Hi there,
The launch event took place in the presence of about 200 distinguished guests including: French Ambassador to Israel Ms. Hélène Le Gal, President of the Beaujolais Mr. Alain Bouhy, CEO of the Israel Marathon Mr. Ofer Padan, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Mr. Amir Halevi, Mayor of the Gezer Regional County Rotem Yadlin, Chairman of Barkan Winery Amir Borenstein and other wineries. The visitors' center of the Barkan wineries - Kerem Barkan of the Zappa Group, hosted the event in preparation for the International Beaujolais Marathon, which has become a long tradition in France and that will take place within the framework of the events of the "Havaya B'Kerem" Festival in October 2019.
Clockwise from top left: French Consulate representative, Ministry of Tourism representative and Rotem Yadlin Mayor of Gezer Regional County
The Beaujolais Marathon, which will take place at the beginning of October, is a unique international event that draws inspiration from and has been brought to Israel in cooperation with the International Beaujolais Marathon race in France, at the initiation of the Israel Marathon Company. The unique concept will connects the landscapes and bring together the community of runners in Israel. The Beaujolais is the second most important international event in France, with some 35,000 participants, who flock to celebrate the Beaujolais - the first young wine of the season. Around the race there are three days of celebrations and festivals in France, where you can taste different wines and experience a special experience that combines entertainment and a slightly different culture of sport and now Israelis can also enjoy this special experience.
Above: Speaker Alain Bouhy, President of the Beaujolais Runners with some of the Israeli runners in gear
The Beaujolais region in France is north of the city of Lyon and is characterized by a wealth of impressive castles and local wineries. Around the castles and the villages, on each hill you will find vineyards, which is why this area is considered to be a favorite for running and wine enthusiasts. The Beaujolais region is a national tourist attraction in France thanks to the pastoral vines and landscapes that have been preserved since the Middle Ages and include: vineyards, castles, ancient wineries and authentic villages.
The Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations in the world and in Israel! Every year on the third Wednesday of November, at midnight, thousands of bottles of Beaujolais are opened in France and around the world. These are the Beaujolais Nouveau festivities. The wine that takes part in the celebrations is from the last harvest. It is a week of celebrations, banquets, processions and great joy. Now one of the most exciting sports events in the world: the Beaujolais, is going outside France for the second time ever to Israel, to the Gezer wine region in the autumn of October 3, 2019. The race itself includes three race courses: a 5 km,a 12 km and a half marathon (21 km) track all of which connect between wonderful Israeli wineries in the region including: Barkan, Red Poetry, Herzberg, Braun, Bin Nun, Yaara, Bravdo and Bazak. The second destination outside of France, after Shanghai, where this famous and colorful event will take place attracting audiences and international communication
Above: The 21 km running course through all the participating wineries, the race shirt and a happy runner.
Further to implementation of the unique concept by Marathon Israel in cooperation with the CEO of the French International Beaujolais Marathon, for the Israeli public, the race will be celebrated in the best tradition in a fancy costume competition that will liven the race paths with a festive atmosphere and joy of the runners. Along the route, the runners will meet wine tasting stations and high-quality refreshments, and will discover charming corners of music complexes that will serve as rest areas where local dance parties can take place during run-off times before continuing the race to the next wine station.
With the exposure of the concept of an Israeli Beaujolais, the Gezer Regional Council, a region of thousands of acres of vineyards and known as one of Israel's best wine-growing trawlers, took upon itself to promote the race by tying it to a local wine festival event called "Havaya B'Kerem" held in the Council, in conjunction with high quality boutique wineries in its area. The collaboration will attract runners, tourists and visitors from all over the world, and will put Israel and the Gezer Council on a map of world wine and sports tourism.
Above: Barkan Winery Launch Event
The events of the "Beaujolais Race" will take place on 3-4 Oct 2019 celebrating the sixth anniversary of the "Havaya B'Kerem" festival in Gezer. The festival, which is considered the flagship event of the Gezer Regional Council, attracts thousands of visitors from all over the country every year. The highlight of the event is the opening evening in which wines of the local wineries are presented and tasted by the festival guests. In addition to the wine event, the festival includes performances by local dance companies and music ensembles, an artists' market and the end of the festival is marked by a spectacular show of a leading performer.
The winning combination of the first international Beaujolais race in Israel and the "Havaya B'Kerem" festival bring to life a concept that has never been seen in Israel, that promotes a healthy lifestyle and brings together a wide range of offerings to participants be it the wineries and a wide range of local produce, a sporting event in the heart of the countryside and vineyards, and all with a sense of carnival festivity on an international level.
The launch event was hosted by the visitors' center of the Barkan wineries - the Barkan vineyard of the Zappa group, the largest winery in Israel, producing 15 million bottles of wine for marketing in Israel and abroad. Barkan Winery is the most decorated winery in international wine competitions and has won over 350 medals over the years. Barkan is the largest vineyard in the country, with over 10,000 dunams (~2,471 acres) of vineyards spread throughout the country - from Mitzpe Ramon in the south to the Upper Galilee in the north. The extent of the vineyards allows it to obtain the best raw materials on the one hand, and on the other, to examine the Israeli terrier in the best way possible adapting each species to the most suitable breeding area providing a large variety of wines.
Above: Toasting my friends' health
ISRAELI BEAUJOLAIS REGISTRATION The Israeli Beaujolais will take place on 3-4 Oct 2019 in Gezer Regional County. Registration to Beaujolais race and additional information on the tournaments (21 km, 12 km, 5 km) are through the English Website.
Information on Gezer Regional Council For the benefit of the participants and their escorts, the best tourist and culinary businesses in Gezer, which is full of artists, boutique dairies, olive presses and unique tourist sites are opening their gates. In recent years, the Council has become a magnet for tourists from Israel and abroad through the development of heritage and tourism sites, headed by the Wine Route. Details are available on the Gezer Council Hebrew Website and at 050-8674505.
Information on the Barkan Winery The Barkan Winery has a visitor center at Kibbutz Hulda, that serves as a tourist anchor, where wine events take place alongside various evening events led by the winery and Zappa, the new partner. The center is surrounded by 2,000 acres of vineyards. The Barkan Vineyard tour begins at the impressive barrel lounge with more than 6000 barrels, alongside tastings and a 180-degree film screen that tells the story of the winery in a variety of languages. For more details on the visitors' center.
See you in October!
L'Chaim, Cheers and Salute! Talma
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