Spending a weekend at the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem is already a lovely thing to do, and when you add wine tastings and a chance to hobnob with several of Israel’s leading winemakers, it is just about perfect.
The hotel partnered with The Full Glass, a new organization of three female friends who organize events, to offer a weekend of wine in the heart of Jerusalem.
First, let’s talk about the hotel. The Mamilla Hotel, just steps from Jerusalem’s Old City, offers a pampering experience with beautifully designed rooms and world-class food.
Roman, one of the participants in the weekend, who came all the way from Nahariya to participate, told me that, “You feel at home as soon as you walk in.” He said he had been to the hotel before, and enjoys wine and visiting wineries, so when he saw the weekend advertised, he and his wife immediately reserved.
The weekend began Thursday afternoon, and the faux fireplace in the lobby was cozy on a stormy winter afternoon, as was the complementary hot apple cider served with cookies.
Descriptions of the hotel's rooms
The rooms at the hotel are large, and the bathrooms are luxurious with a hidden button to turn the clear glass wall between the room and bathroom opaque for privacy. The food here is outstanding. We had dinner at the Rooftop restaurant with what might be the best view of Jerusalem. My sirloin steak, served alongside a marrow bone, was perfectly cooked and sliced thinly, and my husband’s Japanese-style hamburger with potato wedges was juicy. There is a large alcohol menu of both wine and cocktails, but we had already had a fair amount of wine so decided to abstain.
The weekend opened with a reception serving most of the wines that we would taste over the next two days. The members of the Full Glass were on hand to welcome participants and to pour wine. I met an American couple who were staying at the hotel with their son, a lone soldier, who was about to be drafted. When they realized that the reception was part of a closed group, they went to leave, but were encouraged to stay and have a glass (or two) of wine.
“This may sound childish, but we wanted to put together events that we would enjoy,” Orly Segal, one of the three founders of the Full Glass told The Jerusalem Post. “We have attended many events together, and we know what we enjoy.”
THE GUESTS were welcomed by general manager Orly Cohen, who said they are committed to expanding the hotel’s wine offerings.
“When the Mamilla Hotel opened 17 years ago, you hardly heard the term sommelier,” she said, referring to the wine waiter in a restaurant. “We also like to connect people, and we are happy to welcome the Israeli crowd.”
The hotel has come up with a series of events meant to draw Israelis to Jerusalem both on weekends and during the week, with lectures and workshops. Every Saturday morning there is a free tour of Jerusalem’s Old City.
For this wine weekend, about 60 people attended, most of them couples from all over Israel. While all enjoy drinking wine, some were further along on their “wine journey” than others. Many of the attendees say they enjoy visiting wineries, both in Israel and abroad, and the weekend was a good opportunity to meet some of Israel’s leading winemakers.
The first session was with Assaf Paz, the winemaker of Vitkin Winery in central Israel. Paz is a passionate advocate of Carignan, which was grown in Israel in the early days of its wine industry in the 1880’s. However, there was a long break in the Israeli wine industry when the Ottomans ruled here for 400 years beginning in 1516, as Muslims are forbidden from drinking alcohol. The modern Israeli wine industry only began in 1983 with the opening of the Golan Heights winery.
After a brief historical lecture about wine in Israel, Paz offered something I had never tasted before – a white Carignan, made from treating the red Carignan grape like a white wine and not leaving them in contact with the skin.
“You are the first people to taste this outside the winery,” Paz told the group.
The wine was aromatic and fresh with a bright citrusy taste and would go well with food.
FRIDAY STARTED with breakfast at the hotel, which is one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve had in Israel. Along with fresh-squeezed juice and coffee made to order, there was excellent gravlax and other smoked fish and fresh bread. There was a chef making omelets to order, but I chose to go with a little pan of cannelloni instead. For dessert, don’t miss the cheesecake.
On Friday afternoon, we heard a lecture by Nir Kipnes, a wine writer who told stories about wine along with more wine tasting. After dinner, which included rare entrecote sliced to order, there was another tasting led by Eyal Drori of Agur Winery near Beit Shemesh.
The tasting started at 9 p.m., usually past my bedtime on Friday night. Agur is a winery I know well, as it is in the Jerusalem Hills. They specialize in blends and winemaker Drori shared his philosophy of winemaking as we tasted four different wines.
The last session was on Saturday morning when Mira Eitan, another “Full Glass” founder, interviewed Eli Ben Zaken, founder of Castel Winery, one of my personal favorites. Born in Egypt, he brought the wines from Raziel, a new winery making interesting blends. It was a fascinating conversation with excellent wine.
“For the past two years, we have seen the empty glass in Israel,” Eitan said, referring to the war. “Now we are starting to breathe, and we want the glass to be full.”
The cost for the weekend was NIS 2,100 ($660) for one night and NIS 3,800 ($1,200) for two nights.
The Full Glass will be organizing other events around Israel.
The writer was a guest of the Mamilla Hotel and the Full Glass.