Tura Estate Winery: The First Wine from Samaria in Dubai

By Gregory Aubrey

A Dream Turned Reality

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single vineyard. This is the story of Tura Winery, a family-run, estate winery situated in the heart of the Shomron region. Born out of the love and connection for the land of Israel and winemaking with a visionary mindset, owners Erez and Vered Ben Sa’adon set out on a mission to produce world-class wine from their vineyards in the village of Bracha in Samaria. Now 18 years later, their dream has turned into a wonderful reality.

Tura Winery is at the forefront of Israel’s best-producing wineries, winning many prestigious wine awards (70 and counting!) from the world’s most acclaimed critics and wine competitions, recognizing that the wines of Samaria, from the Biblical land, are some of the best wines in the world today.

Erez and Vered’s love and connection to the land of Israel is still very present today, but perhaps in the most unique and inspirational way possible with the recent signing of the Abraham Accords. After the recent historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Tura Winery co-owner Vered BenSa’adon worked to find connections with people who could help promote Tura's wines in the UAE.

By reaching out to Tura’s network of customers who are well connected in the business world, Vered was able to contact the right people in the UAE. After just a few Zoom meetings, she made it to Dubai and has visited twice since.

Making History

While in Dubai, Vered signed two important contracts:

- One contract with a company that has a license to sell wine in the UAE.

- Another contract with a company that was interested in Israeli olive oil.

There are about 10 million people living in the UAE - 9 million of whom are foreigners, and only one million Emiratis. There are also about 20 million tourists a year in Dubai, and Tura Wine is intended for those tourists and foreign residents.

Of her first trip to Dubai to form these connections, Vered says: "It was very exciting to come to Dubai and meet people who treated me like family, and hosted us in their homes. We really felt like part of a high and sublime process that is beyond our comprehension. We sat and ate together around a table with 20 traditionally dressed sheiks, when they made sure to bring us Kosher food so that we could feel comfortable when I was one woman sitting among all these men. When we talked about selling wine from Samaria and the rights of the Jews in the Land of Israel, it was a miracle, a great miracle."

Only The Beginning!

Vered believes that wine has always been a way to connect people. There is no better way to form what is only the beginning of a deep, meaningful, and historic cooperation between two nations than to forge unique connections through wine.

We invite you to discover Tura's wonderful wines that are rooted in passion, quality, and excellence. L'Chaim!