Carmel Winery is a vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

 and winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Founded in 1882 by Edmond James de Rothschild

Edmond James de Rothschild

Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...

, its products are exported to over 40 countries.

Overview

Carmel Winery manufactures mainly wine, brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

 and grape juice

Grape juice

Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must"...

. It is the prime producer of wine in Israel, as it produces nearly half of the Israeli wine market, and one of the largest wine producers in the Eastern Mediterranean

Eastern Mediterranean

The Eastern Mediterranean is a term that denotes the countries geographically to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. This region is also known as Greater Syria or the Levant....

. It is the first and oldest exporter of wine, brandy and grape juice in the country, and also the largest producer of kosher wine

Kosher wine

Kosher wine is grape wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, Jewish dietary laws .To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must be involved in the entire winemaking process and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher...

 in the world.

The company is owned by the council of the Vine-growers Union (75%) and the Jewish Agency for Israel

Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...

 (25%). Its parent company is Societe Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves Richon Le Zion & Zikhron Ya'akov Ltd. (S.C.V.)

The company holds the two largest wineries in Israel, as well as three new boutique wineries. These wineries include Rishon LeZion Winery, Zikhron Ya'akov Winery, Yatir Winery (50%) and Ramat Dalton Winery. In addition, the company owns 1,500 hectares (3,750 acres) of vineyards in Israel.

Carmel's production reaches 25-30 million bottles per year and its profit from export adds up to USD 5 million from 40 countries.

History

When the settlers of the First Aliyah

First Aliyah

The First Aliyah was the first modern widespread wave of Zionist aliyah. Jews who migrated to Palestine in this wave came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. This wave of aliyah began in 1881–82 and lasted until 1903. An estimated 25,000–35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Syria during the...

, Jews who immigrated to Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 from Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

 in the second half of the 19th century, encountered difficulties in cultivating the land due to their lack of experience and the soil's characteristics, they began to seek support outside of Palestine for establishing vineyards and wineries. Their representatives traveled to France, where they met Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Château Lafite. As a Zionist, Rothschild provided financial and moral assistance to the settlers. His first vineyards were planted near Rishon LeZion, south east of Jaffa

Jaffa

Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...

. In 1882, French rootstock was imported, and the Baron sent his own wine specialists to advise the pioneers in this enterprise. Construction began on a large wine cellar in Rishon LeZion. Later, a second winery was established in Zikhron Ya'akov, situated on Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...

 just south of Haifa.

In 1895 Carmel Wine Co. was formed to export wines of Rishon LeZion and Zikhron Ya'akov, first in Poland, then in Austria, Great Britain and the United States. In 1902 Carmel Mizrahi was founded in Palestine to market and distribute wines to the cities of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

.

In 1896, the first Carmel wines were presented at the International Exhibition of Berlin at a special pavilion devoted to the industries of the Jewish colony in Palestine. Over a hundred thousand people visited the exhibition, looked at the products, and drank a glass of Rishon LeZion wine. A year later, a world gardening exhibition was held in Hamburg where the settlers' wines were well received. Rishon LeZion wines won a gold medal at the Paris World's Fair

Exposition Universelle (1900)

The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...

 in 1900.

In 1906, both the vineyards and the management of the two wineries were deeded to the winegrowers, forming the "Societé Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves, Richon le Zion and Zikhron Jacob Ltd."

Interestingly, many of Israel's historical figures worked in the vineyards and in the wineries. Perhaps the two most famous were the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion and his successor, Levi Eshkol

Levi Eshkol

' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...

.

Through the early decades of the 20th century the wine business bloomed. Branches of Carmel Wine Co., were opened in Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

, Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

, Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 and Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, and sales increased, particularly during the First World War, when allied troops passed through Palestine. However, the businesses fell sharply when the war was over. The industry lost its principal markets in Russia due to the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

, in the United States because of Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

, and in Egypt and the Middle East because of Arab nationalism. Many of the vineyards were uprooted and replanted with citrus trees.

However, during the Second World War, the industry began to grow again and with successive waves of immigrants, drinking habits gradually changed. In 1957, the estate of the Baron Edmond de-Rothschild deeded over the two wineries to the Cooperative of Winegrowers, the Societé Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves, by then, better known under the trade name Carmel Mizrahi in Israel and Carmel worldwide.

For some years after the end of the war, Carmel's output was focused on sweet wines used for sacramental purposes. However, with the emergence of the new world in wine making, Israeli wine makers sought new varieties of grapes, thus in 1971 Cabarnet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, the first varietal wines from Israel, were presented in the United States market.

In the early 80's, the wine industry in Israel fell upon hard times, but in the second half of the decade, wine became more popular and demands for quality stimulated tremendous improvements in the varieties of grapes being grown, the cultivation of new growing regions and the updating of fermentation and production techniques.

Over the past few years, new state-of-the-art wineries have been built, the existing wineries have been renovated and a new team of young, highly qualified wine makers have been employed. The constant search for improvement is now part of the fabric of the cooperative.

In 2003 Carmel agreed to sponsor 'Carmel Trophy for Best Eastern Mediterranean Producer' at I.W.S.C. in London. In 2004 Peter Stern (formerly at Mondavi & Gallo) from California was appointed wine making consultant. The same year Carmel founded 'Handcrafted Wines of Israel'.

Exporting to over 40 countries, Carmel products are found in wine stores and retail chains around the globe.

Wineries

Carmel's first winery and head office is Rishon LeZion Winery, which is located in the city of Rishon LeZion. It was built in 1890 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, making it the oldest industrial building in Israel still in use. The winery is the largest winery in Israel in terms of production of wines, spirits and grape juice. It was the first establishment in Israel to install electricity and telephone, and David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, worked there. It underwent renovations in the 1990s.

Carmel's second winery is Zikhron Ya'akov Winery. Located in Zikhron Ya'akov, it is used for production of wine and blending of olive oil. It was built in 1892, also by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. The winery is the largest winery in Israel in terms of grapes received at harvest. It includes a new boutique winery built in 2003 and a pilot micro-winery for research and development.

Yatir Winery

Yatir winery

Yatir Winery is an Israeli boutique winery in Tel Arad, Israel, partly owned by Carmel Winery.The general manager is Ya’acov Ben Dor, a pioneer of forest agriculture, who initiated the planting of vineyards in 1997. The winemaker is Eran Goldwasser, a graduate of Adelaide University, Australia...

 is a small winery built in 2000 with state-of-the-art equipment, which receives grapes only from its own vineyards. It is situated in Tel Arad, an archaeological site with 3,000 years of history, in the northeastern Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

. The winery was a joint venture between Carmel (50%) and Gadash local wine growers (50%). Yatir Winery

Yatir winery

Yatir Winery is an Israeli boutique winery in Tel Arad, Israel, partly owned by Carmel Winery.The general manager is Ya’acov Ben Dor, a pioneer of forest agriculture, who initiated the planting of vineyards in 1997. The winemaker is Eran Goldwasser, a graduate of Adelaide University, Australia...

 is now solely owned by Carmel Winery. Its vineyards are located in Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest is a forest in Israel, located on the southern slopes of Mount Hebron, on the edge of the Negev Desert. The forest covers an area of 30,000 dunams , and is the largest planted forest in Israel.-History:...

 in the southern Judean Hills

Judean Mountains

The Judaean Mountains, ;, also Judaean Hills and Hebron Hills is a mountain range in Israel and the West Bank where Jerusalem and several other biblical cities are located. The mountains reach a height of 1,000 m.-Geography:...

.

Another newly built winery is Ramat Dalton, located in Ramat Dalton, Upper Galilee. It was built in 2004 and receives its grapes from vineyards in Upper Galilee and Golan Heights.

Vineyards

Carmel Winery owns numerous vineyards across Israel, from the Galilee

Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...

 and the Golan Heights in the North to the Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

 in the South. These vineyards include some of the finest individual vineyard sites in the country. On average, Carmel harvests about 25,000 tonnes of grapes, which is approximately 50% of Israel’s total harvest. Exported wines will show the growing region on the label.

In the Galilee and Golan, which are generally accepted as Israel’s finest wine growing areas due to their higher altitude and cooler climate, Carmel's vineyards focus on growing quality grapes. Carmel has vineyards in the central and northern Golan and it is the leading winery presence in the premium Upper Galilee. The grapes from the finest vineyards go to Ramat Dalton Winery.

The coastal regions of Sharon and Central Coastal Plain are Israel’s traditional grape growing areas, where Carmel's vines were originally planted. In the northern Sharon Plain, Israel's largest wine growing region, benefiting from Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...

 Range and from breezes off the Mediterranean Sea, Carmel owns extensive areas of vineyards. The main concentration of vineyards is in the valleys surrounding the winery towns of Zikhron Ya’akov and Binyamina. This is the largest region for Carmel which surrounds the Zikhron Ya’akov Winery. It was announced in early 2008 that a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) wine park would be created on the slopes between Zikhron Ya'akov and Binyamina in order to promote tourism in the area and wine tourism

Wine tourism

Wine tourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Wine tourism can consist of visits to wineries, vineyards and restaurants known to offer unique vintages, as well as organized wine tours, wine festivals or other...

 in Israel in general.

The Central Coastal Plain (known as Dan

Gush Dan

The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area , or Gush Dan , is a metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts of Israel. The area is closely linked to the city of Tel Aviv through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is located along the Israeli Mediterranean coastline...

) and the rolling hills of the Judean Lowlands make up the second coastal region, in which grapes have been traditionally grown. This is the second largest area for growing vines in Israel, as it has a coastal Mediterranean climate: hot, humid summers and warm, mild winters. It is a large region for Carmel and it supplies the Rishon LeZion Winery.

In the Judean Hills, an area proved to yield grapes of high quality due to its warm days and cool nighttime temperature, Carmel has premium vineyards in Yatir Forest, the largest forest in Israel. These vineyards, which are up to 900 meters above sea level, supply grapes for the boutique Yatir Winery.

Carmel is a pioneer in the Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

, a popular area for vine growing in ancient times, with its high quality Ramat Arad vineyard situated on the north east Negev plateau, 500 meters above sea level with very hot days and cold nights.