Wow - What An Evening

[Daniel Rogov]

What an evening! As was said, no Israeli wine event has ever attracted the number of participants as this one. At 8 p..m, I entered the hall and three to four hundred people rose and gave me a round of what seemed nearly non=stop applause. I cried.

To start the even ing Meni Pe'er read or displayed on a closed circuit television accolades from those abroad…..including Serena Suthcliffe, Howard Goldberg, Jay Buchsbaum, Tom Stevenson, and Hugh Johnson. I cried a bit more.

Following that tributes from many in the local wine industry, All of which included a humorous and very well constructed and absolutely delicious video from Eldad Levy, in which I specally appreciated the comparisons between myself and Anton Ego (the restaurant critic in the film Ratatouille).

I remain deeply moved by the event and the literally hundreds who came to wish me well

All be on Channels 1, 2 and 10 as well as part on the Guy Penis program If I learn of dates for the screenings I shall post here.

My especially deep thanks to Gal Gal Cohen for hs phenomoeal effort in organization and execution.

Best
Rogov

[Avi Hein]

A great evening for a great man who many of us owe a tremendous debt and gratitude to.

I was there from the early evening and was proud of being one of many who have been influenced by and touched by a true gentleman.

[Lior Yogev]

Indeed a very moving evening.

The attendance was amazing not only in quantity but also in the wall-to-wall attendance of all the important figures in the industry.

[Craig Winchell]

Mazel Tov, Daniel. Sounds like a wonderful evening. A bit at a loss about the Guy Penis thing. Is there any other kind?

[Daniel Rogov]

LOL with Craig. Guy Penis is a major t.v. personality here in Israel. He's a charmer and a lovely guy.

Best
Rogov

[Nir A]

Hi Rogov,

I had the honor to attend last night.
The event was well organized and it was very touching.
The attendance was amazing and it didn't surprised me because of your many years influence on the Israeli wine industry.

BTW – the correct name is guy pinnes – every day at 19:00 - channel 10.

Nir.

[J Hexter]

While it has been ages since I posted on the Forum* last night will at least momentarily bring me out of my hibernation.

As others have posted, the evening was very well attended (in both quantity and quality) and spoke volumes about the man of the hour.

Rogov, what can I say other than kol hakavod – you deserve it!

Warmest regards,

Josh

* I was active back in the day – years 2000-2005

[Ehud W]

Indeed, this wonderful and memorable evening was a testimony for Rogov great contribution for the Israeli wine industry, and may I add - the Israeli wine culture, nonequivalent by any other persona.

It was my privilege to attend the evening, amongst the many people who felt touched by Rogov in the many years (since 1976? That's 34 years) of "Sisyphean" tasting and writing of his.

If I'm right, Rogov was not the only one who cried last night so you can imagine how moving was the atmosphere there.

Personally, I owe so much to you, Rogov, for introducing the world of wine to me, and though I was not among the very respected people who spoke on the podium, I'll take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[Alek W]

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but I'd like to second Ehud's last sentence. Thank you, Rogov!

Alek.

[Daniel Rogov]

To all who continue to post....most warming and most appreciated.

Best
Rogov

[Joel D Parker]

Glad to hear that the evening was a moving and successful event. Certainly do hope that the accolades keep rolling in. Daniel's generosity has built up quite a fan base. By generosity, I think I'm not alone in saying that I've benefitted from Daniel's free notes here time and again, not just to help me make purchasing and tasting decisions, but also just for the sake of knowing what's available and to generate healthy debates about wine in general. Of course, we appreciate the notes and the reports, but more than that we appreciate the man whose passion for wine, food, and good living is certainly contagious to say the least. I don't know if I can wholly attribute Daniel's criticism and wine reporting to Israel's burgeoning 'foodie' culture, but we can agree that Daniel has worked tirelessly to promote an authentic version of haute cuisine and fine wine culture that came long before anyone had ever heard of the term 'foodie'.

All my best,

Joel

[Lior Yogev]

I stand behind Ehud's nice words as well.

The images are now available by the courtesy of Avi Ben-Ami's www.sommelier.co.il
https://picasaweb.google.com/1086449644 ... 77/cQYWaB#

Very good photos featuring more than one forumite

Lior.

[Gil S]

Dear Rogov,
Indeed a great evening. Only a person as yourself can get such attendance of all the winemakers and winery CEO's in the middle of harvest. This was a true vote of confidence from the industry.
All I wish is that for many more years we will have our usual conversation around January every year: "has the new wines finish ML? can I come and taste the new harvest?"
All the best
Gil

[YoelA]

What a huge outpouring of love and respect! So sorry that I could not be there. Have only known you for a relatively short time, Daniel, but you've made an indelible impression on me, both in person and via these communications! Hope that we have you with us for a long time to come, until you decide to hang up your spurs and retire.

[Sam M]

Daniel,
How do you say love and Admiration in Hebrew? It is evident that you have touched so many people. Thank you for sharing your passion and contributing to our enjoyment of wine.

[Stephen Weil]

Personally, I owe so much to you, Rogov, for introducing the world of wine to me, and though I was not among the very respected people who spoke on the podium, I'll take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart![/quote]

Ehud put it beautifully.
Thanks Rogov for all the knowledge imparted to me.

Best
Stephen

[Z Spigelman]

Hi Daniel.
We unfortunately could not attend as we were on vacation but we would like to thank you for all of the information that you have provided, the knowledge of wines that we have acquired from you, and most of all thanks for answering all of our questions and TN requests.
We would have raised a toast to you that night but the restaurant where we ate in Berlin has just changed ownership and the bottles of wine that they offered were not worth drinking or possibly not even drinkable based upon the looks of the bottles that they scrounged up.
(The next day we were in the KaDeWe and they had a few Yarden, Gamla and Barkan wines along with several kosher Capcanes wines including the Flor de Primavera 2003 and 2004)
Wishing you all the best and thanks once again.
Zvi & Rachel

[Yossie Horwitz]

As I stated on the other thread, I opened one of my last two remaining bottles of Katzrin 1990 in honor of Rogov's honorary dinner which I was unfortunately unable to attend but from reading the [Hebrew] article on israelwines.co.il it was clearly a fitting tribute to the man who tirelessly promoted Israeli wines and clearly played a huge role in putting them on the map. On a more personal level, Rogov's enormous generosity of knowledge, time and effort to provide me, and anyone who asked, with invaluable information was and continues to be unprecedented and hugely appreciated. I enjoyed alone with a two inch rib eye from Park East butcher (easily the best kosher steak you will ever find) in what I hope was a fitting tribute.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Katzrin, 1990: Notwithstanding the proliferation in recent years of Single Vineyard wines from GHW and the newly introduced and delicious Rom, in my opinion the Katzrin remains Israel’s reigning champ and stands alone as the undisputed flagship wine of Israel’s top winery. At 21 years of age, easily the oldest living Israeli wine I have enjoyed, drinking this wine was an incredible experience (the wine was stored in my Israeli cellar since release in about 1993 and transferred to my US cellar in 2004 when I moved to NYC from Israel). While the single vineyard and Rom wines are good, if I had to make a choice I would plunk down my hard earned shekels for the Katzrin over the others for its elegance and proven ageability. I stood the wine upright in my cellar overnight and removed it about four hours before I intended to enjoy it and opened it up an hour before serving. While there was a bit of sediment, the color of this majestic wine is still near-royal purple, with zero age-related browning. Deliciously muted notes of blackberries, currants, cherry and other, mostly black, forest fruits on the nose with hints of warm spices and vanilla in the background. One the palate supple tannins now completely integrated with the fruit, chocolate and wood, maintaining the near impeccable balance this wine has kept up over its years. A long finish with hints of oak and plenty of slightly minty dark chocolate. While this wine is probably not going to get any better, I’d go out on a limb and say that, if properly stored, it probably has a few years of enjoyment left (as it starts a stately decline). Mama Mia – this is a wine and a fitting tribute to the man who has done so much for Israeli wine and my personal knowledge of the wine world. Salut Rogov.

[Jenise]

Daniel, your own post starting this thread made me cry, too. And reading through the comments of others, I came to realize how much your presence on this forum has come to mean to me. Your wide-ranging knowledge, your bon vivance, your sly humor, your suave gallantry: you are an uncommon man, my friend. They truly don't build them like you any more. [smooch]

[Daniel Rogov]

Jenise, Thanks. Smooches and hugs in return and with pleasure

Rogov

[Yakov F]

Daniel,

I too would like to associate myself with all the above comments. I've been traveling and was not able to attend. Much of the progress in my understanding and knowledge and appreciation of wines is mostly due to the forum - to Daniel primarily but also to the many contributors whose reviews, thoughts, and opinions provided perspective. Perhaps the best tribute I could offer is that even as I've been traveling, I've consulted the forum to help me determine how best to choose my wines in the limited time I have.

Thank you Daniel,

Yakov

[Daniel Monsey NY]

anyone have a link to the vaynerchuk video shown at the reception?

[Yossie Horwitz]

The Facebook page of Israeli Wine, has both Gary and Jay Buchsbaum's tribute videos: http://goo.gl/yOTdJ