Israel is the Start-Up Nation known for breathtaking advances in medicine, agriculture and technology. There is simply no-one on earth who uses a telephone, computer or who visits a hospital, that does not benefit from Israeli inventions, innovations and research. I recently stumbled across a fascinating new initiative called Vinotherapy, a method of treatment for individuals suffering from Post Trauma. It could be a veteran or simply a person who is a survivor of a terrorist attack in the streets where they live. The trials and research are being done here and to my knowledge it is the only place in the world exploring the idea of treating those coping with Post Trauma through the process of viticulture and winemaking.
Devious Enemy
Everyone knows and talks about physical injury. It is noticed, acknowledged and dealt with by the system. Rehabilitation may come at a great cost, but at least it is in full view. What is hidden under the covers, not talked about and pushed aside into the recesses of the mind, is another unseen cost: the mental anguish and damage to the soul. Post Trauma Stress Disorder is an insidious, devious enemy. It hides in dark corners and surprises you when you least expect it. Many macho Israelis push strange, unfamiliar feelings aside feeling acknowledgement of a problem is a sign of weakness. When it taps you on the shoulder, it can affect you in too many ways to explain. PTSD has a chameleon like ability to work its poison. Everyone is affected differently. It makes diagnosis harder because it does not follow a format or recipe. Those affected may not know it themselves and the effect of trauma may also take many years to show itself. In this country the budgets to support people with all mental health issues is embarrassing low.
I remember the year 2006 well. It was not a great vintage and because of the situation on the northern border, it was forbidden for security and safety reasons to visit some of the Upper Galilee vineyards before harvest. Yet out of this woe, the Carmel Kayoumi Shiraz 2006 later won the International Trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards. It was personal for me being involved with this wine and travelling to London four years later to accept the trophy.
Tomer Weinberg remembers 2006 for entirely different reasons. He was seriously injured at the major event on the northern border on July 12th 2006, not far from where those Shiraz grapes were ripening. We won’t go into the horrors, pain and tragedy of what happened, because it is so well documented. It is sufficient to say that Weinberg, a young man of 26 years old, survived but was scarred physically and mentally. There began a painful series of operations and a long rehabilitation period over a few years. With great strength of mind and determination he managed to recover and had all the possibilities of returning to an almost normal life. Then he was faced with a new challenge that kicked in without warning. PTSD came knocking at the door. The mental terrors affected the mood and physical wellbeing. Weinberg lost well over a decade as the unseen enemy destroyed his life. The ability to study, date, work, have a relationship and live a normal life was affected. Day to day living, which we take so much for granted, was debilitating. Sufficient to say life went on, but passed him by. He was an emotionally handicapped passenger unable to contribute or be involved in anything.
Wine Epiphany
Weinberg’s turnaround began when he was grieving for his father, who was tragically killed in motorcycle accident in 2021. Weinberg Senior was an amateur winemaker. I suppose the name is a giveaway. During the mourning period, Weinberg Junior found himself staring at a wine barrel that happened to be in his line of sight and he had an epiphany. Suddenly for no particular reason, maybe unconsciously to honor his late father, he decided he wanted to make wine. He chose two great places to learn south of Haifa, where he lives. Assaf Margalit of the legendary Margalit Winery and Hai Vortman of Vortman Winery, a true vigneron, both generously gave him time and help. Quite quickly the wine bug grabbed Tomer and he decided to take a course at the Soreq Winery Winemaking School. He discovered that when he was around wine, the anxiousness, fear and tension dissipated as if by a miracle. He made his own wine. At the end of the process, he was able to hold a bottle of wine in his hand, which was his creation. The feeling of triumph and exhilaration he felt had previously been foreign to him because of the Post Trauma fog. He realized there was something about wine that connected to his inner self. It gave him a calmness and tranquility.
With great feeling he today describes the wine’s fermentation as symbolic of the Post Trauma state of mind. “We are in the stage of a mental storm, staying in a closed dark space with little air, stifling ability and potential, and then there is the accumulation of sediment, which is so hard to rise above.” He went on: “This sediment confines you, holds you down and can trip you up for the rest of your life.” However, as he revealed to me, when the wine drops bright and you remove the grape skins and lees, “we manage to rise above it and discover a new world, new abilities and a renewed passion for life.” This for him was symbolic of taking the ruck sack full of bricks of his back and releasing him from the demons that ruled his every move.
His second epiphany was that he realized that if the winemaking process could help him, it could also help others. So, in 2022, he founded a non-profit organization called Terra Uma – a combination of the words earth and tranquility. What they are offering in effect is Vinotherapy, helping people cope with PTSD by going on a wine journey that leads from being very alone and disconnected, to reconnecting with society. Tomer showed great drive and wisdom in how he got the wheels turning. Ido Lewinsohn MW, the famous winemaker, owner of Lewinsohn Winery and a Master of Wine, was quick to offer advice and support and he now sits on the board.
It works like this. Veterans and individuals coping with trauma can sign up. At present there are 18 people on the program, from all walks of Israeli society. Each participant produces their own wine, so every wine represents that individual’s own journey. At the center of all is the personal wine barrel, which Tomer describes as representing the soul of each person. The design of the labels is creative and personal, and the text on the back label is a blank page for personal thoughts and feelings. The wines are all made in tiny batches, so every wine is at the same time a work of art and a collector’s item. Each embryonic winemaker is accompanied in his task by an internationally trained winemaker who has volunteered their assistance. A shout out to winemakers who freely give their advice and expertise: Dror Englestein (UnderDog), Jonathan Koren (Hayogev 8), and also Assaf Margalit (Margalit), Guy Eshel (Dalton), Or Nidbach (Tabor), Dana Beny (Tulip), Oren Kedem (Assaf) and Meital Damri Koll (ex-Carmel) and there are others. It is quite an A-team of winemaking talent.
The group is also supported by therapeutic treatments and experts offering emotional support and tools for coping day to day. There are other activities too. For instance, my son David Montefiore DipWEST volunteers his services for the cause by giving wine lectures on behalf of the W (WSET approved) Wine School and Bibliotherapy courses.
Layla and White Nights
Terra Uma also produces a wine called Layla, which is a joint effort. Layla means ‘night’, which is the hardest time for most with Post Trauma. Layla Lavan is a white wine made from Colombard, balanced with Semillon. ‘White Night’ is a phrase used to convey being up all night. Any person with trauma is only too familiar with the experience of sleepless nights. The red wine is made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Syrah. Layla Adom, ‘Red Night’, may hint to nights of torment and nightmares. Thanks here are due to Barkan Winery who provided the grapes and to Dalton Winery and their winemaker Guy Eshel who helped make the wine. Both the individual expressions and the Layla wines are available for purchase. Terra Uma is self-funding, so sales are important to support continued activities.
Terra Uma planted its own vineyard at Bat Shlomo in 2023, just east of Zichron Ya’acov on the northern Coastal Plain. It is situated in a little valley in the southern slopes of Mount Carmel, where a modern Israeli wine industry took root over 140 years ago, founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. The village of Bat Shlomo was named after his mother, who was of course the wife of the Rothschild that had purchased Chateau Lafite for the Rothschild family. The 1,650 vine seedlings were donated by Hishtil, and with the help of donations, offered expertise and hard graft, a barren field was turned into a beautiful vineyard with a top-notch trellis system and drip feed irrigation. Ari Erle of Bat Shlomo Vineyards was on hand to offer advice. This has given Terra Uma a base and a ground zero. Weinberg says: “We learn from the vine how to climb, how to hold on to each other and how to ask for help.” He goes on: “the vines teach us everything is cyclical. In the winter the vine appears to be dead – but it is alive. The cycle gives us hope.” He tells me working in the vineyard is a key part of the treatment process. It allows deep conversation. The shape of the vineyard gives a sense of protection allowing heart to open up and stop the head from over thinking. There is a sense of community and togetherness without the direct eye contact which can be a challenge.
Terra Uma is helping to break a few stereotypes. PTSD is generally thought to be a man thing and somehow it is not associated with women. It is tough for them to get accepted in a man’s world in the first place and if their souls are damaged in service or due to terror, the whole system is less equipped to understand that women experience trauma too. Fortunately, things are changing and Terra Uma is a fine example. They proudly have women on their program.
As a dog owner, I always notice and appreciate a wagging tail welcome to a winery. One thing particularly noticeable is the number of dogs mooching around in all Terra Uma activities. That is because dogs are not just man’s best friend, but also the best companions to brave veterans coping with trauma. These are especially trained official service dogs capable of calming their owners and easing stress. You will see them in the vineyard and winery, supporting their masters like winemaking assistants.
Literally the day after I met Tomer to find about Terra Uma, I just happened to listen to Sarah Kemp’s podcast The Wine Conversation. (Highly recommended. I am a regular…usually listening when I walk my dog.) She was interviewing Romané Basset of the Gerard Basset Foundation and I was stunned when they twice mentioned Terra Uma. Romané is the son of Gerard Basset MW, MS, who was the most famous sommelier of his era, or any era, who tragically passed away well before his time. He became an icon. He was a mentor to so many and a role model. His relaxed nature, modesty and kindness, shone as brightly as his fame. This was in direct contrast to the steel and super-human determination he showed in chalking up all his incredible achievements. May his memory be a blessing.
When I worked for the Golan Heights Winery, I was privileged to host Gerard Basset and his wife Nina in Israel way back in 1994. When they founded, owned and managed the first Hotel du Vin in Winchester, England, it was within walking distance from my parent’s home. Visits to see them invariably involved supping at Hotel du Vin. The Gerard Basset Foundation was created in his memory. Warm credit goes to Nina Basset and her son, Romané, who through this wonderful foundation, are really making a difference. Paraphrasing the legendary Heineken advertisement, the Gerard Basset Foundation reaches and supports the causes that other wine foundations are simply unable to reach.
Weinberg Whirlwind
I have got to know Tomer Weinberg since writing this article. He is driven as though making up for lost time. He is a whirlwind of drive and activity. He is so committed and is sharp, charismatic, dynamic, with a fine taste of style and a passion for wine from the soil to the glass. He is proving to be a very smart manager and organizer. The research they are doing is so unique and so important. However, it is a struggle. This brave project does not just need your support, they deserve your support. So, buy a wine here and there. Enjoy a bottle of Layla with your family or give one of their beautiful gift boxes to friends or colleagues. It all helps and it can be your way of making a contribution.
Terra Uma will positively affect the lives of many, bringing damaged souls from despair to fulfillment. It is a unique, praiseworthy and brilliantly conceived start-up. I asked Tomer Wienberg what his dream was. He did not pause for a moment: “to open the first vinotherapy winery in the world.” Our late much-loved President Shimon Peres, himself a great wine lover, used to say “No room for small dreams!” Last word to Tomer, a damaged soul in remission: “This journey as a whole teaches us that we will probably never be the grapes we once were, but we can still make a beautiful wine!”
Adam Montefiore is a wine trade veteran and winery insider turned wine writer, who has advanced Israeli wines for 38 years. He is referred to as the English voice of Israeli wine and is the Wine Writer for the Jerusalem Post. www.adammontefiore.com
