Wine tasting in the Golan and Galilee

The following wineries in the Golan Height and Galilee have visitor centers open during the week for wine tasting. But do call first to check regarding their willingness to accept individual as distinct from group visits and to provide anything more than wine tasting, such as tours and meals. This list is probably incomplete and other sources should be consulted.

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Wine tasting in the Golan

This is not a complete listing of wineries in the Golan Heights, but popular kosher and non-supervised wineries that have a visitor center.

Terranova Winery

This winery is located in Moshav Kanaf on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Its wines are vegan and are not rabbinically supervised. It is open 7 days a week from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. A visit should be booked in advance except on Friday and Saturday when no appointment is necessary. Wine and olive oil tasting is available in the courtyard at a cost and can be accompanied by a vegan appetizer plate at an extra charge. Directions: Enter into Waze "Terra Nova Winery" and click on "Terra Nova Winery, Kanaf." Their phone number is 054 399 3514. This is their Hebrew website.

Golan Heights Winery

The Golan Heights Winery in Katzrin is a cooperative and Israel’s third largest winery. It was established in 1983 by four Golan kibbutzim and four moshavim. It produces four supervised kosher labels – Yarden, Gamla, Hermon and Golan – each with different varieties. Its usual tour lasts about an hour and includes a visit to the barrel room and a tasting of three types of wines. There is a charge for this. There are also special tours, such as a Four Seasons Vineyard Tour. The winery is open Sunday to Thursday 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Fridays 8.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and is closed on Shabbat. The address is Derekh HaYayin 4 in Katzrin. Enter “Golan Heights Winery” into Waze and click on “Golan Heights Winery visitor center.” Their phone number is 04 696 8435. This is its website.

Bazelet HaGolan Winery

This winery is located in Kidmat Zvi in the central Golan not far from Katzrin. Its wines are not rabbinically supervised. Its visitor center is open every day, including Saturday, from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. for both groups and non-scheduled visits. Snacks of cheese and crackers are offered with the wine tasting. There is a charge for this. Meals can be ordered with a prior request. During your visit you will learn about the history of the winery and the positive influence of the Golan’s basalt soil. After fermentation, wines are kept unfiltered in oak barrels. The visitor center adjoins a beautiful garden. The winery does not sell budget varieties of wine. Its phone number is 04 696-5010. Directions: Enter “Bazelet HaGolan Winery” into Waze. This is its website.

Odem Mountain Winery

This winery is in the northern Golan Heights in Moshav Odem close to Odem Forest. It is the northernmost winery in Israel. Its wines are supervised kosher. Its visitor center is open Sunday to Thursday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Friday and holiday eves. Wine tasting can be accompanied with a cheese platter, pizza, chocolate, or an assortment of nuts, all at a charge. Also available are fruit picking in season, a petting zoo and hiking trails. Directions: Enter “Odem Mountain Wine” into Waze. Their phone number is 04 687 1122. This is their Hebrew website.

Wineries in the Upper Galilee:

Dalton Winery is a large kosher winery located in Merom HaGalil close to Dalton. It is a pioneer winery in the Galilee and has been operating since 1995. It is located in the same business park as Adir Winery so you can easily go from one to the other. It is open Sunday to Thursday 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Friday and holiday eves 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. It is closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. There is wine tasting in the visitor center and tours of the winery. You are requested to call in advance so there is no overcrowding. The winery manages 800 dunam of vineyards. Their phone number is 04 952-7107. Directions: Enter “Dalton Winery” into Waze. This is their website.

Adir Winery is a kosher winery located in the same business park as Dalton Winery in Merom HaGalil close to Dalton, so you can easily go from one to the other. The visitor center overlooks a vineyard landscape and offers wine tasting and tasting of cheeses from its own dairy, including goat cheese and goat frozen yogurt. A short video is shown. Light meals can be ordered. It holds various workshops, including on cheese production and pasta and ravioli making. Their phone number is 04-699 1039. Directions: Enter “Adir Winery” into Waze. This is their website.

Abouhav Winery is a boutique winery offering mehadrin kosher wines in a 600-year-old building in the Old City in Safed. There are impressive views from the visitor center. Wine tasting of 3 glasses of wine for 40 NIS is offered. Their phone number is 052-704 1731. Directions: Enter “Abouhav Winery” into Google Maps. This is their Hebrew website.

Galil Mountain Winery is a kosher winery adjacent to Kibbutz Yiron that provides a free-flowing connection with nature. Their facility overlooks vineyards and mountain scenery. Their visitor center offers wine tasting and a tour of the entire wine-making process. They offer individualized tours to groups that include dairy meals and biking in the vineyard. They are open Sunday to Thursday 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Friday 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and in the summer until 4.00 p.m. They are closed on Shabbat. Their phone number is 04-686 8748. Directions: Enter “Galil Mountain Winery” into Waze.

This is their website.

Wineries in the Lower Galilee:

Tulip Winery is a kosher winery in Kiryat Tivon in the Jezreel Valley. Kiryat Tivon is a home for adults with developmental and emotional disabilities and members of this community are employed by the winery. The visitor center is open Sunday through Thursday 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Friday 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. It is closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Wine tasting is offered at different price levels depending on how many wines are tasted and whether or not they are premium wines. Wines are served with breadsticks. There is a 20 NIS discount for wine tasting if wines are purchased. A light meal of freshly baked breads, boutique cheeses etc., can be purchased. Visits can be in English or Hebrew. Other than basic wine testing, everything needs to be booked in advance, including group workshops. The phone number is 04-983 0573. Directions” Enter “Tulip Winery” into Waze. For their website click here.

Tabor Winery is a kosher winery in Kfar Tabor in the Lower Galilee. Its visitor center offers wine tasting and a smorgasbord of breads and cheeses accompanied by music and a panorama of Mount Tabor. It is open 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Friday and holiday eves. It is closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Visits need to be scheduled in advance. The phone number is 04-676 0444. Directions: Enter “Tabor Winery” into Waze. For their website click here.

Lotem Winery is a boutique, organic winery without kashrut certification in a large warehouse at the entrance to Lotem Yishuv. It is open Sunday to Wednesday 11.00 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., Thursday 11.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. Wine tasting is offered and meals made from fresh produce. Visits need to be booked in advance. The phone number is 073-394 3305. Directions: Enter "Lotem Winery" into Waze. For their website click here.

Stern Winery is a boutique winery without kashrut certification located in Kibbutz Tuval in the Beit Hakerem Valley in the Western Galilee near Carmiel. The visitor center is on a mountain peak overlooking the Mediterranean. Wine tasting and tours of the barrel room are offered. This needs to be scheduled in advance. The phone number is 072 395-7695. Directions: Enter "Stern Winery" into Waze. For their website click here:

Netofa Winery is a kosher winery in Mitzpe Netofa. It is open Sunday to Friday 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., with last entry at 3.00 p.m. on Friday and holiday eves. It is closed on Shabbat. Their vineyards contain diverse vine species adapted to the Mediterranean clime. They offer wine tasting and meals. Directions: Enter “Netofa Winery” in Waze. Their phone number is 04 678 6454. For their website click here.

The rebirth of Israel’s wine industry

Wine production is first described in the Bible at the time of Noah, although it probably began much earlier in history. The Biblical patriarch Jacob prophesied that the wine production of his son Yehuda in his Biblical inheritance would be so plentiful that he would be able to wash his clothes in wine (Genesis 49:1). By the Byzantine period, wine making had become a major export industry for this now Christian country. In the 7th century Muslim period, wine production came to a halt because of the Islamic prohibition on drinking alcohol. The vines in the country were uprooted and olive trees planted in their stead. This remains the situation in Arab villages in Israel today.

During the First Aliyah, the first large scale Jewish immigration to Israel beginning in 1881, its financial supporter Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845 to 1934) appreciated that wine production could be a useful source of income for the Jewish settlements, and at a personal cost of millions of francs, he established two branches of Carmel Winery in the settlements of Rishon LeZion and Zichron Yaakov. He also brought to then Palestine grape varieties from his own French vineyards, including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. The demand for these wines existed but was not that great. However, a hundred years later, wine production from these Bordeaux varieties (i.e., vines from Bordeaux in France) really took off. This is why most Israeli wines nowadays have French names.

Carmel Winery remains the largest winery in Israel. Over the last 15 years or so there has also been a profusion of small, quality wineries, many of which have won prizes in prestigious international wine competitions.

Israeli wines are often somewhat expensive compared to wines from other countries. Much of this is related to scale of production. Most exported Israeli wines are also kosher and this also adds to the cost of production.

Wine is almost invariably kosher, but a number of rabbinic laws were enacted around wine in past centuries to reduce social interactions with gentiles, and these and the Jewish agricultural laws have to be adhered to for a wine to be considered "kosher." Kosher wineries are also closed on Friday night and Shabbat as distinct from many non-supervised wineries.

A recent trend in Israel is for wineries to develop their own vineyards, as distinct from using grapes from elsewhere in the country, and to grow new grape species from other Mediterranean countries.

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