{"id":13013,"date":"2025-08-10T07:51:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T14:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=13013"},"modified":"2025-08-10T07:51:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T14:51:49","slug":"ancient-wine-flows-again-as-1000-year-old-grape-seeds-revive-in-israels-negev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/10\/ancient-wine-flows-again-as-1000-year-old-grape-seeds-revive-in-israels-negev\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Wine Flows Again as 1,000-Year-Old Grape Seeds Revive in Israel\u2019s Negev"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An interesting article, and of importance is the difference in winemaking back then verses today. Also, wine has molecules in it that helped to sanitize collected drinking water, so people didn’t drink undiluted wine, but mixed it into water, even boiling away the alcohol to make a paste that could be added to water providing both flavor and sanitation. When the Bible mentions strong drink<\/a>, it was talking about undiluted wine. What people drink today is magnitudes stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/allisraelnews.com\/ancient-wine-flows-again-as-1000-year-old-grape-seeds-revive-in-israels-negev<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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By Jo Elizabeth <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vineyard at Avdat National Park, September 20, 2023. (Photo: Mahmoud Elziat\/INPA) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once a global hub of wine production, an ancient tradition has been revived in the Negev desert with grape seeds that are 1,000 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after the Bible was written, grapes were grown in abundance in the Avdat region, just south of Sde Boker where David Ben Gurion \u2013 Israel’s first prime minister \u2013 is buried. Now the vineyards are being restored to the grape growing center it used to be 1,500 years ago, YNet<\/em> reports<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just weeks before the Oct. 7 massacre, the heritage vineyard at Avdat was inaugurated as the ancient seeds were planted in seven terraces in September 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seeds were found several years ago by a team from the University of Haifa who were researching the Byzantine Empire and its eventual collapse. They explored a sealed cave at the archeological site at Avdat and discovered the ancient treasures inside. The team then identified the genetic traits of the grape seeds which were said<\/strong><\/a> to produce the world\u2019s finest wine, and set about resurrecting the ancient vines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, almost two years into the project, the harvest is finally ripe. The seeds were of the Dabouki grape variety, along with some Bar and Siriki grapes, and harvesting is being done by hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Byzantines in the Negev were a powerhouse,\u201d explained<\/strong><\/a> Dr. Lior Schwimmer, Israel\u2019s southern district heritage officer and regional archaeologist, who led the team of harvesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey produced wine in the lowlands and coastal plains, but doing so in the Negev was extraordinary. Before then, the Negev yielded little beyond goats or copper. Yet they managed to produce wine on a massive scale, millions of liters and export it to Europe,\u201d he told YNet News<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many theories about how that wine tasted. It was made differently, without sulfur. Today, we might call it unpalatable. We don\u2019t really know. Now we use cold-crushing techniques, even clay vessels and we\u2019ll get there, too. The next step is to recreate their production methods using ancient tools,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe harvested using ancient methods, and not all the grapes were ripe. That\u2019s typical of ancient varieties, which ripen at different times. We had to taste nearly every cluster to decide whether to leave it or pick it,\u201d the expert continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of grapes have now been harvested at the site, enough to produce approximately 12 bottles of wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a large quantity, just a few dozen kilos to give us insight into the process. In two or three weeks, we\u2019ll harvest the Bar and Siriki,\u201d Dr. Schwimmer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their goal is to reach about 100 bottles this year, and 800 bottles next year. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly excited. We\u2019ve been working on this for two years, with a grape variety not grown here for centuries,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything is a first. This vineyard is like a baby. Holding a bottle of wine feels like a distant dream but it\u2019s getting closer. Ultimately, we dream of a clay jug of ancient Byzantine wine, taking a sip and saying, \u2018Wow, that\u2019s delicious.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping the team with the process of producing the wine itself is Gidi Talmor, a high-tech professional from Moshav Lachish. Talmor has been producing hundreds of bottles of homemade wine each year using grapes from vineyards in the Negev and Zichron Yaakov. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way I make wine aligns with the vineyard\u2019s story,\u201d he assured, explaining his process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI produce it without external interference. Modern winemaking involves filtration, shading, sulfur and yeast. In ancient times, they used clay jars, not wooden barrels, which alter the grape\u2019s flavor. I keep it simple, letting the grapes and nature do their work. Here\u2019s hoping for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pinto Winery in Yeruham has also joined the project. Jewish laws prohibiting the use of fruit grown in the first three years mean they cannot directly help with the harvest, but they are providing advice and support to the researchers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After three years the vineyard will be kosher, something Dr. Schwimmer is excited to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNext year, the vineyard will be usable and we\u2019ll dive deeper into the experiment,\u201d he enthused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other experts and professionals have shown interest in the venture, including Negev Highlands wineries who will share some of the harvest from the Bar and Siriki varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s Nature and Parks Authority is also invested in this business of reviving ancient crops. Together with cultivating ancient pomegranate trees they have taken cuttings from ancient fig trees in Nahal Akrab and Mount Hamran in the Negev, and from olive trees from Har Boker and Nahal Zavitan, which will be planted in the coming months. Add to that the remarkable story of the 2,000 year old date seed<\/strong><\/a> which was successfully planted in the Arava, and it seems all seven species promised to Israel by God are still producing fruit, just as they were back in the Bible times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.\u201d (Deuteronomy 8:7-10)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interesting article, and of importance is the difference in winemaking back then verses today. Also, wine has molecules in it that helped to sanitize collected drinking water, so people didn’t drink undiluted wine, but mixed it into water, even boiling away the alcohol to make a paste that could be added to water providing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13014,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13013\/revisions\/13014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}