This past Shabbat was a quiet one and a very enjoyable one given the wines I had to taste. The meal was a simple and quiet one; with black bean soup, and for the main course – my meatballs recipe, quinoa, roasted veges, and green salad.

For the wines I enjoyed two wines that are not publicly available yet, though one will be soon. The Cabernet Franc was the soon-to-be released CF from Four Gates Winery, though this one was sourced from another location than his usually vaunted vineyards. The wine is very unique and very mineral based and a true joy, but I will wait for Benyo to talk about it before I say more.

The other wine was from a young man who I watched grow up in my midst – here in San Jose, CA. His name is Joshua A. Rynderman and his story is a unique one at that.

When we first moved into this community more than 20 years ago, the Rynderman family was already here and they were, and are still, a pillar of the community. Young Joshua at that time was far too young for me to gauge where or how his interests would take him. Sadly, the 2000s came around and with it the horrific decimation of human and real capital in Silicon Valley. Many companies shuttered their doors, and sadly the Ryndermans, and others, moved east for a myriad of reasons.

Fast forward to some few years ago, and the pull of the Silicon Valley has once again reached into the far crevices of America and the Rynderman family has once again gone west – and the San Jose community is once again blessed by their presence.

In their return to the Bay Area, we were once again reunited with their family, who was not a bunch of young children any longer, but rather a group of young men and a lady each showing strengths with their interests. Unbeknownst to us, during their departure – Michel had inculcated the love for all good things to his family, including art (his wife is a world-renowned artist), food, and wine. While Michel was part of this community he was affected by the many wine makers that were and are still part of this community; including the then owner of Gan Eden Winery – Craig Winchell, the afore-mentioned Four Gates Winery owner and winemaker – Benyamin Cantz, and Ernie Weir’s Hagafen Wines.

So, when we invited them to a Shabbos dinner some 6 months ago, Josh was already becoming quite the wine aficionado – and I never knew it! I have to say, living in San Jose and finding another person who really gets wine – is like finding a gold coin while walking down the street! Of course there are folks like JR (AKA Jim Bob) and others who love and make a mean glass of wine, but a wine freak is an entire other matter! Of course I say that with great affection. Anyway, it turns out that he had been helping Benyo for a bit already and that he was talking about making wines. JR had already made a wine two years ago and again last year – so I hope to taste his new creation sometime soon as well, the last one – Quail Hill – was quite nice!