Grandson Turns Tragedy into Tribute, Reviving Winery After Oct. 7

Just weeks before the October 7 Hamas massacre, Gideon Pauker proudly celebrated the 17th harvest of his small winery at Kibbutz Nir Oz. Together with his lifelong friends Gadi Mozes, Chaim Peri, and Yoram Metzger, Pauker crafted his wines with passion and care.

On that tragic morning, 79-year-old Pauker was murdered in his saferoom. His friends were kidnapped to Gaza. Amid the devastation, 1,000 bottles of their 2022 Nir Oz Red a rich blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, and syrah remained untouched in an underground bomb shelter.

Today, Pauker’s grandson, 25-year-old Gal Pauker, is breathing new life into his grandfather’s dream. “We thought we were just saving his wine,” Gal told The Times of Israel. “But it turned out the wine is helping save us. It’s keeping us going.”

The original Nir Oz wines were never sold, only shared among family and friends. But in 2024, Gal and his father, Raz Pauker, expanded the winery, producing 3,500 bottles, adding a white and a rosé, and building a new barrel room inside a trailer. Each label now features an etching of Gideon walking among his beloved vines.

On a warm June afternoon, visitors arrived to sample the wines at the modest new tasting area, built in the very fields terrorists once stormed. Guests enjoyed cheese platters, espresso, and heartfelt stories under the shade of the vineyard’s pergola.

Gal still remembers the last message he received from his grandfather, sent from Australia: three simple emojis a wine glass, a rose, and a heart. Hours later, Gideon bled to death beside his wife, his hands shredded as he tried to hold the door shut against the attackers.

After the attack, fellow Israeli winemakers rallied around the Pauker family, offering expertise and support. “When we entered the shelter, I could still smell his wine,” Gal said. With guidance via WhatsApp, he learned to care for the 2023 barrels and continue his grandfather’s work.

Raz, who never drank wine, also took up the mission. Together, father and son planted new vines in Nir Oz and nearby Ein Habesor. “He always said I wasn’t part of the family because I didn’t drink wine,” Raz recalled with a bittersweet smile. “Now I’m helping preserve his life’s work.”

From tragedy has come a testament of love, memory, and renewal. The Pauker winery is not just producing wine it is telling the story of a family, a community, and the enduring spirit of the land.

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