Private Blind Wine Tasting: Tel Aviv, Israel

Date: jeudi 7 feverier 2012
Location:  Private residence in Tel Aviv, Israel

One of my favorite things in life is enjoying intimate dinners with dearest friends around the world, over exquisite wines, delicious food (good food, not necessarily fancy), and chatting over worldly conversation through a minimum 3 hour affair.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am passionate about food and wine.  When I completed my Diageo project last year, my girlfriend/colleague Oihana in Madrid exclaimed to me, "Soledad!  We will really miss you and your crazy obsession with food, wines, trips..... hahahaha!"  And I was to miss them greatly too, for I had spent a year with the Madrid and Milan team. There was no shortage of European wine lovers to share and appreciate a glass of wine or digestif with while we collaborated chaotically over countless hours of challenging integration work late into the nights (while snacking on jamon and gruyere ham paninis!).  2010-2011 was my year of Euro. 

So, I moved to Israel with hopes of continuing this Soledad lifestyle.  I'd thus far taken it with me everywhere I already jet-setted to anyway, professionally packed away into my suitcase, so there was no reason to think it wouldn't continue.  In a nutshell, this meant a lifestyle of having rapid access to my hand picked Master Sommelier selections of wines in my San Francisco wine cellar (http://www.pwmwine.com/), having the luxuries that come wth living a bicoastal life in San Francisco and New York City (Blue Bottle Coffee, Cafe Grumpy, lots of great sushi!), and  partaking in many weekend jaunts to Paris or London for focused food and wine explorations.  All activities centered around easy accessibility to a very important component in my livelihood:  a diverse range of foods and wines at my fingertips. 

Not knowing what to expect other than being hopeful and positive about the local food and wine culture, I spent the first three months in Israel almost becoming a teetotaler.  With much frustration and denial, I finally accepted the fact I just couldn't get my hands on "my" kinds of wines.  German and Austrian Reislings, French Chardonnays and Pinots from around the periphery of the Alps, and Italian wines of the same character.  On the contrary, what I did have a lot of at my disposal was an abundance of heavy purple grape juice at 15% abv and up.  I felt as of my hands were tied.  My dear somm friends out there, you know this cringe.  The one that punches you in the mouth, leaving your teeth looking like they were stained from sucking on a heavy cheap dye purple sno-cone all summer long.

Fast forward a few short months through acclimitizing to a new country and culture, I was finally introduced to a fantastic wine tasting and eating partner - one that I liken to my kind of palate from my SF/NYC/Asian and European roots.  Luckily for me, he was of French decent (j'aime!), grew up locally in Tel Aviv, lived in Paris for many years, shared the same affinity for Old World wines (finally, someone in Israel who understands my palate!), and perhaps most importantly, he was generous enough to make some time for me and share some wine.  Little did I know, as I later came to find, that he was also the European GM for Riedel for many years (*gasp* proper stemware!) and also the founder of the Israel Academy of Wine.  Alright, so I was quickly humbled when I soon realized that I was in better hands than expected (*blushing!*).

And so began the thankful continuation of bridging previous Soledad lifestyle into the new-old Middle East, with support from those in the know.  It also happened to by my birthday week (yippee~!) which coincided with a fortuitous invitation to their private blind wine tasting gathering that same week.  Each person brings a wine they find interesting, cover the bottle with foil, and we go around slowly blind tasting and guessing where the wine is from and the vintage.  Yeah, just like in the movies.  I was the most novice in the room, instead of the smarty pants.  :) 

Below is just an idea of hopefully what is more to come.  :)  Oh, and I think I got the yellow card this time.  Shall redeem myself next time, luckily I think future invitations have not been revoked yet!

Other notable moments in Soledad's traveling wine blogs with my mentors!

1 Somm, 1 Master Somm, 1 Eve in NYC; 11 fevrier 2011:
http://soledad-bleu-etoile.blogspot.com/2011/02/1-somm-1-master-somm-1-eve-in-nyc-11.html

Bourgogne - Cotes de Nuits, Seju Yang's Monthly Wine Tasting: NYC:
http://soledad-bleu-etoile.blogspot.com/2011/02/bourgogne-cotes-de-nuits-seju-yangs.html