#27 Over 300 wineries

Israeli wine is produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique enterprises to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year.

As of 2012, the Israeli wine industry produced an average of 36 million bottles of wine annually in a variety of styles ranging from red, white, rosé, still, sparkling and dessert wines. There are 35 commercial wineries in Israel, and over 250 boutique wineries. The 10 largest wineries in Israel, in terms of production volume, are Carmel, Barkan, Golan Heights, Teperberg 1870, Binyamina Wine Cellar, Galil Mountain, Tishbi Winery, Tabor, Recanati and Dalton Winery. One of Israel’s smallest, private wineries is Carmichael Wines. The industry is fairly concentrated, with 75% of the nationwide production coming from the top 5 producers.

Annual wine consumption among Israelis averages 4.6 liters of wine per person.

Wine has been produced in the Land of Israel since biblical times. Wine was exported to Rome during the Roman period, but under the Muslim rulers the production was virtually wiped out. Under the Crusaders, winemaking was temporarily revived.

The modern Israeli wine industry was founded by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, owner of the Bordeaux estate Château Lafite-Rothschild. Today, Israeli winemaking takes place in five vine-growing regions: Galil (Galilee, including the Golan Heights), the region most suited for viticulture due to its high elevation, cool breezes, marked day and night temperature changes and rich, well-drained soils; the Judean Hills, surrounding the city of Jerusalem; Shimshon (Samson), located between the Judean Hills and the Coastal Plain; the Negev, a semi-arid desert region, where drip irrigation has made grape growing possible; and the Sharon plain near the Mediterranean coast and just south of Haifa, surrounding the towns of Zichron Ya’akov and Binyamina, which is the largest grape growing area in Israel.

In 2011, Israeli wine exports totaled over $26.7 million. As of 2012, Israel had 12,355 acres of vineyards.