May Is For Matriarchs
I’ve been thinking a lot about the women in my life with Mother’s Day around the corner. I’m privileged that I have so many strong women in my family. We all have our own unique perspective and interests in life. We’re always willing to share our different perspectives with each other and with the world.
The matriarchs of the Loew/Löw family have been the facilitators in the continuance of legacy for generations.
My grandmother, Lois, the cofounder of our winery, has always prioritized the purpose of our family’s business. It isn’t out of the love of the business, although I know she loves it—for her the winery exists for a purpose and because of the business she built with my grandfather, it will continue to exist.
For my mom and my aunts, the winery is an emotional connection to my grandfather and has been part of their lives since they were teenagers. In fact, they all do what they can to ensure that it continues whether it is helping with events, marketing, or providing advice. I am so lucky to have strong female role models in my life.
I am in Poland for a week to judge a mead competition. It didn’t occur to me until I boarded my plane that I brought two matriarchs with me on my trip. I thought it would be meaningful to bring two meads to share with the judges. I brought Klara and Malka. It is an overwhelming feeling to have brought our meads with me to Poland. The last time my family’s meads were in Poland was when they were produced in Lwow until their production facilities were seized by the Soviets (during the start of WWII) in 1939. We had over five different prominent honey wineries (meaderies) and they were all destroyed by the Soviets and the German Nazis, along with almost all of the people. Because of this, we don’t have any heirlooms. We only have a copy of a label from the first meadery that existed in my family. That winery was technically owned by my great-great grandmother, Malka in 1870. She established a meadery near Lwow, Poland only three years after the Habsburg emperor introduced reforms that allowed Jews to own 100% of their own businesses and engage in commerce. Before that, Jews in Lwow (or in the Habsburg empire, where Lwow resided) did not have full civic equality.
Malka was the “queen” of the Löw family. Well, at least I think of her that way (Malka in English translates to queen). My grandfather recalled seeing her just a couple of times throughout his childhood. Malka had ten sons and at least two daughters and somehow managed to appear in almost every business directory as the sole owner of her meadery until around 1910. Malka and her husband’s meaderies paved the way for each of their son’s meaderies and mead distribution businesses. They grew one business to over five different prominent meaderies by 1939.
Klara was my grandfather’s mother. My grandfather always spoke about her so lovingly and with such intention that you could envision her without ever seeing a picture of her. I wish we had a picture of her. Her elegance is showcased through the mead produced in tribute to her. She made the best pierogi and ensured that my grandfather had the tools to succeed in life. It is because of her that my grandfather had tutors to learn additional languages. She prioritized education. Those skills, especially his aptitude with languages, were essential to his survival of the Holocaust. Klara was murdered during the Holocaust. She was most likely sent to Belzec following a major aktion of a mass roundup of Jews in the Lwow ghetto in the spring of 1943.
So, here I am in Poland with two meads that I made in honor of two incredible women. I’m feeling a multitude of emotions—one of which is immense pride. These meads celebrate and bring their memories to life. And, when I get back from Poland, I’m looking forward to celebrating the matriarchs in my family at the vineyard. All of the mothers in the Loew family will be at the vineyard to celebrate Mother’s Day for our annual event. We hope you will be able to join us to raise a glass to all of the important women in our lives.