Carmel Winery

Carmel Winery is the historic winery of Israel. It was founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Château Lafite in Bordeaux.

Carmel owns the two largest wineries in Israel, at Rishon Le Zion, south of Tel Aviv and at Zichron Ya'acov, south of Haifa. Each has deep underground cellars built by Rothschild in the 19th century.

Carmel also has two small, state-of-the-art wineries close to key vineyards, to allow production of small quantities of handcrafted wines.

These are Kayoumi Winery, situated in the Upper Galilee, and Yatir Winery, in the northeastern Negev.

The story of Carmel represents the story of Israel, and the recent developments of Carmel's wines, symbolizes the revolution of Israeli wine in recent years.

Carmel Winery has 1,400 hectares (3,472 acres) of vineyards, which cover the land of Israel from the Upper Galilee in the north, to the Negev in the south. Carmel's winemakers can therefore choose from vineyards with different terroirs from all the wine regions in Israel. Carmel has a particularly strong vineyard presence in the cooler climate Upper Galilee, from where many of the leading wines are sourced.

Carmel has extensive vineyards throughout Israel, including some of the finest individual vineyard sites in the country. Israel has five registered wine regions:

GALILEE
This region, made up of the Upper and Lower Galilee and the Golan Heights, extends southwards from the Lebanese border and covers the north of Israel. The Upper Galilee and Golan are generally accepted as Israel's finest wine growing areas, because of their cooler climate and higher altitude. Elevations can be up to 1,000 meters above sea level, with snow in winter. Soils vary between being gravelly, volcanic, basalt, limestone and terra rossa.
Carmel is the leading winery presence in the premium Upper Galilee, following an extensive planting program. Many of Carmel's finest wines come from Upper Galilee vineyards and after harvesting, the grapes are sent to the nearby Kayoumi Winery.

SHOMRON
This is Israel's most historic wine growing region, benefiting from the Carmel Mountain range and breezes off the Mediterranean Sea. The main concentration of vineyards is in the valleys surrounding Zichron Ya'acov. Soils are heavy, limey and the climate typically Mediterranean. Baron Edmond de Rothschild fell in love with this scenic area at the end of the 19th century. It was here he chose to plant vineyards in the 1880s and to build Israel's largest winery in the 1890s. It was also where he was eventually buried. It remains the heart of the Israel wine industry. Carmel's many vineyards in the area are in close proximity to Zichron Ya'acov Wine Cellars.

SAMSON
The central coastal plain, Shefela and the gently rolling hills of the Judean Lowlands make up this region. The soils are limestone, alluvial clay and loam and the area has a coastal Mediterranean climate: hot, humid summers and warm, mild winters.
The fruit from the Samson vineyards are sent to Rishon Le Zion Wine Cellars.

JUDEAN HILLS
The Judean Hills, west of Jerusalem and the southern Judean Hills have proved to be good wine growing regions for production of high quality wines. The region is characterized by warm days and cool nighttime temperature. The soils are thin limey, stony and the higher mountains receive snow in winter.
Carmel has premium vineyards in both the Judean Foothills and in Yatir Forest, the largest forest in Israel, which is situated in the southern tip of the Judean Hills. The Yatir Forest vineyards, which are up to 900 meters above sea level, also supply the boutique Yatir Winery.

NEGEV
A popular area for vine growing in ancient times has recently been planted with vineyards in the higher regions. These range from the central Negev Hills, which is desert, to the semi arid north-eastern Negev. Soils are sandy to loamy. The temperatures range from very hot during the day, with cooler evenings and cold nights. Humidity is low, but the vineyards are often shrouded in mists during the morning hours.
Carmel is the pioneer of the Negev with its Ramat Arad vineyard, planted in 1988, situated in the north-east Negev plateau – 500 meters above sea level. Yatir Winery is situated at Tel Arad.

Carmel produces 15 million bottles a year, including wines of every style and at every price point. These range from Carmel Limited Edition, the flagship of the winery, to Selected, Israel's largest selling brand.

Lior Lacser is the Chief Winemaker of Carmel Winery. He is a graduate of CFPPA in Beaune in Burgundy. He has experience in both Burgundy and Bordeaux having worked at Domaine Comte Armand, Pommard and at Château le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol. He worked with Michel Rolland, one of the most influential winemakers in the world today. He followed this with work experience in Australia, working for Harman's Ridge Estate in the Margaret River region of West Australia. He joined Carmel in 2003 and was appointed the Chief Winemaker of Carmel Winery in 2005. He heads a department of eight winemakers, and works closely with a team of expert viticulturists.

Carmel is renowned for the importance it places on Kashrut. All wines are Kosher Lemahadrin for Passover and all the year round.
A wine that is Kosher is suitable for consumption by orthodox Jews. The winemaking process for a kosher wine is not at all detrimental to quality. The same harvesting, fermenting, aging and bottling methods apply to both a Kosher and non kosher wine.
Carmel wines are considered suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians.

Carmel Wineries

ZICHRON YA’ACOV WINE CELLARS
Carmel’s Zichron Ya’acov Wine Cellars, built in 1892, is the largest winery in Israel. On the premises, is a modern, state-of-the-art facility making small quantities of quality wines, from Carmel's finest vineyards. The most advanced, modern winemaking technology blends in with the historic 120 year old cellars. The name of the winery is in memory of Edmond de Rothschild’s father, Baron James Jacob (Ya’acov) de Rothschild, who purchased the famous Bordeaux winery, Château Lafite, for the Rothschild family. Zichron Ya’acov is a charming town which still has an atmosphere of pre-state Israel. It is situated south of Haifa on the southern slopes of Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Carmel’s Center for Wine Culture, located at the winery in Zichron Ya’acov, offers wine workshops, tutored tastings and unique winery tours.

RISHON LE ZION WINE CELLARS
Carmel’s Rishon Le Zion Wine Cellars, built in 1890, is situated at Rishon Le Zion, south of Tel Aviv. No less than two future Israeli prime ministers worked there, including David Ben Gurion, and the first ever use of electricity and the telephone in Israel, was at the winery. Rishon Le Zion is now the fourth biggest city in Israel and it has literally grown around the winery, which sits in the center of a residential area. Carmel’s main blending & bottling facility is at Rishon Le Zion, which is also where the company’s Head Office is located.

KAYOUMI WINERY
Carmel’s Kayoumi Winery was built in 2004 to serve Carmel’s newly planted vineyards in the Upper Galilee. It is situated at Ramat Dalton, not far from the famous Kayoumi vineyard, source of award winning single vineyard wines. The winery is very modern, compact and the equipment is absolutely state-of-the-art. It is designed for quality, allowing the winemaker ease of management with maximum flexibility.

YATIR WINERY
Yatir Winery is situated in the northeastern Negev at Tel Arad, an archaeological site with 3,000 years of history. Yatir Winery was founded in 2000 and the first wines were launched in 2004. Yatir Winery is a subsidiary of Carmel Winery, but is managed independently having its own vineyards and winemaker. The resulting wine is marketed under the Yatir label.www.yatir.net