I have had for some time now the great pleasure of knowing one of the front-line heroes pushing forward the re-emergence of the Israeli wine world in the US.

His name is Jim Veal and he is the Director of Trade and Investment Promotion for the Government of Israel’s Economic Office in Houston.

He works tirelessly to re-brand Israeli wines in the minds of everyone he meets. He understands the power of wine to bring people together from different backgrounds and countries.

I recently sat with him for an interview so you could get to know him a bit like I have. Here’s how our chat went:

Tell us about yourself… and the Israeli govt agency you work for… and your role there?

I came into my position with Israel after thirty years in the software business, the last few of which, I was fortunate enough to represent cutting edge Israeli niche software companies. I learned to love the spirit and drive of the Israeli people, and the determination to be the best at every endeavor, but it is their creativity and innovation that fascinated me the most, and as I worked in that environment, I learned many things most Americans are not aware of. For example, over 80% of the medical devices in use in American hospitals have an Israeli thumbprint on them somewhere. Most of us have a friend or loved one that was treated, perhaps even saved, by innovative Israeli technology. We need to all know that. We need to know that Israel is an integral part of our lives, on a day to day basis, in an extremely positive way, across many industries. In my role today as Director of Trade with the Israeli Government Economic Office, I am charged with the responsibility of developing cooperation and collaboration between American and Israeli businesses, where it makes sense, and where it is a win for all concerned. This is literally the most fun and most meaningful thing I have ever done in my life.

Israel make great wines, world class wines, but who knows this? Not many today, but that is changing. That creative and innovative spirit of the Israeli people has merged with the old world art of fine winemaking, and in a short period of time, the Israeli winemaking community has grown and improved dramatically, and they now pour wonderful wines, of many varieties, comparable in quality to the finest wines available. For me it is a very personal thing. I love wine. It starts there, but the importance of wine goes far beyond my personal enjoyment of its consumption! Wine is the only beverage that is alive in the bottle, that grows and changes over time, that truly has a spiritual significance. Wine originated from the area that is now Israel, thousands of years ago. In my Christian faith, it was wine that Christ said was his own blood. This was said at the last Supper which was actually a Jewish Seder. While skill and technology and love go into making fine wine, at the end of the day, the ultimate result of the winemaking process is controlled by the Earth and the Sky, not man. Wine links us all through history, Faith, friendship and fun, and in simple terms, “Wine brings people together.” Nothing is more important than that. Israelis, Americans and all people can benefit from coming together.

Who do you think is the audience for Israeli wines?

In the past, Israeli wine was linked to Religious services and the concept of Kosher, and this had given wines from Israel a negative connotation as far as the actual quality of the wine was concerned. Today there are many wonderful Israeli wines, some just happen to be Kosher, some aren’t. And to the serious wine drinker who is not Jewish, or does not keep Kosher, it makes no difference to the quality of the wine. If it is good, people will drink it. We have already proven this to be true, that these wines will have a broad and deep audience, from both the casual wine drinker, and serious oenophile. Monday, we filled the Reserve Room, at The tasting Room Wine Bar in Houston with 150 people to taste six Israeli wines, in what became one of the largest wine tastings in the history of what is the largest Wine bar in the world. The following night, almost 100 people attended a gourmet dinner at Carmelo’s, a fine dining restaurant, where the food was paired with four Israeli wines. The crowd universally praised all four wines. This has never happened here before, and both events were huge successes. This wine is outstanding. The market is there, we just have to get the wines in front of them.

How can we get more Americans excited about wine from Israel?

By doing what Richard is doing. Take the wine to the people. “It starts in the glass.” This my mantra. Tastings, dinners, everywhere, ten people, a hundred people. Whatever we can do to put Israeli wines in those glasses. The promotion of wine is viral. Word of mouth is vital. Then as demand is created, the distribution channel responds, and the wines find their way onto the shelves and wine lists. Then, it develops a life of its own. In my role with the Government, I want to use Israeli Wines to cross-promote other Israeli Initiatives. At “Bio-Atlanta” in May, the world’s largest trade conference for the Life Sciences, every country in the world with a Life Science industry presence had a pavilion. Every one of these countries with a wine producing region, was serving their wines at their pavilions, all week long! As I said, wine brings people together.

What are some of your favorite Israeli wines?

There are so many I have yet to try, but a few come to mind immediately. For a light crisp white wine, full of flavor and great for the summer heat, the Pelter sauvignon blanc is a delicious white wine. The Pelter Trio, a red blend, has a wonderful nose, and a complexity that is both delicious and friendly. Part of the reason I like it is not only because it tastes so good to me, but I watched a number of very casual wine drinkers enjoying it tremendously! The Tulip “Mostly” Shiraz, which was one of the wines at our dinner, was a big surprise for me, a great mouthful of smooth fruit and bold flavor that pairs well with food, but I’d like to take a bottle out on the deck in the evening and savor it alone! The Flam and Margalit cabernets are extraordinary by any measure, and beat two expensive, highly rated California cabernets, in a brown bagged, blind taste test, by very significant margins. In this blind competition, the sommelier who selected the California wines, picked an Israeli wine as his number one choice. That is powerful, and as he said later, “it was far and away the best.” These are wines I am happy to drink and proud to serve. You will be too.

Pic Credit: Ed Schipul - (Jim Veal is on the left beside me)

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