually good andthere are more and more and more
wine people who are female, whoare involved in what have you,
so it's becoming really special.
(30:10):
In fact, they kind of like theway men some men used to drag
their wives to these winetastings.
There's a number of women whodrag their spouses, their
husbands, to these wine tastings.
Yael Geller (30:23):
Yeah.
S. Simon Jacob (30:26):
They bear with it, they're nice, they're
friendly.
Just a couple more questionsand I promise I'll let you go.
Have you noticed a differencein preferences?
Have you seen preferenceschanging in the wine industry
over the last few years?
Yael Geller (30:43):
I would say it depends on the person.
I don't want to be super snobby, but there's a lot of wealth
that we see growing in ourcommunity in general, that we
see growing in our community ingeneral, and people are willing
to spend a lot more money onluxuries like wine.
It goes in flux with theeconomy, obviously, but I see a
(31:07):
lot more, especially in theultra-Orthodox community,
spending a lot of money on wineand they're buying a lot
higher-end wines, which iswonderful for the industry, um,
especially if they're using itin a very nice way for a simcha
or kiddish or bris or somethinglike that.
So I I will say that that hasdefinitely changed a lot.
(31:29):
Um, I think that in terms oflike trends, overall, people are
interested in different wines.
It used to be that we would goto a wine tasting I'm sure
you've heard this many timesLike someone comes up to you or
in the store even they don'tusually come up to me, but I
usually tell them what I think.
Anyways, they come up to youand say, oh, can you tell me the
(31:51):
best Cabernet?
Now, cabernet is silky.
It always will be, but thereare so many different varieties
and blends and white wines whichare amazing.
I mean we had a Sauvignon Blanclast week.
It was reminiscent of theSancerre that we had together
many times at Noble.
S. Simon Jacob (32:09):
Wow, I miss that bottle of Sancerre desperately.
Every time people bring out asancerre, I go yes and no, no
but this was close.
Yael Geller (32:21):
It was the chateau olivier.
Okay, you'll get it, butanyways I I gabriel's doing the
same thing to me, because I donot really like savio monk that
much.
I'm okay with it.
It's not my favorite whitevarietal at all, um, and every
time there's a lot of newSanceres coming out and they
cannot hold a candle to thatbottle that we shared many times
(32:44):
together.
S. Simon Jacob (32:44):
I know, I just you know.
You've got that in your memory.
Yael Geller (32:48):
And it is a real memory for wines.
S. Simon Jacob (32:50):
I don't, but that wine sticks in my memory.
Yael Geller (32:53):
Yeah, there are some wines like that that you
cannot.
And, by the way, it's not justthe wine.
It was the occasions that wedrank it, and there was one time
where he found one somewhere.
Do you remember this?
It was open.
And we drank it together.
S. Simon Jacob (33:10):
It was amazing.
It was still good.
Wow, it is.
It's absolutely crazy.
It's absolutely crazy.
I find that all the time thesedays with some of the special
wines that I drank, likeIacovorius O Muscatier.
Yael Geller (33:29):
Definitely we didn't discuss them, but
definitely.
S. Simon Jacob (33:32):
Yeah.
Yael Geller (33:33):
Those wines, I mean , we did a tasting with him.
Supposedly he's coming here atsome point soon and if he
doesn't come visit me I'm goingto be very insulted.
So, yakov, if you're listening,you better come here, because
we have a very long historytogether and he went to Yeshiva
in Scranton and my parentsremember him.
S. Simon Jacob (33:51):
Really.
Yael Geller (33:51):
So yes.
S. Simon Jacob (33:53):
Wow, I didn't know that at all.
Yael Geller (33:55):
Yes, what happened was they modernized their last
name to orion, but I think Iforgot what the original is.
He'll tell you.
But yes, so we have a differentconnection besides her wine.
But I really would love to seehim.
And his wife is wonderful also.
I would love to see her tooshe's great um, right, but his.
There's something so like youcan't even describe the old
(34:20):
Musketeer I mean like it's justlike a, it's like an out-of-body
experience, almost.
S. Simon Jacob (34:26):
The maple syrup, but liquefied.
I have no idea, you know, whenI tell people that and they go,
yeah, right, okay, you know,it's one of these sweet dessert
wines.
Yael Geller (34:36):
No.
S. Simon Jacob (34:37):
And they drink it and their eyes light up and
they go.
I gave it to somebody at mydaughter's wedding.
I had a couple of bottles at mydaughter's wedding.
Yael Geller (34:46):
By the way, the pictures were amazing it was a
lot of fun.
S. Simon Jacob (34:49):
We had a blast.
Especially, we had some greatwines.
Yael Geller (34:53):
And the Kiddush cup was really.
I mean you should bring that asyour guest on the podcast.
S. Simon Jacob (35:00):
We used that for Brissim.
I found that custom from one ofthe Rebbeim I knew here, I know
here, and he used it for hisson's Brit.
It holds a magnum, it holds ohreally, yeah, it holds two full
bottles.
Wow, I thought one bottle, butyou can't really tell from the
picture Two full bottles and heused it at his son's Brit and
(35:23):
then he used it at the wedding,and it's so Wow To carry
something along that way.
So I said I've got to get oneof these and I've got to do this
from now on.
So that's what I've been doing.
Yael Geller (35:33):
I'm pretty sure that the rabbi of my parents'
town has one of those for KosEliyahu on Pesach, something
like that.
I think that's some sort oftradition as well.
S. Simon Jacob (35:44):
To have a bigger kos, but it's super.
There are some preferences thatseem to be changing here that
I've noticed, and it might bebecause of the warmer climate,
where people were focused onreds and especially cabs.
I've noticed that a lot ofpeople have started focusing on
lighter wines, like Grenachesand Pinot Noirs and what have
(36:11):
you, and also whites.
Yael Geller (36:14):
I am here for that.
I love that.
First of all, pinot is probablymy favorite varietal of all
time, even though I love blendsand I love Bordeaux's and I love
certain Israeli wines anddessert wines and I love bubbly
wines, I really do.
Um, we need to explore thoselighter bodied reds right um,
(36:35):
gamay pino, you know, we have alot of burgundies now that we
did not have 10 years ago.
Um, actually, I remember wewere in the delivery room and I
was getting ready and I said itwas Thursday and I said to
Gabriel, what if I, what if Idon't end up going home for
Shabbos?
You know?
S. Simon Jacob (36:54):
nobody brought me wine.
Yael Geller (36:55):
You better bring me that pomade, the 2015,.
I've been wanting to open itforever and my doctor looks at
me like I'm crazy and she's likeis this what you're really
thinking about?
Yes, it is, and yes, yes it is.
Yes, I waited nine months forthis Right, so he ended up
finding it, by the way, and wedrank it on Hanukkah.
(37:16):
That's great.
But Pinot, yeah, I feel like itwas an untapped not totally
untapped, because I really likedthe Hagafe and Pinot back in
the day.
Even now I tasted a recentvintage of it and I was like,
wow, it's back.
It's back to what it was.
S. Simon Jacob (37:36):
But that was also one of my favorite wines
for a very long time.
I also love their label on theHagafe.
The labels were the absolutelybeautiful grape leaves that were
kind of designed and etched in.
It was cool, very cool yeah.
Yael Geller (37:50):
I actually did visit Hugguff and Winery a long
time ago.
I forgot to mention that Ithink I went there in 2008,.
I want to say I took a tripwith my friends to California
and they actually hosted usthere and we had a wonderful
tasting there.
But we also had a wonderfulvintage bubbly there, a
(38:14):
sparkling wine which was thepre-line, which they only sell
at the winery, I think, or aspart of the wine club Right.
So that was also another memory.
S. Simon Jacob (38:26):
That's also here All of a sudden.
I have no idea why.
There's a whole bunch ofwineries that are now making
bubblies which are so much moredifficult to make, take so much
more time and effort thananything else, but they're
wonderful.
I mean, every just.
Who's making new bubblies inIsrael?
(38:48):
Kasagot makes one, kastel makesone, yaakov Uria makes one.
Yael Geller (38:53):
Right Raziel is also one.
I guess that's the Kastel one.
S. Simon Jacob (38:57):
That's the Kastel one, no, but actually.
Well, it is the Kastel one, butKastel makes a rosé version and
a regular version.
Yael Geller (39:03):
And I think Matar made one.
No, Matar.
S. Simon Jacob (39:06):
Yes, I think Matar made one.
No, matar, yes, matar, Ibelieve.
Yael Geller (39:08):
Did they as?
S. Simon Jacob (39:08):
well, yes, but they're a whole bunch, they're
proliferating and, wow, peopleare not taking the easy path,
because that is.
Yael Geller (39:20):
Yeah, it's hard to be Intensive.
S. Simon Jacob (39:24):
It's so much hands-on, intensive to create
that stuff it's crazy.
So well, it's fun.
I miss you guys.
I really miss you.
I miss coming over for dinnerand I miss you guys coming to us
for Shabbat and I really pleaseGod, in the future, look
forward to doing something wherewe get together.
Yael Geller (39:46):
I hope so.
I mean, I know it's been awhile since you've been back
here and I haven't made it toIsrael in quite a long time.
I've been a little busy andCOVID et cetera.
But um, next time you're intown you know where we live.
S. Simon Jacob (40:00):
I really look forward, but I, I, I don't, um,
I don't want to leave Israelduring the war and I hear that I
really do?
So many kids here now and somany grandkids here.
Yael Geller (40:13):
It's wonderful.
S. Simon Jacob (40:15):
All right, thank you.
Thank you for being on theKosher Tehran and being able to
come on.
Yael Geller (40:19):
Thank you for having me.
I look forward to coming back.
S. Simon Jacob (40:22):
Yes, I look forward to.
I want to discuss some hardcorewine stuff with you, but I
wanted to at least get anintroduction to who Yael Geller
is, because I don't think peopleunderstand that at all and they
don't understand that one ofGabriel's secret weapons in wine
is you.
Yael Geller (40:42):
I don't know about that.
It's interesting because peopleprobably we were discussing
this a couple of weeks ago.
Gabriel had done a series ofevents, wine events and someone
commented I also write articlesabout wine.
We didn't discuss that, but Ihelp him out and I freelance for
him, basically, you know, forRoyal, and he takes care of
(41:04):
distributing it because that'spart of his job.
But someone mentioned to him atone of the guests at the dinner
you know, I love your wife'sarticles and I said someone
actually likes them and readthem and pays attention to them.
And I said you know, it's sofunny.
They probably think like ourwhole life is centered around
wine.
But really we're just tworegular people.
(41:24):
But we definitely discuss theins and outs of certain things
in wine, you know, as part ofour every day, but we're just
like everybody else.
S. Simon Jacob (41:37):
Yeah, but you know what?
There's very few people thatyou could sit down and discuss
some of the nuances of wine, andand Gabriel is a special person
he's got incredible taste 100%as do you, and it's very hard to
find you know a pair of peoplewho could really discuss those
sort of things.
I mean, I've seen it sitting atyour dining table and having you
(42:01):
know the conversation go aroundthe table between all the
people and seeing the two of youand it's really special, it's
definitely a pleasure to hosteveryone and anyone who comes
through, from our group, fromour group's friends and the
winemakers.
Yael Geller (42:21):
It's really an honor to have people stop in.
One thing that I always say toGabriel is we have this house so
that we can be accommodating toour friends and to people who
need a warm meal when they'retraveling from Israel or want
company and a homemade dinnerwhen they're here, you know, on
(42:42):
business or visiting or whateverit is from our world.
And you know I always remindhim that even at the drop of a
hat we're always open to havingpeople.
So anyone out there who istraveling here and loves wine,
please get in touch with us.
S. Simon Jacob (42:58):
Okay, good, thank you, I'll make sure.
I'll make sure we push it, butthank you.
Thank you so much, and please.
Regards to Gabriel.
Yael Geller (43:07):
And regards to all our friends who we haven't seen
in a while too Pierre, I seeAmikai, I see Etty, you know.
S. Simon Jacob (43:15):
Stacy Jacob, Stacy right.
Yael Geller (43:16):
Stacy I saw two weeks ago.
She came here.
S. Simon Jacob (43:19):
Yeah, love to have her back.
Yael Geller (43:21):
Okay, shalom and bravo, bye.
S. Simon Jacob (43:36):
This is Simon Jacob, again your host of
today's episode of the KosherTerroir.
I have a personal request.
No matter where you are orwhere you live, please take a
moment to pray for our soldiers'safety and the safe and rapid
return of our hostages.
For our soldiers' safety andthe safe and rapid return of our
hostages, please subscribe viayour podcast provider to be
informed of our new episodes asthey are released.
If you are new to the KosherTerroir, please check out our
(44:00):
many past episodes.
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