Wine is crying, so am I.
The first words I told him the first time we met was "you deserve to have a street on your name for what you do for Israeli wine", his answer was "oh no, I have enough enemies...".
Actually, as a new born wine lover I started to hear about him by a wine-shop owner I was working with 2 years ago and then by various other people, in bad ways!
But it was too unanimous to be true, so I thought in myself "that criticized Rogov must be a good man". So I got his Wine Guide and I started to study it, each page was an open door to my new born passion, and I did bless him for it.
Then I contacted him and he accepted to meet me for a dedicace of my so precious Rogov Guide*. I immediately felt in love with that so special true human being.
The second time was at the evening organized for the publication of the Rogov Guide in Hebrew, again I was so impressed by this man of class, sensitivity and humor. I told him something like "I don't like those people who talk about you in bad ways, they should instead focus on what you did for Israeli wine because nobody ever did it", he answered me with a warm hug.
This is him, a poet who did truly love people, the last gentleman.
Wine is crying, so am I... still a bit and then I will let him go.
Joelle
* inspired by very last words of the film Casablanca, see link
http://youtu.be/8vY-4zWKsJM