Israel Wine Tour
The 1957 Israeli wine industry was a small operation
Letter Excerpts:
“Yesterday we went on a tour of the vicinity (the coastal plain between Tel Aviv and Haifa ). The first place visited was Zichron Yaakov & the winery where most Israel wine is produced for export. It tasted great & is sold here for about 50 cents a quart bottle. Some contrast to the price of it in the U.S.”
— August 8, 1957
The Carmel wine production line in 1957:
“50 cents a quart”
In 1957, the group toured northern Israel and made a stop off at the Carmel Mizrachi winery in Zichron Yaakov.
The wine factory’s visitor entrance 1957
What stands out is the author’s comments about the wine being sold for a mere fifty cents a quart bottle. The reason for this is that in the 1950’s, Israel produced mostly sweet red wines of a lower quality.
It was used predominately for religious rituals by Jews such as the Sabbath Kiddush.
A Carmel wine typically used by Jews as a Sabbath Kiddush wine in earlier years.
Over the years, Israel began to produce a much higher quality of wine.
In 1985, the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon wine won three gold medals, and the Israel wine revolution was underway.
In the 2000’s, Israeli wine started receiving international recognition with an impressive rise in the exports of Israeli wine.
At the beginning of the 2000’s, export was about eight million dollars, by 2018, it was 50 million dollars and rising.
Contributing to the success of the Israeli wines is their drip irrigation technology, where sensors monitor exactly how much water is present in the soil.
The information can be viewed on a cell phone, from which the farmers can control their irrigation system, providing the grapes the exact amount of water necessary to grow the best quality grapes and yield the best quality wines.
Israeli grapes are grown using the latest drip irrigation/sensor technology.
Today, one can go wine hopping throughout Israel. (Just make sure to have a designated driver!) Besides Carmel Mizrachi in Zichron Yaakov which today has a visitor center, wineries have sprout up all over Israel.
Of particular interest are some of the “family-owned” wineries in the Galil and Golan. Some of the finest wines in the world can also be found in the boutiques of Judea and Samaria, fulfilling the verse: “Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy its fruit.” (Jeremiah 31:5)
Bob Jacobs took his rented Israeli jeep for a ride to the south but got a flat tire in the middle of the desert road. Israeli soldiers stopped along the road to help him change the tire. Bob (standing) holds the Israeli soldier’s gun during the tire change.
Today, the “tractoron” is one of the favorite
self-driven vehicles tourists use
when touring the Judean Desert.
While back in 1957 a jeep was the only way to reach Masada, today, a jeep is the still the optimal way to experience the breathtaking scenery and diverse terrain that are not accessible on the highways and main roads of Israel.
David’s possible changes and links
Land of wine and honey? Israeli settlers export to UAE, to Palestinian chagrin: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-emirates-settlements-palestini-idUSKBN29J1DR
Carmel wine history: https://carmelwines.co.il/en/about/
Israel wine industry history: pdf: https://www.winesofisrael.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/article_1_modern-israel.pdf
Wine from Israeli-held Golan Heights to hit Dubai shelves: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-israel-emirates-wine-idUKKBN27D2CU
Video Mike Pompeo makes first visit by US top diplomat to Golan Heights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DDRC1GzvA
Pompeo makes unprecedented visits to Israeli settlement in West Bank and Golan: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54999008
Historic agreement brings Samaria to Dubai
Delegation from Samaria signs agreement in Dubai to export Samaria honey, wine, olive oil, and tahini to the UAE. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/292666
Wine talk: Israel’s first cult wine
It used to be the height of showing off for a private collector to throw open his cellar and show how many Yarden Katzrin bottles he had.
https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/wine-talk-israels-first-cult-wine-646577
Tura wine homesite: https://www.turawinery.com/en/
Tura Wine Vered interviewed on her life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7px60kyvB44