Elad Movshovitz, founder of Drimia Winery with his wife, Nava, has had a very difficult past year as a winemaker in Susya, a historic area situated south of Hebron in the Yatir region. The difficulty at the winery persisted primarily because he spent 150 days in Gaza as a special forces reservist following the outbreak of the war on October 7.

Movshovitz, making wine since 2007 at Drimia, created a boutique winery with grapes grown 890 meters above sea level. This semi-arid area is a meeting point between Mediterranean and desert climates. In this location, long winters enable a healthy slumber of the vines, while the sun, dry air, hot days and cold nights enhance the taste of the grapes, which are all harvested by hand.

“In the first difficult days of the war, I participated in the security of the communities in the ‘Gaza Envelope’ and in the evacuation of casualties,” Movshovitz told The Jewish Link. “I was exposed to the enormity of the security failure and the disaster. In contrast, I also saw the dedication of Am Yisrael to risk their lives fighting back, and the immense outpouring of love and support for our soldiers by citizens.

“This challenging time revealed the true heroes in this war: the women who stayed at home, took care of their families and kept the communities going. That allowed the reservists to focus on their tasks. It is obvious, but still needs to be said, that it was not easy on the wives and mothers at home.”

The Movshovitz family’s close-knit community has seen significant losses. Susya, just a few miles further south from Carmel, suffered a number of IDF fatalities and other casualties in the Gaza fighting. Movshovitz, the first child born in the Susya community, has lived his entire life there. He has known each of those killed in action since birth, along with many of their parents and grandparents, who have been his neighbors for up to 40 years. Movshovitz’s own reserve special forces unit saw multiple losses on October 7 as well.

Movshovitz explained that the war began after the harvest was mostly completed, “except for one vineyard that was picked over a number of exhaustingly long days in the second week of the war by our dedicated skeleton staff.” Most of the winery’s employees were called up to reserve duty, so winery operations slowed, the tasting room closed and sales slumped.

“But compared to the suffering people went through, this is all minor. We got along, thank God, thanks to the dedicated workers who remained, and our conviction that our cause is just.”

When asked how his American friends and customers can help, he recommended the following: “Besides helping the victims, I recommend investing in the Israeli economy and businesses, and buying Israeli products that provide sustainable value,” he said.

Movshovitz bottled a special wine called Oz (courage), which is dedicated in honor of the 10 members of his unit who fell in battle on October 7: Ariel ben Moshe, Adir Gauri, Yeftah Gurni, Eli Ziser, Tal Cohen, Neve Elazar Lex, David Meir, Amir Skori, Amir Tzur and Hadar Kamma. The proceeds of the 100 NIS bottle of 2022 Shiraz will be donated to the unit’s membership association. At this point the wine is available at the winery or can be ordered to Israeli addresses (https://drimia-winery.com/product/oz/).

For Pesach, Movshovitz recommends Drimia’s two blends: Drimia Sahar 2021, a fruity and soft wine, with black fruit and hints of herbaceous spice and mint, and Drimia Sfar 2021, the winery’s flagship, a rich and complex wine that can be aged. An inky purple color, it has flavors of rich black fruit, ripe strawberry, plums, dark chocolate, black coffee, with a long and resonant finish. “The wine is still young and will continue to mature in the bottle,” Movshovitz said. “To enjoy it at its best, I recommend decanting it for an hour before the Seder, or using an aerator when pouring.” These two wines, as well as Drimia’s entire line, are available at FillerUp Kosher Wines as well as other fine wine stores and KosherWine.com.

“All of our wines are produced with carefully selected, premium grapes, and prepared with the utmost care and dedication to details. This is our calling: respecting our path, promoting life and prosperity in the region, and making the promise of our ancestors a reality,” said Movshovitz.

Movshovitz extends best wishes to our readers for a happy and kosher Passover and Besorot Tovot. Drimia is again open for winery visits in Susya. To book a visit, please visit: https://drimia-winery.com/en/drimia-winery/.