Exporting Brand Israel w/ Josh Greenstein, IWPA

Even though it has been making wine for nearly 5 millenia, Israel is a wine region still finding its way in modern times.  Josh Greenstein, Director of the Israeli Wine Producers Association (“IWPA”), is on a mission to promote “Brand Israel,” which is all about new discoveries.  From winemaker stories to creating new grape varieties to mimic the descriptions in The Bible, Israel is making its mark on the global wine scene.  Detailed Show Notes: Josh’s background: 5th generation in the wine business, including NY liquor stores and distributionIsraeli Wine Producers Association overview~40 wineries (of 450 total) are membersMission is to promote “Brand Israel”Founded by the Herzog family, of importer Royal Wine CorpFunded by the wineries and Royal Wine CorpIsraeli wine overviewMaking wine for ~5,000 yearsWines were exported to the RomansGrowing Israeli food scene has helpedGrape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, many others including ancient grapes and new grapes, e.g. - Argaman, a genetically engineered crossing of Carignan and Souzao, designed to have a “crimson” color as referenced in The BibleClimate: lots of micro-climates, Mediterranean climate, lots of farmingSoil types: varied, including volcanic, terra rosa, limestoneTends to be tech forward in farming and winemaking practicesWine consumption in IsraelGrowing, consume most of domestically produced wineBig use for religious purposesCreated wine tourism industry to grow wine knowledge in the countryUS is #1 export market by far, majority in the NE (top markets - NY, NJ, Miami (fastest growing), LA, Chicago, TX); followed by Canada, Europe, South AmericaTotal Wine has an Israeli wine section different from Kosher section“Brand Israel”About discovery, stories of the wineries and something differentGood QPRConnects to multiple religions (e.g. - Easter is a large wine consumption event and Easter is about Israel)People often respond saying “Israel makes wine?” (e.g. - at South Beach Food & Wine)All wines in the group are kosher, but kosher is not the focus, just a beneficial attributeJudaism has lots of holiday and events with wine integrated (e.g. - Shabbat)Majority of Israeli wine sales in the US are off-premise, trying to push more on-premiseIsraeli politics can go both ways, some people don’t buy and others want to support Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.