A vintage of hope

Winemaker Tamir Arzy and Dr. Arkadi Papikian, a locally acclaimed wine blending expert and consultant, are seated next to the heavy, wooden table at the Tulip Winery. They taste the wine in the barrels, and then concoct blends. Then Natan Canaani, Dedi Ashkenazi and Inbal Monar enter the dim hall. All three are residents of Kfar Tikva, "Hope Village," a veteran facility for adults with special needs. They have been working here for the last four years, since the winery opened. Now the winery has made it big: Tulip receives orders from abroad, kudos from restaurateurs and wine stores, and medals in the annual Eshkol Hazahav national winemaking competition.

More than 300 participants from around the country attended the Eshkol Hazahav competition, held Sunday at Tel Aviv's David Intercontinental Hotel. The Tulip Winery won two gold medals, in the Cabernet Franc and Free Blend categories, and a silver medal in the Sirah Reserve category.

Tulip Winery, established on Kfar Tikva, near Kiryat Tivon, is an unusual workplace. Marketing director Neta Mintz, vintner Arzy, and owner and founder Roy Yitzhaki would undoubtedly be the first to admit that. All are under 30, but they are already the leaders of a successful boutique winery. Moreover, Yitzhaki insists the winery earned praise for the quality of its product, rather than its contribution to the community. "I wanted the story to come out only later," he says.

Yitzhaki, a native of Kiryat Tivon with a degree in economics, looks like a pub-crawling Tel Avivian who got here by accident. That is, of course, not the case. One must see how Yitzhaki directs workers to understand the enormous mission he took on at a relatively young age.

Yitzhaki established the Tulip Winery with a family investment in 2003. "I come from a family that works in construction and real estate, and we are wine freaks," he says. "Four and a half years ago, we visited a wine exhibition at the Scottish House, and we saw these guys sell 1,000 bottles they made at home. I checked it out with hobbyists and they told me that for NIS 15,000, you can make two barrels of wine at home. Because it's a messy process, I told my parents, 'Let's rent a place.'"

Kfar Tikva, home to 200 adults, already had a small, experimental winery for working residents. "The village had financial difficulties at the time, and they were trying to privatize a few of the occupational departments," recalls Yitzhaki. "I went to see it, they told me the winery was for sale, and we decided to go for it."

After a few months of activity, during which "I completely fell in love with the work," Yitzhaki told his family, "I want to take it all the way," and asked Kfar Tikva directors for more space. "They gave me a dilapidated building at the edge of the village. We thoroughly renovated it, and bought oak barrels and equipment from France and Italy. My brother Doron worked as the vintner. Tamir Arzy was his assistant, and he is now the vintner."

Doron Yitzhaki is currently in Australia. When he returns this summer, as a certified oenologist, he will serve as the winery's chief vintner.

Catching the bug

Tulip Winery, which launched its operations with 10,000 bottles per year, now produces 50,000. "Like every boutique winery, we will start turning a profit when we reach 60,000 bottles. We hope to reach 70,000 this year," Yitzhaki says.

Tulip Winery's vineyards are located at Kfar Yuval, in the North, where they grow Cabernet, Shiraz and Sirah grapes. There is a vineyard at Moshav Matta and Mt. Meron where Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdo are grown. "We leased plots for 15 years, and we are responsible for growing and harvesting," Yitzhaki says.

When the winery began to develop, it established an independent marketing firm in partnership with the Saslove Winery. The company, Adom Kaheh (Dark Red), began exporting wine to countries including Canada and the United States.

Natan Canaani, 58, Dedi Ashkenazi, 33, and Inbal Monar, 23, join the discussion in Yitzhaki's office. Their field of work has become one of the most desirable occupations at Kfar Tikva, "and not only because there is always something to do here," Yitzhaki says. The winery employs four permanent workers from Kfar Tikva, and other residents join them during the harvest.

Ashkenazi proudly reports that he has been working there longer than the other staff members. "Natan joined later," he says. "I caught the bug when the winery was still new." According to Yitzhaki, Canaani, Kfar Tikva's first resident ("My laundry tag number is No. 1") is the technical man who knows where everything is. "Whatever they need, they ask me," Canaani agrees. He also describes trips to the vineyards during the harvest. "He doesn't sleep the night before because he is so excited," Yitzhaki says. Monar likes to visit the winery on Shabbat as well, "because I meet a lot of interesting people."

Because the winery staff is experienced and knowledgeable, they assist in multiple duties. Kfar Tikva residents bottle, label, attach shrink seal capsules ("the paper closure that is always so hard to open," Monar explains), and even draw designs for the labels. The Port Esperanza label was drawn by a resident who won a drawing competition.

"We are with them every day," Yitzhaki says. "We go with them to buy clothes. We buy them new razors. They come to us with every question they have." Once, after a difficult day, Mintz says, "Inbal came to me and said, 'I am so lucky to have you.' That simply made my year, not just my day."

Kashrut is not an option

When Yitzhaki founded the Tulip Winery, it quickly became clear that it could not be kosher. "Kosher wines have to meet three conditions," he explains. "Raw materials [grapes, yeast, etc.] have to be kosher, and we meet that requirement. The winery has to be closed on Shabbat, and I cannot do that because it is important to me to open the place to visitors. And the last thing - the most important as far as the inspectors are concerned - is that the workers be observant Jews. I certainly can't meet that condition, because my workers are friends from the village.

"I know there are people who consider Kashrut to be very important. In fact, we recite the Jewish blessing over wine," Yitzhaki says. "But it is also annoying because it makes it much harder for me to sell the wine. I can't market to hotels, and I also can't introduce the product in supermarkets [except the non-Kosher Tiv Ta'am chain]." Yitzhaki is not interested in making the winery kosher. "I intend to be an outstanding boutique winery, despite the limitations," he says.

He faces obstacles: Two years ago, Kashrut inspectors suddenly appeared at the Hangar 11 live music venue, where the Tulip Winery and others were presenting their wines. The inspectors expelled the exhibitors from the site after a day.

"It was really humiliating. They simply took apart our booth," Mintz says. "They explained that Hangar 11 is a kosher location." When the winery presented its products at the same site, as a business that required support after the Lebanon Second War, the exhibition was not disturbed.

But the prohibition that most angers Tulip Winery's owners is the refusal by large companies to purchase their acclaimed, boutique wines for employee gift packages during the Passover holidays. Even companies known for their contributions to the community, like Bank Leumi, Teva and Elbit, did not distribute Tulip Wines because of kashrut issues, though company employees may choose among gifts that include the wine.

Teva responded that senior employees received wine from the Tulip Winery; Bank Leumi said it does not offer its employees non-kosher products.

Orna Angel, director of the Tel Aviv Port, where Hangar 11 is located, responded, "The port belongs to everyone. We are a government company and everyone is free to exhibit here. During the year the exhibit was held, I was aware of the difficulties posed by kashrut. This year, I was contacted regarding this problem and its solution: We erected a tent next to Hangar 11 where individuals and companies can exhibit non-kosher goods, with a license from the Health Ministry. This is a fair solution, and it permits everyone to exhibit."