Passover

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Wine

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The E xod us

Anna Hardwood
Special to the Jewish News

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New Israeli wines
for Pesach.

So great was the vine's importance that place
names throughout Israel make reference to it.

very year the Passover story is
retold in households around the
world. We tell the story of the
exodus from Egypt accompanied by four
cups of wine and end by toasting to "Next
Year in Jerusalem!"
Providing a twist on the traditional
story, let's investigate how wine united
ancient Egypt and Israel and provide
some suggestions as to how your wine
choice can reflect these ancient vino-
loving cultures.

Wine In Ancient Egypt

Wine in the Bible is first mentioned
when Noah plants a vineyard following
the great flood with less-than-positive
results; while in ancient Egypt, wine was
seen as Divine and was the beverage of
the elite. Some of the earliest historical
sources attesting to the presence of the
vine in ancient Israel come from ancient
Egyptian inscriptions thus linking these
two cultures even before a Hebrew pres-
ence was described in Egypt.
The ancient Egyptians imported wine
and olive oil from Israel and told of
ancient Israel having "wine more plenti-
ful than water:' This trade between the
two nations was necessary as wine pro-
duction in ancient Egypt is only recorded
to have begun in later times.
It has been credited to the "Apirou"
people, who scholars claim to be the
"Hebrews:' as being the specialized wine
makers of ancient Egypt. Mural paint-
ings around the tomb of Amenhotep II,
in the 14th century BCE, portray these
"Hebrews" pressing grapes by foot. A

34 March 14 • 2013

An ancient winepress at Yiron Vineyard (Byzantine era)

scene titled "Wine from the Vineyard
of the Roads of Horus" illustrates men
decanting wine at an intersection located
relatively close to southern Israel.
By the 19th dynasty of Pharaohs (11th
century BCE), wine had become far more
commonplace amongst the nobility, and
there are records of ships bringing in
wine for the Egyptians in large quantities.
Ramses II ruled during this dynasty, and
he is most widely cited as the Pharaoh of
the Jewish Exodus from Egypt.

The Exodus
Following the 10 plagues and a hasty

retreat, the Jews left Egypt and eventually
arrived in ancient Israel. Winemaking
continued on a comparatively small scale
in ancient Egypt — but it was in ancient
Israel that it really thrived. Entering the
Holy Land, the Israelites found it to be
blessed with the seven species, includ-
ing the vine, and they were instructed by
God to cultivate the vineyards. The vine
was a symbol of peace, tranquility and
safety, and the prophets Isaiah, Amos
and Ezekiel all give instructions as to the
propagation and growth of vineyards.
So great was the vine's importance that
place names throughout ancient Israel

make reference to viticulture, including
Mount Carmel (Hill of the Vineyard of
God) and Nahal Sorek (River of the Vine
Tendril).
Winemaking flourished in the Second
Temple period, and the historian
Josephus Flavius (37 C.E-95 C.E) wrote
of the Galilee, in the north, as produc-
ing "fruits in a wondrous manner?' He
described the vine and the fig as "the
kings of all the fruit trees" and to this
day, archeological ruins of wine presses
are found scattered across northern
Israel, Israel's winemaking capital.
Shipments of wine to Egypt from
ancient Israel are recorded in Greek man-
uscripts as occurring biannually, but both
Egypt and Israel's wine pro-
duction almost completely
ceased with the Arab con-
quest in the 7th century
CE. The conquest brought
Islamic rule to the region,
forbidding the consump-
tion of wine and the vine-
yards were uprooted.

Drinking Like The
Ancients
With the resurrection
of Israel's flourish-
ing wine industry,
this Passover it is
possible to return
to wine's ancient
Middle Eastern roots
and serve four wines
reminiscent of these
bygone days. Not only
providing an interest-
ing talking point at
Seder night, these

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