Here we go again! Stories of wine and war don’t usually go together, but in this part of the world, the two seem to be inseparable. This time, it is the Negev in the south of Israel, that is under rocket fire from Hamas.

  The most famous winery in the Negev is Yatir Winery, producer of the highest scoring Israeli red wine, (Yatir Forest 2003 with 93 points), in the new Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide. The winery, in the northeastern Negev, is not itself under fire, but children in nearby schools are affected. “My children, aged 7 and 9 years old, have been either been in school bomb shelters or kept away from school altogether since hostilities began,” says Etti Edri, special projects manager of Yatir Winery. “All we want to do is make the best wine we can, using our unique terroir. However, when you have to worry about the safety of your children, it is a distraction we could do without.”

The western Negev is mainly the home of a few smaller boutique wineries. One of them is La Terra Promessa, known for its hospitality and good food. Winemaker Irit Pellegrini said: “Quite apart from worries about missiles, the worst thing is the lack of visitors and those that have booked, just don’t turn up.”

In the area under daily rocket attack, people are buying less and trading down. Salesmen no longer visit the ‘out of bounds’ areas, but people are still drinking wine. In the rest of the country Israelis try and continue a regular life, working as normal, but with one eye glued to television reports giving updates of alerts and where rockets have landed.

It is a small country and many people have been affected over the years, by the region’s endless wars and terrorism. However at this time, wine drinking is continuing, even if more at home, than in restaurants. A month ago the economic crisis and was the main concern of Israelis and wineries were compiling marketing plans to take into account an expected downturn in sales. Today, this is forgotten as matters of daily survival and concern for family and friends become more important.

A few hours ago, a new front opened in the north of the country. There has been a katyusha attack on an old people’s home in Nahariya. This brings back memories of the 2006 Israeli Lebanese war, which affected both the Galilee in Israel and the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, the two finest wine regions in their respective countries. In fact the hostilities actually began at Zarit, site of one of Israel’s best known vineyards, on the Israel Lebanon border.

The war took place during the key pre-harvest time from mid July until mid August, and targeted the premium Upper Galilee vineyards. Winemakers and growers were prevented from visiting their vineyards, some of which were damaged by a barrage of Katyusha missiles, which rained into northern Israel. A few vineyards close to the border even became closed military zones.

Fortunately the war finished with only a small delay in the harvest, mainly of white varieties, and order was restored. However, almost out of respect for the region’s turmoil, 2006 turned out to be a less than average vintage.

Israelis are masters at absorbing the horrors of this particular corner of the Eastern Mediterranean, but nevertheless, manage to continue with productive, inventive and dynamic lives. During the suicide bombing blitz a few years ago, a bus full of passengers was blown up on the road next door to the Mt. Meron vineyard in the Upper Galilee and 18 people were killed. Despite the fact that body parts had to be cleared from the vineyard, the growers had no alternative but to continue preparing for the next harvest. Life goes on.

Producing any kind of wine amid the security situation, would be remarkable enough. However Israeli wines have gone through a quality revolution in recent years and recent tastings by the Wine Advocate show a number of Israeli wines receiving scores reserved for world class wines.

The fundamentalists are a threat and danger to all moderate people of this area, whether Israeli, Lebanese or Palestinian and they are also anti-wine on principle. Yet, if the inhabitants of the Middle East drank more wine and less coffee, perhaps it would be a calmer and more peaceful place!