Tour Israel and its many wineries

ROCHELLE GOLUMBIA

With more than 150 wineries of all sizes, from the northern Golan to the Negev Desert, there is no shortage of wineries to visit in Israel, each with its own story, as well as character and style of wine.

Vastly different micro climates and terrains allow Israel to offer unparallelled wine touring options and, in a country where it takes only six hours to drive from the northernmost to the southernmost point, this is exciting news for wine lovers and for travellers who like to build variety into their daily excursions.

I recently visited 16 wineries in the north and central parts of Israel and sampled the wines of many other establishments at the second biennial Israeli wine expo in Tel Aviv. The conclusion? Wine touring offers a spectacular way to experience Israel and to get to know Israelis.

A little background

Jews have been making wine in the land of Israel for thousands of years. There are many references to wine in the Tanach and Talmud, and archeological findings indicate that there was a well-developed wine industry throughout the region in ancient times. Ancient wine presses have been found in and near the vineyards of wineries all over Israel, from the Hermon to the Negev.

Winemaking in modern times was revitalized in the 1800s through the vision and support of people such as Baron Edmond de Rothschild and Moses Montefiore, and wineries were established in Jerusalem, Rishon L'tzion and Zichron Ya'akov. In the 1980s, a true wine revolution began in Israel, with the recognition of the Golan as an area with ideal conditions for growing grapes for wine and with the introduction of modern equipment and methods.

There are five recognized wine regions in Israel: the Galilee in the north, which includes the Golan; Shomron, south of Haifa; Shimshon, south of Shomron, from the coast to the Judean Hills; the Judean Hills around Jerusalem; and the Negev Desert.

Wine touring in Israel involves much more than visiting the wineries. Every place has historical significance, biblical and recent, and this adds a depth to the touring experience that cannot be matched anywhere.

Galilee and Golan

The Galilee region, which includes the Golan, is recognized as Israel's premier wine region, due to the combination of altitude, soils and climate.

I spent a spectacularly sunny day in early March touring four wineries in the Galilee with Carmit Ehernreich, marketing manager of Galil Mountain Winery. We started the day at the Tabor Winery in the Lower Galilee, a winery that was founded by a group of families who grew grapes near Mount Tabor, an area of historical significance to both Christians and Jews and a fertile agricultural area.

After leaving the Tabor Winery and vineyards, we continued to the Upper Galilee to Rimon Winery, the world's first pomegranate winery; Dalton Winery, which has a reputation of making wines of excellent value for money; and Galil Mountain Winery, a joint venture of Kibbutz Yiron and Golan Heights Winery that produces excellent wines from its state-of-the-art facility near the kibbutz vineyards.

The route from the Lower to the Upper Galilee passes the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and the holy city of Safed, well worth a stop to visit the artists' galleries and old synagogues.

With a rented car, I set out on my own the next day to explore some of the wineries of the Golan Heights. With its rich volcanic soils (bazelet in Hebrew), the Golan is an area that is rich in Jewish history as well as excellent wineries – and there is not a single traffic light in all of the Golan!

My tour included four wineries: the Golan Heights Winery, the highly acclaimed winery that was the catalyst for Israel's wine revolution, located next to the ancient and modern settlements of Katzrin; Bazelet HaGolan, a boutique winery near Katzrin; Odem Mountain, the northernmost winery in Israel, near Mount Hermon; and Chateau Golan in the southern Golan.

On the way south to the Chateau Golan Winery is the historical site of Gamla, where Jewish residents fought the Romans in 67 CE, according to the writings of first-century historian Josephus Flavius. This area of the Golan was a centre of Jewish life before and after that time, and archeologists have found remnants of a synagogue dating back to the second century BCE.

Shomron wine region

There is probably no other winery more associated with Israeli wine than the Carmel Winery, started in 1882 as a co-operative that was funded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. At its Zichron Ya'akov winery, it is possible to see the oldest concrete storage vats, still in use, and the most modern equipment. On the road from Zichron Ya'akov to Binyamina is the Tishbi Winery, a family business owned by descendants of some of the first grape growers hired by Baron de Rothschild. Further south, the Recanati Winery near Hadera makes wines from grapes from both the Galilee and the Judean Hills.

Shomron is Israel's largest wine region, and other wineries to visit include Binyamina, Tulip, Saslove, Vitkin, Amphorae and Avidan.

In the Judean Hills

The area west of Jerusalem is home to at least 25 wineries, large and small, old and new; and their proximity to each other makes this a very rich area for touring.

My visit to this area included Ella Valley Vineyards, which produces all of its wine from its own vineyards; Tzora Vineyards, Israel's first kibbutz winery; Flam Winery, started by two brothers whose wines are rising to prominence very quickly; Zemora Winery, started by wine-loving entrepreneurs and a winemaker friend; and Domaine du Castel, whose wines have earned an exceptional reputation internationally. Ancient wine presses have been found at both Ella Valley and Flam wineries, confirming that this area was a centre of winemaking centuries ago.

Other wineries to visit include Teperberg, Tzuba, Sea Horse and Clos de Gat.

Shimshon and Negev

Shimshon is one of the first areas where the modern industry established itself in the late 1800s, and the town of Rishon L'tzion is at its centre. Wineries in this area include the large Carmel and Barkan wineries and small ones such as Karmei Yosef, a boutique winery with wines made using the research of its two Hebrew University professor owners.

Yatir Winery near Ramat Arad in the northern Negev produces some of Israel's finest wines, some of Israel's largest wineries are planting vines further south in the Negev near Sde Boker and Mitzpe Ramon, and there are several small wineries in the Negev as well. Successful winemaking in the Negev is a tribute to the dream of David Ben-Gurion to make the desert bloom.

Information sources

The most comprehensive and accessible source of information is www.israelwines.co.il, with information about wine touring, the wine industry, wine reviews, history and more. Daniel Rogov's annual guide, Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines, has a wealth of information, as does a new book – The Wine Route of Israel by Yaron Goldfisher and Eliezer Sacks. But the best way to start to learn about Israeli wine is by attending the Israeli Wine Festival in Vancouver on May 4. Visit www.israeliwinefestival.ca for more information.

Rochelle Golumbia is the founder and organizer of Vancouver's Israeli Wine Festival.

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