Lunch at the Hans Sternbach Winery

Last Shabbat afternoon, I went with my family to visit the Hans Sternbach winery. The winerey is owned and operated by Gadi Sternbach and his wife Shula Yefet in Givat -Yeshaayahu (about 10 minutes from Bet Shemesh, and 40 minutes from Jerusalem), and is named for Gadi's father.

The laid-back, authentically Israeli feel of the Hans Sternbach Winery could make it an interesting stop for your Green Bar or bat mitzva tour.

The winery overlooks a magnificent view of the hills of Judea and particularly of the Hakhlil valley and the Janaba vineyard (the winery's principal vineyard). Nearby are thousands of extremely well preserved caves built between the 4th century BC and the 6th century AD. They served as cisterns and storage rooms, dove cots and stables, oil presses, wineries and quarries. The most noteworthy of these caves are found at the Bet-Guvrin National Park.

In the past several years the winery has begun to win medals for their wines, and the location is well known for producing some of Israel's best wines. One could spend a full and tipsy day of wine tasting by visiting many wineries in the area.

Gadi and Shula are long time members of the "Slow Food" movement, hence the vineyard is organically fertilized, the use of pesticides, herbicides and artificial irrigation is reduced to a minimum and the grapes are grown nearby. In the making of the wine there is no use made of the manipulations, common in the "food industry". The cuisine of the restaurant is local, using, as much as possible, local products, wild plants and crops of the restaurant's garden. The employees are fairly treated and decently paid.

The winery restaurant is suited for small family lunches or dinners (not kosher). There is a large vine covered perugala (seats over 200 people) for larger events. The winery and restaurant is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to the departure of the last customer. Please call in advance for weekday visits.

Contact Gadi at Hans Sternbach Vineyard, 83 Giv'at-Yehsha'ayahu, 99825 D.N. Emek-Haela
Tel: +972-(02)-9990162; Mobile: +972-(52)-3859926; Fax: +972-(02)-9911703
e-mail: sk-Gadi@zahav.net.il

Into the Desert -- The Glass Museum and Kibbutz Lotan

Most bar and bat mitzvah tours in Israel are so busy seeing the sites in Jerusalem and the center of the country, that the Negev is written off the itinerary -- considered " too far" or "too remote" for a short family visit to Israel. That is a shame, because the Negev offers so much, especially for the eco-tourist.


One place that I am looking forward to visiting on my next trip South is the the Glass Art Museum in Arad. It is always difficult to balance the needs of all the members any tour group, but the location -Arad is a city not far from the Dead Sea and Massada - and the unusual integration of ecology and art, offers something for almost everyone. The resident artist, Gideon Fridman, creates in recycled glass, and more than 30 glass artists from around Israel are presently showing their work in the museum. Check out their beautiful website at http://www.warmglassil.com/

Further south, just outside Eilat in the Arava Desert is Kibbutz Lotan http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/ This kibbutz, was founded by members from the Reform youth movement and is part of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, The Collective Stream of the Kibbutz Movement and the "Green Kibbutz" group. Lotan offers an amazing array of green programming for groups and individuals, green leisure activities and lodging. More about this on my next post....