Carmel Winery: One Hundred and Forty Years of Expertise

By Dr. Kenneth Friedman

Carmel Winery: Winemaking Dynasty

With 140 years of production and winemaking experience, Carmel Winery continues to preserve its storied heritage of winemaking in Israel, integrating renowned traditions while promoting the highest levels of development and innovation. Carmel's primary goal is to lead and develop Israeli wine culture, to create ongoing expertise, and maintain leadership in the world of wine. The use of state-of-the-art and advanced technologies, combined with a longstanding winemaking tradition is enhanced by its close contact with the many families of vineyard growers. This all leads to the creation of high-quality, innovative, and creative wines - from the moment of the grapes’ harvesting to the opening of the wine bottle in the consumer's home.

Aging gracefully while remaining fresh, Carmel Winery caters to wine lovers of all ages, producing delicious wines ranging from entry-level pricing for every pocket and taste all the way up to its outstanding, premium wines.

Crafting World-Class Wine

Quality wine does not come easy and rests on all facets of winemaking: hardworking and resolute farmers and vineyard growers, professional and creative winemakers, vineyards in a variety of growing regions and microclimates, and grape varieties suitable for the local climate – all of which combine with innovation and advanced technology in the winery itself.

The Carmel team plays a most crucial and significant role in the winemaking process, and the dedicated team of winemakers is led by the chief winemaker, Yiftah Perets. The winemaking team, known to work together in synchrony and harmony, possess extensive combined experience and present deep knowledge and understanding of both traditional and modern winemaking methods.

For a country its size, Israel possesses a tremendous variety of microclimates, and Carmel’s vineyards are located throughout, including in the Galilee, the northern coastal plain, the Judean Hills, and Ramat Arad in the Negev Desert. Carmel can hence offer wines produced from quality grapes derived from the country’s top vineyards, thus contributing to both the premium wine series and to the excellent-value, entry-level series. It is the role of the vineyard growers and the winemakers to preserve and cultivate the vineyards in order to yield grapes with the highest qualities possible and to realize their tremendous potential.

Carmel’s maintenance of vineyards planted in various regions in Israel serve another purpose, allowing the winery to maintain balance and preserve biodiversity, while encouraging a natural interaction between the vine and the environment. This process contributes to the quality of the finished product and is an integral part of the concept of terroir. Grape varieties grown in the various vineyards have been carefully selected and are treated with love and meticulous care, from classical varieties to esoteric varieties, and each variety is suited to its particular and diverse microclimate. The vineyards receive minimal intervention while utilizing the optimal conditions for their cultivation, without compromising on their quality.

Carmel Wines: Something Great for Every Palate

Carmel Winery offers an extensive range of wines for all budgets with QPR (quality to price ratio) offerings in the Private Collection series, the Selected series, and the Appellation series, providing approachable wines with unique styles, while supplying enjoyable options for daily sips with family or friends.

Private Collection Series

The wines of the Private Collection series are widely acclaimed for their high quality in addition to the value for money that they deliver. The Private Collection is a leading force in its price category and regularly wins gold medals in “Best Value” competitions in Israel. Wines from this series are produced from grapes derived from several of the winery’s vineyards, covering multiple locations in Israel.

Selected Series

The Selected series, Israel’s best-selling wine series, has established itself over 40 years as a leading range of wines, providing exceptionally high value at very affordable prices. The series includes a variety of red and white grape varieties with each wine possessing a youthful, fruity, and fresh character. The accessibility and style of the Selected series wines are tailored to most every palate, and a glass of these wines can be enjoyed on a variety of occasions – when alone, with a family meal, or at any event or occasion.

Appellation Series

The Appellation series, launched in 2002, is a unique series of fine wines representing the best vineyard regions of Israel, produced from classic grape varieties that are cultivated in outstanding vineyards from various wine-growing regions across Israel. The wines are treated with dedication, professionalism, and proficiency to express the distinct quality and character of each of the grape varieties and their respective growing regions.

Appellation series red wines undergo an aging process in barrels of assorted sizes for about one year, preserving the character of the fruit while imparting a delicate oak flavor. Following this barrel-aging process, the Appellation wines continue maturing in their bottles at the winery for several more months.

Carmel Wines: A Taste of Israeli Winemaking at Your Seder Table

Carmel Winery continues to lead the way into the bold future of Israeli wine while drawing upon 140 years of classic winemaking tradition. Balancing history with modernity, Carmel’s principal and guiding role as a trailblazing winery grows stronger always. We invite you to experience the beauty and quality of Carmel winemaking for the upcoming Passover season with tasteful wines on sale up to 20% off.