By Ada Brunstein

All vineyards take pride in their land, but few can say that Jesus of Nazareth might have walked where their vines now grow. Or that near their winery locks of Samson’s hair once fell. But these are the stories that left their mark on the land in Israel, the home of a new generation of vineyards.

In the last twenty years this ancient region has sprouted roughly 200 boutique wineries, and at a tasting sponsored by the Israeli Consulate of New England last Wednesday, Bostonians tried wines from five of them.

The oldest winery of the group that night was Margalit, which was founded in 1989 by Yair Margalit who has a PhD in chemistry and used to teach in the wine program at UC Davis. Maybe it was the youthfulness of the wineries represented in the room – how often is a winery less than 20 years old considered the elder statesman? – but wherever I turned, I kept hearing winemakers say the most unexpected things.

When I asked Uri Ran – general manager of Tzora Vineyards (founded in 1993) – which grapes he thinks do particularly well in Israel, he said that it isn’t about the grape.

Winemaking isn’t about the grape?

“It’s about matching the grape to the territory,” he said, thinking no doubt of his winery’s three vineyards, each with distinct soil and each yielding different wine varieties.

Ah, I said.

“The idea of winemaking is not to impose yourself on the grape,” he continued. “Let it evolve.”

Let it evolve, I thought, sniffing the glass of Syrah in my hand as I went in search of another winemaker.

Next I spoke with Roy Itzhaki, general manager of Tulip Vineyards, who also told me something I didn’t expect to hear.

“What makes us unique is that we employ people with developmental problems,” he said proudly.

This family owned vineyard is located near Nazareth in Kfar Tikva (“village of hope”), a village for people with special needs. Those who work in the vineyard are involved in harvesting, bottling, packaging and welcoming guests in the visitor center.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the motto of Tulip Vineyards is “Wine that loves people.”

Next I spoke to Tal Pelter, who established Pelter winery in 2002 in Northern Golan Heights. I ask him what characterizes Israeli wines and – perhaps because he studied winemaking in Australia for three years before founding his winery – he gave me a more straight-forward answer. They’re spicy, he said, and the Syrahs and Cab Francs are particularly good. I sipped Pelter’s Syrah and indeed it was both smooth and spicy.

Like Tal Pelter, Gilad Flam thinks the Syrah grape does particularly well in Israel. Sure enough, my favorite wine of the evening – spicy with a hint of chocolate – was the Syrah/Cab mix from Flam. Gilad Flam and his brother Golan – who has a winemaking degree from Italy and worked in Tuscany and Southern Australia – established Flam winery in 1998. Their father was chief winemaker of the Carmel Winery, which was one of the first wineries to revive the industry in Israel after a long “dry” period.

From his work in Italy and Australia, Golan Flam learned that it’s the smaller estate vineyards which generally have the best wines. So when he returned to Israel he knew that was the kind of vineyard he wanted. Shortly thereafter, Flam emerged as one of the first boutique vineyards in Israel.

If the winemakers I talked to, and the wines I tasted, are any indication – and I think they are – then vineyards in Israel today have two very important things going for them. First, an ancient history that is a source of pride and tradition and, second, a willingness to explore the techniques and practices of other regions around the world before bringing the best back home.