When you work at a winery, you soon find out there’s no shortage of people who want your wine for free. Winemakers tend to be generous souls, from my experience, but there’s a limit to how many wine writers, dignitaries and charities you can bestow with samples or bottles for a charity gala and still afford to keep the doors of a winery open. So, as diplomatically as possible the staff of a winery must choose who to support and how best their wine could support a worthy cause. When you’re a benchmark winery for your region, such as Israel’s Castel Winery, located on the western foothills of Jerusalem, just lending your name to a cause can assist a fundraising campaign yet this year the owners of the Castel Winery, the Ben Zaken family, decided to do something a bit special to draw attention and support to a local Jerusalem charity.
On June 6th, at the Tavi Gallery, in the trendy wine friendly Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the Castel Winery will be co-hosting an invitation only reception for a charity auction of limited edition wines with limited edition labels to support Threefold Chord which has been providing assistance to at risk young adults in the Jerusalem area since 1999. For those at risk ages 14 to 25 year olds Threefold Chord provides a safe and comfortable living space in their own facilities that also provides education, counseling and training for one to two years that is targeted to take those who’ve faced obstacles at a young age and give them the sanctuary, sustenance and skills where they can regroup and get back on track towards fulfilling their potential and achieving independence.
Several renowned Israelis artists were recruited to provide the labels and the original art will be on display alongside the bottles from June 7th until June 13th with an auction on June 24th. With all the proceeds going to charity, any successful bid is also a complete tax deduction. International bids are welcome and although the price of shipping isn’t included the logistics can be facilitated by the winery. The well-known Israeli artists who were invited and contributed artwork for auction and for labels are a Who’s Who of Artists in Israel: Ariel Azene, Nissim Ben Aderet, Amnon Daviv Ar, Yair Garbuz, Ori Gersht, Menashe Kadishman, Michel Kichka, Ofer Lellouche, Phillip Rantzer, Jan Rauchwerger, Gideon Rubin, Eran Shakine & Yigael Tumarkin.
A total of 66 auction items will be available from the 13 artists with one artist providing 6 labels for a total of 18 collectible labels. For each artist, there is a 6 liter bottle “imperial,” a 3 liter “double magnum,” a 1.5 liter “magnum” and a 12 bottle 750ml “standard size” case and a 6 bottle case. There are also 18 bottle sets for auction representing all the collectible labels. All the bottles are filled from their 2009 Castel Gran Vin, their flagship Bordeaux style blend that has won praise from international wine experts and enthusiasts as an example of how Israel can produce elegant world-class wines. And it just so happens to be kosher as well.
This isn’t Castel’s first contribution to Threefold Chord as they have been donating wine and capital for several years. But in the last two years, the staff of Castel has become more and more involved in almost a partnership as Ariel Ben Zaken, the CEO and the founder’s son, volunteers on the board of the directors, their marketing manager, Stav Avrahami donates her time to assist in marketing and fundraising and other men and women from the winery donate their time volunteering and mentoring respectfully at the men’s and women’s “hostels.”
Threefold Chord hopes to soon expand their services to providing an emergency shelter for at risk young adults who need a place to stay for just one night as well as a separate facility similar to their other hostels for in need mothers who need support and mentoring for one to two years.
In the long run, charities, like Threefold Chord, besides providing humanitarian assistance provide a service to the greater community. Their boost for a short but crucial and meaningful period of time in these young people’s lives can and should save a community an exponential amount of money over the course of their lives if they weren’t otherwise assisted as they transition from childhood to becoming adults. Sometimes the biggest difference you can make in a young person’s life is just showing there are people out there who care.
Holding the event in Tel Aviv, allows the charity to expand their pool of supporters beyond the outskirts of Jerusalem. If you don’t win a bid for one of the 66 auction items that doesn’t have to prevent you from making a donation to Threefold Chord. Any of the limited edition 2009 Castel Gran Vin bottles surely make a nice prize but the satisfaction of making a difference in the lives of young Jews in need can even be more rewarding.
More information about the wines and Threefold Chord can be found at :
http://castelartandwine.com/
