REGISTRATION ADVISORY: Please read through the complete program description before registering. This program includes a wine tasting kit as part of its registration price that must be picked up from a local Washington, DC wine bar.
Spend a fascinating evening expanding your knowledge of wine as you travel the world with sommelier Erik Segelbaum in a series of delectable wine-tasting adventures. The immersive program includes a curated personal tasting kit to enhance the experience.
Archeological and genetic evidence proves Israel as the birthplace of wine, with over 11,000 years of viticultural history. With ancient roots, Israel is the only place in the world where wines are still being produced from the same biblical-era grapes used to make those that Moses and Jesus drank. The modern Israeli wine industry owes its revitalization to the Baron Edmond de Rothschild, of the famous first growth Bordeaux-Château Lafite Rothschild, who started a winery in Israel in the late 1800s. While geopolitically the Middle East, climatically Israel is the eastern Mediterranean. It is here where grapevines thrive and wines of every conceivable style reach their apex. In fact, many of the most significant viticultural and agricultural inventions come from here, including drip irrigation. This delicious tasting explores the full range of Israeli wines, including rare indigenous varieties from the biblical era. It’s perfect for any lover of wine and history.
Wine Tasting Kit Information
- The cost includes a curated personal tasting kit with enough wine for one person to sample the full lineup of wines.
- Additional participants must register individually to receive their own tasting kit, which is an essential component of the workshop.
- Kits are available during two scheduled pick-up times the day before the program and the day of the program, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., at the Shilling Canning Company (360 Water Street SE, Washington, DC; Metro: Navy Yard-Ballpark station, Green line).
- NOTE: Patrons will receive additional wine tasting kit pick-up information by email prior to the program.
- Due to state and federal laws, Smithsonian Associates cannot ship wine kits. However, SOMLYAY may be able to provide kits to participants outside the Washington, D.C., area (who must cover shipping costs). Please contact erik4wine@gmail.com for more information.
About Erik Segelbaum
Erik Segelbaum is a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 Tastemaker for 2020 and Food & Wine magazine’s 2019 Sommelier of the Year. He holds the designation of Advanced Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, one of fewer than 600 specialists in the world who hold this level of certification. Segelbaum is the former corporate wine and beverage director for Starr Restaurants, a wine journalist and educator, and chief vinnovation officer of SOMLYAY hospitality and private events consultancy.
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