S. Simon Jacob: 0:09

Welcome to The Kosher Terroir. I'm Simon Jacob, your host for this episode from Jerusalem. Before we get started, I ask that, wherever you are, please take a moment and pray for the safety of our soldiers and the safe return of all of our hostages. Welcome back to The Kosher Terroir, the podcast where tradition meets terroir and stories of wine connect cultures, communities and climates. I'm your host and today we're stepping into the vineyard of the future. Imagine this A lush Galilee vineyard where robotic arms gently prune the vines, guided by AI algorithms that understand each grape variety's history and microclimate. A winemaker walks through the rows not with a clipboard, but with augmented reality glasses displaying sugar levels and hydration metrics in real time. Walks through the rows not with a clipboard, but with augmented reality glasses displaying sugar levels and hydration metrics in real time. At the fermentation station, sensors fine-tune every degree in seconds while machine learning predicts the ideal barrel aging curve, all while maintaining full kosher supervision and compliance. This isn't science fiction. Kosher supervision and compliance this isn't science fiction. This is the edge of what's possible and what's already quietly happening in the world of wine and kosher wine. It's not just included, it's poised to lead.

S. Simon Jacob: 1:37

In this episode, we explore how artificial intelligence, humanoid robotics and breakthrough technologies from drone tech to blockchain to genetic engineering are reshaping kosher winemaking. Over the next five years, the entire production process, from soil prep to harvest, from fermentation to final bottling, could undergo a transformation as radical as the move from foot-stomping grapes to stainless steel vats. We'll explore 10 cutting-edge innovations, starting from the subtle yet essential building up to the most impactful and paradigm-shifting technologies that could redefine how we think of kosher wine entirely. Now let's journey into the very heart of this transformation. Over the next five years, kosher wine production is going to feel very different. Some of these changes will be subtle, behind the scenes, invisible to the average wine lover. Others, they'll be revolutionary. Together, these ten technological innovations are shaping the next vintage, not just of wine, but of kosher winemaking itself.

S. Simon Jacob: 2:52

Let's start with the ground we walk on, literally. The first major area of innovation is smart irrigation and soil sensing. Now, this may not sound glamorous, but it's a game changer. Imagine your vineyard soil Dry in one section, too wet in another. Without tech, you're just guessing, but with embedded sensors that speak to a central system, your vineyard can hydrate itself like a living organism. The tech understands exactly when and where to release water and nutrients, conserving precious resources, especially in places like Israel's desert or parts of California. The benefits Enormous Healthier grapes, better expression of terroir and a serious reduction in waste. The drawbacks Installation costs can sting and you'll need a bit of training to manage the data, but the return on investment, both financially and environmentally, is substantial. And, best of all, with clear boundaries, this system can fully respect all ritual laws and guidelines.

S. Simon Jacob: 4:04

Next up AI-driven pest prediction systems. Vineyards across the globe deal with pests From mealybugs to downy mildew, and kosher vineyards are no exception. Ai can now analyze patterns from weather, soil and even drone footage to predict an outbreak before it happens. That's prevention instead of reaction. That means fewer chemicals, more organic options and a vineyard that feels as clean and pure as the wine you hope to produce. Sure, the system may take time to learn and, yes, early models can give false alarms, but over time it learns your vineyard, it protects your yield and it's especially useful for maintaining eco-kosher practices where synthetic treatments are limited or discouraged From pests to people, or rather paperwork.

S. Simon Jacob: 5:01

Blockchain technology is about to quietly revolutionize kosher certification. Think of blockchain as a digital chain of trust, a record that can't be altered, manipulated or faked. Every step of wine production, from grape sourcing to barrel aging, to who turned on the pasteurization unit can be logged, timestamped and validated. Imagine scanning a QR code on your bottle and seeing a digital timeline of every production and ritual checkpoint. Consumers gain confidence, exporters gain trust and rabbinical supervision. They gain clarity. It's not perfect, training is required and it may be overkill for tiny boutique wineries, but for anyone exporting to large Jewish communities around the world, it's a no-brainer. Transparency has never tasted so good.

S. Simon Jacob: 5:56

Let's talk now about a technology that looks like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie Augmented reality in the vineyard. We're not talking about holograms. We're talking about AR glasses that display real-time data as you walk the vineyard rows Grape ripeness, vine health, hydration status all right in front of your eyes, hands-free For rabbinical supervision. It's an incredible tool for oversight For winemakers. It turns every walkthrough into a data-rich experience. There are, of course, costs involved, both financial and cultural. Some will resist the shift away from traditional tactile vineyard work, but used wisely, ar can enhance intuition, not replace it.

S. Simon Jacob: 6:45

Speaking of replacing things, let's head into the fermentation room. Here, ai fermentation systems are making magic. Real-time adjustments to temperature, sugar content and yeast activity can mean the difference between a flawed batch and a gold medal vintage. What's powerful here is consistency, especially for kosher wines, where pasteurization can impact flavor, and timing is critical. Ai doesn't sleep, it doesn't get distracted, but it must be reined in. We're not looking to replace the intuition of a great winemaker or override rabbinical oversight. Instead, ai becomes a partner, a sort of digital assistant winemaker that flags issues before they arise and helps keep fermentation on the path to excellence.

S. Simon Jacob: 7:36

We're moving towards something that truly redefines labor. This one is huge. Imagine robots, some humanoid, others more like smart rovers Pruning vines, thinning leaves, even harvesting, all with surgical precision For kosher production, especially when it comes to grapes before the boiling process. This could eliminate the need for supervision of non-Jewish labor not handling already liquid grape products. That alone makes this tech a potential ritual breakthrough, and yet it comes with real philosophical questions. Can a robot make real decisions? Is it subject to intent? The answer is not yet. So we'll need hybrid models, humans overseeing and programming every step, with rabbis guiding the ritual framework. Still, we are entering a world where vines will be trimmed and trellised without a single human touch A surreal but very possible future.

S. Simon Jacob: 8:36

Next, we look beneath the vines, literally to genetic rootstock matching. Here AI pairs grape varieties with rootstocks optimized for the local soil, disease resistance and even drought resilience. It means using natural variants more intelligently. Think of it like matchmaking for vines. Want a cabernet that thrives in rocky soil and resists phylloxera? The system can find the perfect match.

S. Simon Jacob: 9:04

This kind of precision viticulture can reshape entire regions, especially those facing heat waves or unpredictable rains. Yes, it's slow to bear fruit, sometimes literally, and yes, it may raise eyebrows among traditionalists, but if done transparently and respectfully, it's a tool that could help Israeli wine regions adapt and thrive for generations. Then, of course, there's the sky. Drone technology is already common in large vineyards, but the next step is multispectral imaging using drones to scan the health of every vine, spot early signs of disease and map out microclimates within a single vineyard. This creates the kind of precision that enables targeted harvesting, better canopy management and real-time troubleshooting. It even helps with security and supervision. Drones can monitor workers during labor-sensitive times. The only drawbacks workers during labor-sensitive times. The only drawbacks Costs and airspace regulations, especially near airports or security zones. But with proper permissions and growing adoption, drones will become standard in every serious vineyard.

S. Simon Jacob: 10:17

And now we approach something big Automated kosher compliance monitoring. This isn't replacing rabbinical supervision, far from it. It's about empowering it. Ai-powered cameras, object recognition systems and process trackers can verify that everything from bottling to boiling happens under strict, ritual-driven conditions. This could be especially helpful during the heat of production Think large wineries handling hundreds of batches during harvest. By giving rabbinical supervisors remote eyes and recorded logs, mistakes can be caught or prevented entirely. This system will never replace the rabbinic mind, but it can multiply the reach of a conscientious supervisor. And finally we arrive at perhaps the most transformative force of all, but it can multiply the reach of a conscientious supervisor.

S. Simon Jacob: 11:10

And finally, we arrive at perhaps the most transformative force of all AI-driven flavor and market prediction. This is where wine meets psychology, sociology and big data. Algorithms are already being trained to understand how age, gender, location and even weather affect a person's flavor preferences. Now imagine pairing that with tasting notes, vintage reports and buying history. The result A winery that knows what its audience wants before they do Want to launch a rosé for the Miami market. Ai can tell you what alcohol level, acidity and label color will appeal most.

S. Simon Jacob: 11:49

For kosher winemakers, who already navigate tight markets and varied cultural expectations, this is pure gold. Of course, we must tread carefully. Wine is art. Data should guide, not dictate. But when tradition meets insight, that's where magic happens. So there they are Ten technologies ascending in impact that together point to a radically different kosher winemaking world, a world where robots prune, ai predicts the perfect pour and drones oversee your vineyard from dawn till dusk. It's not just efficient, it's intentional and, if we do it right, it will be not only kosher in certification, but kosher in spirit, respectful of tradition, guided by wisdom and full of soul.

S. Simon Jacob: 12:38

There's something we have to talk about, not just as winemakers or wine lovers, but as people living through times of enormous uncertainty, because the truth is, technology doesn't just evolve in a vacuum. It accelerates under pressure, it grows when there's no other choice. We saw this during COVID. One minute, the idea of holding high-level meetings over Zoom felt distant, clunky, almost second tier. The next minute, the entire world had pivoted Courts, schools, shuls, family get-togethers, even wine tastings, all online. The technology wasn't new, but the mindset shift that was seismic and it was born from necessity.

S. Simon Jacob: 13:25

And here in Israel, since October 7th, we've experienced another kind of seismic shift. The heartbreaking events of that day and the war that followed didn't just disrupt life, they disrupted labor, most of our skilled Israeli agricultural workers, those who know the land, who understand the vines, who've worked harvests year after year, were called into military service. Overnight we lost entire teams and the foreign workers we've long relied on. Many left the country in fear, while others found themselves unable to return due to flight suspensions, border restrictions and safety concerns. Suddenly, the hands we trusted to pick, to prune, to press were gone. And that's not the only layer.

S. Simon Jacob: 14:17

In both the North and the South, our vineyards have faced not just logistical barriers but physical danger. Katyusha rockets and drone attacks have made it too risky, sometimes impossible, to access vines at critical moments in the growing cycle. Vraison waits for no ceasefire. Ripeness doesn't pause for conflict. The vines go on, whether we can reach them or not.

S. Simon Jacob: 14:42

In these moments, in the pain and frustration, the helplessness and urgency, a quiet realization has emerged we need new tools, not to replace people, but to protect the work, to ensure that, even in crisis, even when human presence is impossible or unsafe, the vineyard lives on. And that's why we're seeing an accelerated shift, a pivot toward the very technologies we've been talking about. Drones can fly over restricted areas, scan canopy health and detect ripening from the safety of a command center kilometers away. Robotic harvesters can be deployed when human crews cannot reach the field. Smart irrigation can operate autonomously when no one can physically access the vineyard for days. Fermentation and bottling systems monitored and adjusted by AI can keep wine stable even when staff numbers are down or travel is disrupted. In normal times, these tools are luxuries. In times of crisis, they're lifelines.

S. Simon Jacob: 15:49

There's another factor at play here resilience. If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that the wine industry, especially the kosher wine industry, must build deeper resilience into its systems. Climate change, war, pandemic the unexpected has become the everyday, and we owe it to our land, our legacy and our people to prepare for that. We've already seen some wineries in the Negev begin to experiment with autonomous monitoring tools because the physical distance is too great and the danger too real. In the Galilee, some winemakers are working with AI-driven weather prediction tools that can help them make harvesting decisions remotely. Remotely, a few are even exploring underground sensor networks low maintenance, high impact that continue to function whether there's staff on site or not, and let's not forget Kashrut.

S. Simon Jacob: 16:54

During these challenging times, rabbinic supervisors have also faced restrictions on movement. Remote supervision technology, enhanced by blockchain, live camera feeds and AI process logs, is no longer a fantasy. It's an emerging necessity, and rabbinical bodies, long cautious with new tech, are beginning to recognize the need for structured adaptation. None of this is about replacing the heart and soul of winemaking Quite the opposite it's about protecting it Through drought. Then we have a foundation on which to rebuild. We are in a moment when the pain of today is helping to plant the seeds of tomorrow and, like any good vintage, the results may not be immediate, but they will be worth the wait. So let's take a deep breath and imagine it. The year is 2030, just five short harvests from now.

S. Simon Jacob: 18:04

You're standing in the middle of a kosher vineyard somewhere in the upper Galilee. The early morning sun is rising, casting long golden rays across rows of thriving vines. But this isn't just a beautiful vineyard. It's a smart one, it's responsive and, most of all, it's sacred. As you look around, you notice there are no tractors roaring in the distance. Instead, you see sleek, quiet vineyard robots gliding between the rows.

S. Simon Jacob: 18:33

One is trimming canopies with the gentle precision of a surgeon. It's arm-guided by machine learning that knows the vine's stress levels better than any human could. Another is checking soil moisture, its internal sensors communicating directly with the smart irrigation system, ensuring that not a drop of water is wasted Overhead. A drone zigzags silently capturing thermal images and multi-spectral scans. It sees everything the human eye can't, from a tiny patch of fungal growth to a developing ripeness imbalance in the syrah block. The data goes straight to the winemaker's ar headset. She sees it in real time red zones that that need thinning, yellow patches that are harvest-ready. No more guesswork, just intelligent, data-backed choices that maximize flavor, minimize loss and protect the environment.

S. Simon Jacob: 19:31

But what's even more revolutionary and perhaps even more moving, is the way rabbinic integrity is preserved throughout this. High-tech space. Surveillance systems equipped with AI object detection monitor production areas 24-6. A supervising rabbi, perhaps in Jerusalem or Brooklyn, can log in anytime to see the action in real time, reviewing process logs with timestamps and kosher certification seals tracked on blockchain. There are no gaps, no doubts. From grape to glass, the wine's kosher status is transparent, traceable and trustworthy.

S. Simon Jacob: 20:10

In the winery itself, fermentation tanks glow softly alive with automated systems fine-tuning temperature and sugar levels every second. Automated systems fine-tuning temperature and sugar levels every second. The rabbinical supervisor isn't sidelined. He's collaborating with the tech, approving processes, validating transitions, stepping in only when ritual demands it. The machines don't override, they support, they enhance. Even during bottling, precision robots ensure that no errors occur in labeling or pasteurization. In fact, an alert system detects if a ritual protocol hasn't been followed to the letter and pauses production instantly. That's not just innovation, that's accountability at a level we've never had before.

S. Simon Jacob: 20:59

Now let's talk weather, the wild card that has haunted vintners for millennia. In this future, vineyard AI models have already absorbed years of climate data, soil behavior and varietal tendencies. They know when to hedge against drought, when to delay harvest because of late season rains and when to deploy covers or fans to fight early frost. The vineyard isn't just reacting anymore, it's anticipating. As for disease, we've cracked that too. Through carefully guided genetic selection, not genetic modification. We now have grapevines with natural resistances to mildew, root rot and even certain insect infestations. These aren't sci-fi hybrids. They're the product of centuries of tradition enhanced by a decade of data. They're pure, they're natural and they're strong. And then there's the wine itself. The profiles have evolved.

S. Simon Jacob: 21:59

Ai-assisted market analysis has given winemakers the confidence to try new things. Boutique wineries are exploring kosher pet gnats, kosher orange wines, low-alcohol reds that still have body and bold dessert wines that finally get the aging they deserve. Consumer preferences aren't just tracked, they're understood, empathized with, even predicted, and for the global kosher wine drinker, whether they're sipping in Johannesburg, sao Paulo or Singapore, they're part of a connected experience. They can scan a bottle and see where the grapes were picked, when the wine was racked, who supervised it and how it scored against their own preferences. Kosher wine has gone global, gone digital, and yet it's never been more grounded in identity, tradition and intention.

S. Simon Jacob: 22:55

All of this is coming, not in decades, in vintages, and it's coming fast. But here's the real takeaway we're not replacing the winemakers, we're empowering them. We're not replacing the rabbinical supervisors, we're amplifying them. We're not sidelining tradition, we're giving it a platform, tools and reach that our ancestors never could have imagined. Kosher wine, once constrained by perception, limited in selection and doubted in quality, is entering a renaissance fueled by technology but rooted in holiness. We can resist the changes or we can shape them, shape them in our image, in our values, in our story, because in the end the tools may change, but the soul of the wine. Or we can shape them, shape them in our image, in our values, in our story, because in the end the tools may change, but the soul of the wine, that sacred whisper of the vineyard, must remain, and now it can. To fully understand the transformation unfolding in kosher wine. We have to zoom out Way out, because the shift we're seeing in the vineyards of Israel, the Rhone Valley or the Judean hills, it's not happening in isolation. It's part of something much bigger a global agricultural revolution, one that's been accelerated by the most powerful forces of our time pandemic, war and climate disruption.

S. Simon Jacob: 24:21

Let's rewind to 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world like a lightning bolt. Suddenly, borders closed, labor disappeared, supply chains broke and, across the globe, farmers found themselves staring down empty fields they couldn't plant crops, they couldn't harvest, and markets that had vanished overnight. Dairy farmers dumped milk, grain elevators overflowed, vineyards, even some kosher ones, left grapes hanging on the vine. But what happened next was extraordinary. Agriculture adapted rapidly. In a matter of months, farms began integrating tools that had previously been seen as fringe, expensive or maybe someday Drones for crop monitoring, artificial intelligence for yield forecasting, autonomous tractors, blockchain for traceability, digital marketplaces, remote sensors, robot harvesters. It wasn't just about staying efficient, it was about staying alive.

S. Simon Jacob: 25:25

And this shift, this recalibration of expectations, didn't end with the pandemic, because shortly after, the world was shaken again by war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine didn't just devastate lives. It threw the global food supply into chaos. Ukraine and Russia together had accounted for almost a third of the world's wheat exports. When that supply stopped, prices surged, not just for bread, but for fertilizer, grain-fed livestock and shipping itself. It affected everything, including wine. Now, combine that with increasing climate volatility, record-breaking droughts in California, historic floods in Europe and hailstorms in Chile that wiped out entire harvests, and you get a picture of an industry under pressure from every side.

S. Simon Jacob: 26:18

So what's the result? The quiet emergence of a new agricultural mindset, one that sees technology not as an add-on but as infrastructure, one that views automation not as a luxury but as insurance, one that understands data not as a novelty but as a necessity for resilience. And kosher wine is right in the middle of this evolution. In Israel, the post-October 7th reality has only deepened this urgency, with large swaths of skilled labor redirected to military service, foreign workers unable to enter the country, and vineyards in the north and south often inaccessible due to rocket fire.

S. Simon Jacob: 27:01

Wineries are living the global shift in hyperspeed Technology that might have once been discussed in theory robotic pruning, drone-assisted harvest planning, remote fermentation management is now being piloted in real time, not as innovation, but as adaptation. And this is where it gets interesting, because kosher wine, unlike much of the general wine world is already structured around intentionality, supervision and standards. That means we're uniquely positioned to lead in this next wave. While many general wine producers are scrambling to layer transparency and traceability into their systems, kosher wineries already have the mindset and frameworks for it. Now we just need to digitize them. What if kashrut compliance logs were stored on blockchain? What if fermentation was tracked by AI and audited remotely by rabbinic authorities? What if drones weren't just for canopy analysis, but also for supervising remote agricultural teams? These aren't far-fetched ideas. They're natural extensions of where the rest of agriculture is going and where we must go too.

S. Simon Jacob: 28:22

And perhaps most crucially, this global shift is changing the conversation about tradition, because around the world, farmers are learning to blend ancient wisdom with modern tools, just as Jewish winemakers have always done. It's no longer a question of whether to embrace tech. It's a question of how and who will do it with integrity. That's the opportunity right now for kosher wine To take the best of what's happening globally the precision, the automation, the resilience and infuse it with our unique values, our sacred standards and our storytelling, because the post-COVID, post-crisis world will not wait for us to catch up, but it will listen if we lead To understand the future of kosher winemaking, especially as it leaps forward into AI, robotics and digital supervision.

S. Simon Jacob: 29:21

We have to look back Not just a few years, but centuries, even millennia, Because in the Jewish world, crisis and innovation are not strangers to one another. They are dance partners, reluctant, yes, but often inseparable. Think about it Almost every major transformation in Jewish wine production has come not during times of comfort and plenty, but during moments of disruption, exile and necessity. Let's start in the Roman Empire. After the destruction of the Second Temple, jews were scattered throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Suddenly, they could no longer rely on the centralized offerings of wine for sacrificial purposes. So what did they do? They adapted, developing homegrown systems for wine production, supervision and even trade, which allowed Jewish communities to survive and spiritually thrive in places far from Jerusalem.

S. Simon Jacob: 30:22

Fast forward to medieval Europe, wine was central to Jewish life, and yet Jews were banned in many areas from owning land or operating public vineyards. So they found new roles as brokers, as cellar masters, as private vintners within tight legal frameworks. They preserved tradition while navigating laws stacked against them, and when they couldn't produce wine themselves, they innovated around it, developing long-distance trade networks to ensure kosher wine reached even the smallest kehillah. Then came the pogroms and expulsions In Spain, in France, in Eastern Europe, again and again Jewish wine communities were uprooted. But somehow the rituals of Shabbat, of Passover, of Kiddush, those sacred moments that require wine, endured. And each time the Jewish people were forced to move, they brought their winemaking knowledge with them. They brought yeast strains, pruning techniques and regional Jewish customs that would seed new vineyards and new lands.

S. Simon Jacob: 31:33

Now think about the 20th century, after the Holocaust, when so many Jewish communities and their wineries were decimated. New centers of kosher winemaking rose from the ashes In California, in South America and, of course, in Israel. It was there, in the rocky soil of the Galilee and the desert heat of the South, that innovation returned with force. Suddenly, the Israeli wine industry wasn't just about survival, it was about excellence. Israeli winemakers began experimenting with European varietals, modern vinification techniques and climate-smart irrigation. Decades before these were buzzwords, and they did it, not in spite of hardship but because of it.

S. Simon Jacob: 32:22

Even the practice of pasteurization boiling the wine to preserve kosher status when handled by non-Jews is a response to diasporic challenge. For centuries it was a compromise, a way to uphold kosher laws in foreign lands. But today wineries are pushing that boundary further, exploring lower-temperature flash pasteurization and using AI to preserve taste and structure. What began as a necessity is now becoming an art. And now here we are again, in a time of crisis war in the north and south, loss of skilled labor to military service, foreign workers unable to return, climate threats from every direction. We could freeze, we could mourn the past and long for the way things were, but we won't.

S. Simon Jacob: 33:13

Because if there's one thing Jewish winemaking has taught us, it's this we innovate not in spite of crisis, but because of it. The vineyard, after all, has never been a place of comfort. It's a place of endurance, of cycles of growth after pruning, of sweetness drawn from adversity and the Jewish people. We're much the same. Today, ai and automation may seem foreign to our sacred traditions, just as steel tanks once did, or global shipping or mechanized bottling. But each generation of Jewish winemakers has faced the same question how do we protect the soul of the wine, even as we change the tools we use to make it? And just as they did before, we will answer that question Not by retreating but by rising, not by fearing change, but by infusing it with holiness.

S. Simon Jacob: 34:10

So the next time you open a bottle of kosher wine, whether it's from the hills of Tuscany or the sands of southern Israel. Take a moment, remember that inside that bottle is more than fermented grape juice. There's history, there's innovation and there's a story of a people who, no matter what, found a way to sanctify the moment through crisis, through change and through wine. Let's take a moment to shift focus Not to the vineyard, not to the cellar, but to the table, to the person pouring the wine, to the one scanning the label, reading the back of the bottle, checking for a kosher seal and wondering what does this wine say about me? Because the kosher wine industry isn't just evolving behind the scenes with tech, ai and robotics. It's also changing because the person on the other end of the bottle, the consumer, is changing Rapidly. We are entering an era of the wine consumer of tomorrow and, make no mistake, they are not like the generations before.

S. Simon Jacob: 35:18

This next generation of kosher wine lovers, from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, johannesburg to Paris, is more connected, more curious and more conscious than ever before. They want more than a great label. They want meaning, they want transparency. They want to know that what they're drinking aligns with who they are. It used to be enough to say this wine is kosher. That was the headline, that was the reassurance. But for today's consumer, kosher is just the beginning. They want to know Is this wine sustainable? Were the workers treated fairly? Is this winery reducing its water use or its carbon footprint? What's the story of this varietal, this vineyard, this vintage? Can I see the process, not just the final product? They want access and they want their wine to reflect their values, jewish and otherwise.

S. Simon Jacob: 36:19

This isn't just speculation. We're seeing the data. Studies show that Gen Z and younger millennials, who now make up the fastest-growing segment of the wine-drinking public, are more likely to choose a bottle that aligns with a cause than with a region. They care less about vintage and more about impact, less about appellation and more about authenticity. For the kosher wine world that's a huge opportunity, because kosher already implies intentionality, supervision, standards. It's a built-in value proposition. But now we have the tools to expand that story. Imagine a bottle of kosher granache from the Galilee and on the back a QR code. You scan it and up pops a digital timeline when the grapes were picked, which rabbinical supervision certified the pressing, how the fermentation was tracked using AI, a note from the winemaker about soil health, even a 30-second clip of that actual vineyard during harvest. That's not science fiction. That's the expectation of the wine drinker of tomorrow.

S. Simon Jacob: 37:35

They also want personalization. With the rise of AI-driven taste profiling, we're entering a world where wine suggestions will be tailored not just to your general preferences but to your sensory fingerprint. You like high-acid reds with savory notes and moderate oak. There's an algorithm that can point you to three kosher wines you've never tried but are statistically likely to love. It's the Spotify-ization of wine, and for kosher producers, that means we can finally compete not just on ritual but on relevance. There's also the community factor.

S. Simon Jacob: 38:13

The new consumer doesn't want a brand to speak at them. They want to be part of the conversation. They want live virtual tastings, real-time feedback, instagram Q and A's with winemakers. They want to be insiders, even from across the world. And we haven't even talked about aesthetics. This consumer wants bottles that look good on their shelves, their tables and, yes, their social media. Labels that reflect modern design with meaning, baked in Fonts and graphics that feel like today, not 1998. Does this mean for us? It means we must invite them in, not just with tradition but with transparency, not just with heritage but with heart, not just with a heckscher but with a narrative, because the kosher wine consumer of tomorrow is ready to fall in love with a new grape, a new vineyard, a new winemaker. But they need a story that resonates with their world, a story that speaks their language digital, ethical, intentional. And if we tell that story well, we don't just keep kosher wine alive, we make it thrive.

S. Simon Jacob: 39:30

And so, as we close the book, or perhaps uncork the bottle on this episode of the Kosher Terroir, I want to leave you with a thought. For centuries, the making of kosher wine has been an act of reverence, of careful hands and ancient laws, of time-honored techniques watched over by people who understand that every grape, every vessel, every gesture matters, who understand that every grape, every vessel, every gesture matters. Now, with the arrival of artificial intelligence, robotics and precision agriculture, we're not abandoning that reverence, we're elevating it, because what could be more kosher than intention? What could be more sacred than stewardship? This moment, this blend of tradition and technology, gives us a rare opportunity to make wine that is not only clean, consistent and world-class, but also reflective of our ethics, our responsibility to creativity and clear rabbinical guidance. The future will be as rich and vibrant as the best wines we've ever known.

S. Simon Jacob: 40:43

But, of course, this conversation is far from over. In the coming weeks, we'll be turning theory into practice. I'll be sitting down with a remarkable lineup of winemakers who are not just thinking about the future, they're building it. From the rolling hills of Tuscany, we'll hear from an Italian kosher winemaker experimenting with biodynamic techniques and AI-guided harvesting. In Bordeaux, I'll speak with a French vintner pioneering kosher expressions of classic left-bank blends. Vintner pioneering kosher expressions of classic left-bank blends, with drones flying overhead and sensors buried in limestone soil. And, of course, we'll head back home to Israel, where I'll be interviewing some of the most forward-thinking minds in the Galilee and Judean hills winemakers who are integrating cutting-edge tech while staying grounded in Jewish law, spirit and sustainability. These conversations won't just be technical, they'll be personal. We'll talk about identity, philosophy, climate change, innovation and the taste of tomorrow.

S. Simon Jacob: 41:51

So if you've ever wondered where kosher wine is headed Not just in process but in soul You're going to want to stay with us. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review, share it with your wine-loving friends and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want behind-the-scenes content, links to the tech we discussed or a sneak peek of our interview lineup, head to www. T heKosherTerroir. com. I'm your host, reminding you in every drop of wine there's a story In kosher wine. That story is sacred Until next time, l'chaim. This is Simon Jacob, again your host of today's episode of The Kosher Terroir. I have a personal request no matter where you are or where you live, please take a moment to pray for our soldiers' safety and the safe and rapid return of our hostages. Please subscribe via your podcast provider to be informed of our new episodes as they are released. If you're new to the Kosher Terroir, please check out our many past episodes.