Winery and restaurant in Arad hosts a “winery and knight’s feast.”
By LINDA GRADSTEINMedurat Hashevet, Arad(photo credit: Courtesy)
I am a member of an active wine lovers group, and when our fearless leader, Orit Gilad, publicizes a new activity, it fills quickly. So when I saw an invitation to a “winery and knight’s feast,” I quickly pressed on the link to reserve my place.I assumed the winery was in the Tel Aviv area, and it was only later when I read the fine print, that I realized it was in Arad. Arad? Who goes from Jerusalem to Arad for dinner? I guess I do.With my friend and fellow wine lover Yonatan Livny, we had a lovely drive down through the West Bank to Arad. It took about an hour and a half through a landscape that looks like hasn’t changed much since biblical times.Our hosts, Eli and Dganit Bar Sadeh, welcomed us to their home. The winery is in the basement, and the feast is held in their backyard.It was easy to find the winery, as I just followed the smell of meat. The winery makes a total of 4ת000 bottles, and the winemaker is their son, Tzuf, currently a soldier.His father Eli welcomed us and got us started on the first of ten types of meat we would eat throughout the evening. Eli manned a huge grill and the meat is aged there as well. Everything that is served, from the vegetables to the condiments to the focaccia is homemade.There was a lot of meat, including several types that are not usually served in most restaurants in Israel, including Denver steak, bone marrow and lamb spareribs. Eli kept putting out more and more meat, and we kept filling our plates over and over. All of the meat was perfectly grilled.About half-way through we took a break, and Eli, a large man with a graying ponytail, told us the story of the winery. They make 4,000 bottles a year, with no sulfites. All of the fruit is organic. Eli is passionate about the winery, and can discourse at length about various types of wild yeast.We tasted five types of wine: Sangiovese (the main wine of Tuscany), Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot, which is rarely made as a separate varietal. I especially liked the Sangiovese and the Petit Verdot. The wine was served in carafes, which were refilled as needed.Dessert was platters of fruit, and brownies that I did not taste but looked delicious. After a quick coffee, I was on the road again, but decided to take a different route home.The fixed price of NIS 250 per person includes a visit to the winery, and the knight’s feast.Medurat Hashevet3 Hasayarim, AradPhone: 050-422-4777Hours: Thursday and Friday nights and by appointment.Kashrut: All food and wine are kosher, but location is not certified.The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
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