By OFER ZEMACH
From flourishing fields to green forests, mountains and olive groves, the landscapes of Yoav Judea provide an attractive setting for the fifth annual Country Food Festival, which starts this weekend. The many participating artists, chefs, winemakers and musicians invite visitors to enjoy the tastes, aromas and sounds of this picturesque area over the weekends through March 11.
The festival will introduce local wines and cheeses, along with the ethnic homemade food of the residents, who originate from villages around the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, Yemen and Cochin.
The Yoav Judea region offers many family attractions, such as museums, parks, restaurants and even its own wine route. Highlights of the festival include visits to the winery and dairy farm of Kibbutz Nachshon, where superb cheese is produced from sheep's milk; the Dvarim art gallery in Karmei Yosef, where unique glassware is hand crafted; the buffalo farm in Moshav Bitzaron; the La Terra Promessa winery in Moshav Shachar, where the excellent wines of Sandro Peligrini can be sampled; and the Monastery at Latrun, with dining among the old olive trees.
For more details and information on the festival, call the tourist bureau of Yoav Judea: (08) 850-2240 or click on www.touryoav.org.il.