Most of the boutique vineyards in the area keep irrigation at a minimum and managed. “When you pick them and make win, you get a really special wine.” “The grapes have worked so hard to thrive,” said Katsof. The harder the grape works, the more intense and sultry the flavor. Because of the bedrock, the grapes must work hard to grow, which according to Katsof toughens their muscles. There are several wineries in the area, but farmers also sell their grapes to major wineries across the country. The grapes of Samaria today are considered among the best in the country. Now look at the hilltop of Har Bracha, it is covered in vines.” “One year he harvested the grapes and made a little wine from it and sold it and entered some competition. “The story goes that there was one settler on top of Har Bracha (Mount of Blessings) who made a little vineyard,” Katsof described. So, settlers would plant one or two vines just to say they had fulfilled the words of the Bible. “People said, you cannot plant on bedrock – you just cannot do it,” he recalled. He said that when the first Jewish settlers came to Samaria, they wanted to fulfil Jeremiah’s prophecy and plant vineyards. Katsof kicks his foot into the mud and hits bedrock. “But we are building on empty land, we are building businesses and roads and power and roads with lights. “When people build in this area, they are accused of settling someone else’s land,” he explained. The land is thorny and desolate, a sign said Katsof that it was never worked. “The younger vineyards come out earlier – they are eager,” Katsof said with a smile. The vineyards in early spring are exactly as the Bible described – brown, with little lettuces the size of your thumb sprouting from the roots. “That was 100 dunams of vineyards coming down that hill,” he said. On a windy Friday morning at the beginning of spring, just one week before the Passover holiday on which Jews drink four cups of wine to symbolize freedom, Katsof is driving through the hills of Samaria, pointing out the dunams of grape vines. Originally from Los Angeles, today he lives in the hilltop community of Esh Kodesh, equidistant between the ancient Jewish capital of Shiloh and the Palestinian community of Duma. Meet Aaron Katsof, the founder of The Heart of Israel program and a father of six.
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