When Wine and Politics Collide
Ξ October 11th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |
For those of us interested in the development and improvement of new wine regions; for those who cheer on the heroic struggle for the world-wide recognition of new wines from around the globe, fewer regions have shown as much promise so quickly as Israel. A Wine Spectator article from the summer of 2008 admirably sums up the changes brought to the wine-making culture by a new generation. As the article’s author Kim Marcus writes,
“I came away impressed by the leaps in quality, especially of the red wines, and by the dedication of the vintners. On my previous visit, many bottlings were tired or had matured before their time. This year, many reds displayed mineral elements and firm structures, as well as rich spicy notes, pointing to an emerging Israeli style.”
The article goes on to quote Shuki Yashuv of Agur Winery, located in the Judean Hills.
“In this country, we still don’t have enough vineyards. The plots are small, it’s expensive and we need capital—and the market is so small,” says vintner Shuki Yashuv, the owner of Agur Winery in the Judean Hills. Yashuv reckons that the potential domestic market is only about 2 million out of a total population of 7.2 million, once the nondrinking Muslim and Jewish populations are taken out of the mix. “We have lands, especially in the Judean Hills, but it’s a question of investment. We need to grow and export,” he says. “We understand it’s an extremely competitive wine world.”
From stories posted here about Israel’s thriving wine industry by one of Reign of Terroir’s writers, Greybeard, the point is emphatically made. This is a region to watch!
Indeed, one the greatest success stories is that of Agur Winery, which in 2007 did exceptionally well in a series of international tastings, from a Gold Medal in the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, another Gold at the prestigious Zarcillo competition. And the good news continues into 2009 with the inclusion for the first time of the Agur Winery in Hugh Johnson’s 2010 edition of his dependable Pocket Wine Book.
But one element in the Wine Spectator’s coverage is not quite correct, or was left out. Agur Winery has, in fact, additional owners, Rosa and Peter Schechter. From Mr. Schechter’s website.
“[...] Rosa and Peter are co-proprietors of Agur Winery in Israel. Situated next to Bet Shemesh in the beautiful Judean Hills between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, the area is designated by the Jewish Federation of Greater as Washington’s sister city. Shuki Yashuv, Agur’s winemaker, is Peter’s talented cousin. They have grown Agur in the past ten years from a garage winery into a blossoming, exporting winery with Gold and Silver Medals from prestigious wine competitions in Spain, USA, Argentina, Columbia, Panama and Israel.”
Who is Peter Schechter? In addition to being Agur Winery’s co-owner, Mr. Schechter has accomplished many other things. He is also a novelist of political thrillers, Virginia farmer, editorialist and a very successful Washington D.C. restauranteur. Indeed, he co-owns five D.C eateries. Again from Mr. Schechter’s website.
“Peter is also one of the founding owners of the celebrity chef, José Andrés’ DC food kingdom.”
For those interested in the very talented José Andrés, please see this.
But, (and here is where the rubber hits the road) Mr. Schechter is also one of the three founding partners of Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter, (CLS) a high-powered PR/lobbying firm headquartered in Washington D.C. CLS has been much in the news lately. They were recently hired by the Honduran military junta to improve its sullied international image following upon their coup of the Constitutionally-elected President, Manuel Zelaya. As The Hill reported on September 27th:
“According to Justice Department documents, the Honduran government signed Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates to a four-month contract worth more than $290,000. Filed on Sept. 18 with Justice by the public relations firm, the documents say the company will “advance the level of communication, awareness and media/policy maker attention about the political situation in Honduras.”
And again, from The Gov Monitor:
“The government of Honduras – referred to these days as ‘de facto,’ ‘interim’ or ‘illegitimate’ – is dealing with its public perception problem just like any tarnished ruling party would: by launching a PR campaign.
The interim government, installed after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup in June, has hired the Washington lobbyists Chlopak Leonard Schechter and Associates to sway policy makers’ opinions, The Hill reported last week. The nearly $300,000 contract was signed on Sept. 18. The lobbying firm – which has represented the governments of Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Georgia and Serbia, among others – is tasked with advancing “the level of communication, awareness and media/policy maker attention about the political situation in Honduras.”
If you’ve missed this story of the first military coup in Latin America in many years, please read this October 7th story from the New York Times. It not a pleasant account, redolent as it is with the ugly politics the region thought it had put behind them.
CLS has also recently signed on to help shine the image of another controversial government, long-suffering Kenya. According to sources familiar with the contract, 1.7 million dollars will be paid out over the next two years dedicated to, in the words of the blog Muigwithania 2.0:
“[h]iring a firm to sanitize the [image of the] country when the country can’t feed its people; has wanting governance; can’t protect its citizens against crime; can’t supply electricity; can’t supply water and is selling parcels of land to multinationals is like washing a cup on the outside but leaving its inside dirty.” [word order slightly changed]
An interesting question emerges from Mr. Schechter’s discordant assemblage of commercial interests. Will the fortunes of Agur Winery continue to flourish, and that of the restaurants, or will public opprobrium leave Mr. Schechter very much in need of all the PR talent he can muster? It will be an instructive mis-en-scène to follow.
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