This is an advertisement for “Caesarea,” a dessert wine produced by the Eliaz Winery of Binyamina, Israel. The advertisement is written mostly in English with the words “Kosher L’Pesach” (kosher for Passover) and the name of the wine in Hebrew. The colourful illustration depicts a lush, green landscape with a border of grapevines, flowers, and birds. In the centre is a large bunch of grapes.
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The Eliaz Winery - The Eliaz Winery was founded in 1952 by a Hungarian immigrant called Joseph Zeltzer. The Zeltzer family had produced wine in their native Hungary, and it was said that above the desk of the head of the family was a certificate he had received from Emperor Franz Josef I for his contribution to the Hungarian wine industry. Joseph, one of his sons, survived the Holocaust, together with two of his sons and his daughter. After the war, one of his sons, Eliaz (Eliezer), studied medicine but decided to leave Hungary and immigrate to Israel. Upon arrival in Israel, he was drafted to the army and sent to fight. A couple of months later, the rest of the family arrived in Israel, and Eliaz was given a day’s leave to go and meet them. This was, tragically, their only meeting in Israel. On November 10 1948, during their Shabbat dinner, the Zeltzer family received the terrible news that Eliaz had been killed on the battlefield.
Eliaz’s father, Joseph, subsequently bought a winery and named it after his son. The Eliaz Winery originally specialized in sweet wines, simple table wines, and liquors. At the time, all winemakers had to work through the Carmel Mizrachi wine cooperative. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion interceded on Zeltzer’s behalf and passed a law allowing Zeltzer to purchase a small quantity of grapes that he could use to produce wine independently. Eliaz began a line of liqueurs under the brand Hard Nut Liqueur, named in honour of Ben-Gurion who was known as a “hard nut to crack.” In 1994 the winery was purchased by outside investors, and the name was changed to the Binyamina Winery. Binyamina Winery is one of Israel’s top ten wineries.
Winemaking in Israel - Winemaking has taken place in Israel since biblical times. The abundance of grapes is described in the story of Joshua and the twelve spies who were sent to survey the Land of Israel in the Book of Numbers. They were said to have returned with a bunch of grapes that was so large that it was carried on poles held by two people. In more recent times, in the late nineteenth century, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, a French philanthropist, winemaker, and Zionist, imported French grapes and winemaking knowledge to Israel. In 1882 he helped establish the Carmel Winery in Rishon LeZion and Zichron Yaakov. Today, there are over 100 Israeli wineries which produce a wide variety of wines that are very well respected around the world, win international awards, and receive high ratings.
