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Israeli wine

Biblical origins

The Torah attributes the first vineyard to Noah (Genesis IX, 20) and describes it as a symbol of fertility and abundance.

Noah planted and harvested his wine and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Later on, the explorers sent by Moses to the Promised Land returned with two huge grapes as an evidence of the fertility of the soil. Today the symbol has become the official logotype

of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.  

Loaded with history, Israel of today is bearing proof of a wine-growing culture well before ours. Ancient pressing sheds and cellars are numerous in the Judean Hills and in the Golan, and even the Negev area has traces of vineyards dating back to the age of the Nabateans.    

The return of wine in Israel

The revolution of the Israeli wine began in the 19th century, when the Baron Edmond de Rotschild decided to help the sionists

cultivate the soil. He sent them grape varieties of "Chateau Lafitte de Bordeaux" from France which were planted first in

Rishon Letsion south of Tel-Aviv, later in Zichron Yaacov at the foot of the mount Carmel. 

Baron de Rotschild founded the cooperative vineyards of Rishon Letsion and Zichron Yaacov Ltd. and later yielded them to its workers. Eventually the vineyards and cellars became the Carmel Mizrahi enterprise. 

The 1980:s - towards an industrialistion

The beginning of the 1980:s saw the birth of the Golan Heights Winery, headed by a team of French and American enologists.

Pushing for quality rather than quantity, the vineyard created the appellations Yarden and Gamla followed by Golan some

years later.     

During the last twenty years a number of wineries have emerged all over Eretz, many of them further accentuating the efforts having been made to develop the quality of the wines. 

Today there are more than 150 cellars countrywide producing 50 000 bottles (or more) annually.

The market is heavily dominated by Carmel Mizrahi, Barkan, Golan Heights, Efrat-Teperberg (the oldest in Israel, established in 1870)

and Eliaz Binyamina.

Together, three of these control 83% of the market :

Carmel : 57% market share with 35 million bottles produced annually

Barkan : 15% market share with 15 million bottles

Golan : 11% market share with 6 million bottles

Notice : Binyamina, created in 1952 produces 2 million bottles annually.

The following are some of the medium-sized cellars/vineyards; Tishbi, Dalton, Galil Mountain, Recanati.

Finally, there are numerous smaller establishments with limited production and "on-site purchasing" possibilities,

such as Yatir.

The wine-producing establishments are to be found geographically in five main locations :

- Galilee (Upper, Lower and Golan)

- Shomron

- Judean Hills

- Samson

- Negev

A special mention for the Domaine du Castel vineyards; this small family enterprise produces a French-style wine

(hence the name) considered by many critics and gastronomists as the best in Israel. 

In total, 250 companies are operating today in the Israeli wine business. In Israel, more than 150 retailers are selling more than

100 000 bottles annually for the home market. However, 50% of the annual $180 million Israeli wine market is exported, and mainly to the United States, France and the United Kingdom. 

The developments in the Israeli wine business over the past 20 years are best shown by the emerging of the first Israeli wine critics review/guide annually, edited by the wine expert Daniel Rogov. More than 110 vineyards and 1400 local wines are commented and graded, together with serving suggestions and other useful informations.

Further, over the last 10 years the wine consumption per inhabitant has doubled to 7 litres annually, with peaks at Pessah and

Rosh Hashana. 

Needless to say, this evolution has led to the worldwide recognition of Israel as a quality New-World wine-producing country

with a number of high-achieving wines present at the most prestigious wine competitions each year.