What Did Jesus Drink? A Bethlehem Winery is Embracing Ancient, Indigenous GrapesLinda Gradstein
As millions of people around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, Bethlehem’s Cremisan Wine Estate has just finished bottling its 2018 vintage. Founded by Salesian monks in 1885, Cremisan makes wine using indigenous Palestinian grapes. Some scholars say these are the types of wines that Jesus most likely drank.
“The Salesian fathers started making the first wines, called Messa, to use in churches,†Fadi Batarseh, Cremisan’s winemaker, says. The monastery started making wines in the 1880s, using grapes that are at least 2,000 years old. Batarseh, a Palestinian Christian and Jerusalem native who studied winemaking in Italy, joined the winery in 2015. “We make a white and a red, both sweet, because Catholics use white wine for mass, and the Orthodox use red,†he says.
While winemakers in Israel’s Golan Heights have found success growing imported grapes like Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, Cremisan and select others are embracing the fruit that has grown in the region for centuries. Batarseh is leading the charge, incorporating modern technique and local, ancient grapes. ...
Cremisan is just a few miles from Jerusalem, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. The winery is stunningly beautiful, with green hills more reminiscent of Tuscany than the hardscrabble West Bank. There are terraces and hundreds of ancient olive trees that also make excellent olive oil, which the winery also markets. ...
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