In Israel the faces of Hamas hostages star in a special line of bottles

Seven bottles, seven people, seven stories: in Israel a special line of wines, “Wines of Hope”, has been dedicated to some of the hostages who, since 7 October, have been in the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas. The aim of the initiative, as reported yesterday by “The Jerusalem Post” (among the main Israeli newspapers), born from the collaboration between the families of the kidnapped and two well-known wineries in the country, is to raise public awareness, but also to raise funds. A third of the profits are in fact donated to the “Forum Hostages and Missing Families”, which represents the families of the hostages. In each bottle the photograph and description of seven of the 133 people still held captive by Hamas: Noa Argamani, Carmel Gat, Omer Shem Tov, Romi Gonen, Oded Lifshitz, Omer Wenkert and Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The line was created by the “Wine on the Vine” team – a site created in 2020 with the aim of promoting and selling the best of the country’s wine production – and includes wines from the Jezreel Valley Winery and the Ramat Negev Winery. The families of the hostages provided photographs and descriptions of their loved ones, while on the back label there is the writing: “Every bottle of wine tells a story. “Wines of Hope” tells the story of the 257 hostages taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and in particular the 133 people still there. With every sip, we drink this wine as a symbol of hope and desire for their return, until the day we can drink with them, fully rejoicing and celebrating freedom.” The wines are currently available for sale in Israel and the United States.
“The most important thing is for people to understand the current situation and know each hostage. This is what we hope to offer with “Wines of Hope”: a new way of explaining our reality, which is the most important thing we can focus on to bring everyone home,” noted Adam Scott Bellos, one of the founders of “Wine on the Vine”. As a sign of hope, the families promised to open their bottles of wine only when their loved ones returned from captivity in Gaza.