Sommeliers-in-training

October 31, 2008 - 11:36 AM by Harry · 2 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, Business, Food, General, Israeliness

A member of The Premier Cru One of the most cleverly snide Israel-related blogs out there, Zabaj pines for an Israel that makes the most of her potential. But Zabaj conveys this message by bitingly yet lovingly calling natives out on their shortcomings. A recent Zabaj rant cuts an up-and-coming sommelier collective down to size nicely.

Israeli wine tastes have steadily been improving over the past decade or so, and with the growing number of delicious wines now being produced here, the country has become a destination for oeno-tourism. So it only makes sense that firms like Premier Cru are starting to pop up, offering wine catering for private upscale events, consulting services for discerning (or discerning wannabe) customers and special tastings.

Nevertheless, the launch of the Premier Cru website is surely an occasion for ridicule.

The most interesting part of the site, however, is “The Team,” where they provide detailed bios on all their wine connoisseurs.

In this case, knowing the people behind the company makes you lose any interest in actually working with them. The impression you get is that most employees are students at Tel Aviv University (many seem to be majoring in biotechnology) and are also children of the former soviet union.

But wait – it get’s more entertaining and scathing….

And if you have any doubt, make sure to read Tal’s profile, where you’ll learn that she enjoys “light athletics” (don’t ask me what that means) and “banji.” I wonder if she packs a beg of mashrooms while on her way to do banji.

Does anyone get the impression from the website these people can do what they claim? No references, no real pictures, no stories… just glamorous-sounding mumbo jumbo. And, by the way, all the pictures on the site were taken in a furniture store.

Ouch. Alright – so their transliteration from Hebrew-appropriated English into proper English isn’t the most accurate. And they don’t really have sense of what kind of marketing content would be impressive to potential customers. If only I could find the address for that furniture store….

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Tags: israeli wine, Premier Cru, Sommelier, spelling, Tel Aviv University, wine, Zabaj

Edgy thespian workshop

October 29, 2008 - 5:24 PM by Harry · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture

Three Small Silences Run by Tel Aviv University’s prestigious Theater Department, the SmallStage festival kicks its seventh year of operations off this Sunday for five days of fringe drama performances.

The festival is constituted of productions headed by those studying in or otherwise associated with the department, which is the country’s largest and arguably most respected drama program. Many of its alumni have moved on to become among the elite in Israeli theater and entertainment, including the festival’s founder, Lilach Dekel-Avneri, who now works with the Tmuna troupe.

Including staged plays as well as off-stage dramatic “happenings,” the festival itself maintains a decidedly fringe vibe thanks to the hunger and integrity of its participants, but also thanks to strict guidelines that all shows stick to low spending budgets, high standards of edgy creativity and a crisp 50-minute duration ceiling.

This year’s festival has been largely conceived by artistic director Liron Libskind, currently working on his master’s degree in theater. Among the intriguing performance titles are Three Small Silences (pictured), She and Birdman.

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