Vitkin Winery
Another one of my favorite wineries is Vitkin. The vitkin winery is located in Kfar Vitkin about 15 minutes northwest of Netanya. The Vitkin winery is a family boutique winery considered to be the pioneer of Mediterranean wines in Israel as a result of their expertise in producing original wines from varieties that have not realized their potential. You will discover wines from veteran and forgotten, new and unique varieties as well as unusual blends.
Do not expect Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Chardonnay from this winery, but be prepared to be taken on a journey of different grapes, Carignan, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Sirah. Varieties that are uniquely suited to Israel's climate make up a large part of what they do, although they do have some non mediterranean varieties such as Pinot Noir and Riesling.
Doron Belogolovsky, a grandson of the founders of Kfar Vitkin started the winery in 2001 with it's first vintage. For many years he made wine with his wife, Sharona and his brother in law Assaf Paz. Assaf began his career as a pastry chef, has an MA in wine studies from France and did internships in Australia, France and California. He also worked at Carmel, Tishbi, Binyamina and Segal. While doing his day job at these wineries he was consulting and working at Vitkin. in 2014, he joined full time and is the primary winemaker, with his sister Sharona as the CEO of the winery.
They have a beautiful visitors center at the winery and much of the furniture is built from recycled wine barrels and other materials by Doron himself. I have been to the visitor center many times and spent lots of quality time there with the family. On Fridays, in addition to wine tastings they offer a selection of tapas dishes, cheese platters and more. This is a winery well worth visiting.
The vineyards are planted in Kfar Vitkin but also across Israel from the Jerusalem mountains in the south to Zichron Yaakov in the center to the Golan Heights. Their wines come in the following series:
Israel Journey - These wines come in red and white. Easy drinking and perfect for any day of the week and designed to be drunk 2 to 4 years after vintage.
Single variety red wines - Carignan, Petit Sirah, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. These are all delicious wines with aging potential as well as drinking now if you give them enough time to breathe. I have recently tasted some of these that I have been holding for a couple of years and they are really delicious.
Single variety white wines - Grenache Blanc and Gewurztraminer. Perfect for a hot summer day. This stuff is limited in quantity and stock up. Unfortunately, their Riesling is not imported and only available in Israel, so this is one to bring back from Israel if you can. I know I do.
If anyone wants to take a look at their website, the link is below, so feel free to delve.
https://vitkin-winery.co.il/%d7%90%d7%95%d7%93%d7%95%d7%aa/?lang=en