Wine touring days with options for single day ,overnight or extended touring .
General tour outline:
Day One
Jerusalem to Ramat Raziel
Approx 35 Km.
The oldest documented wineries in Jerusalem existed in the Jewish Quarter of the old city in the time of the Ottoman Empire. Today several wineries produce wine mainly with locally grown grapes.
Leave Jerusalem through the Jerusalem Forest road heading down the hill to Beit Zait. Enter the moshav (agricultural community) and head towards the Zmora Winery, overlooking west to the Jerusalem hills.
From Beit Zait, head to the old road up the hill to Mevaseret Zion. Follow the road passing the Castel Crusader Fort to Kibbutz Tzuba. Inside the Kibbutz you will find the Tzuba Winery, producing wine exclusively from grapes of their own vineyard.
For the end of the day follow road #395 up the hill towards Ramat Raziel. There, high above the Judean Hills, you will find one of Israel’s most well known boutique winery and Vineyard. Castel Winery produces a small selection of red and white wines from their own vines, which are marketed worldwide.
Follow road #395 down towards Ein Kerem and follow road #386 south bound along the Shorek Stream. Climb up the hill to Bar Giora and head to the Sea Horse Winery and Vineyards, making wine from organically grown grapes.
Overnight in the Bar Giora area.
Day Two
Bar Giora to the Beit Shemesh Area
Approx 30 Km.
The area surrounding the town of Beit Shemesh is home to about 15 wineries. We recommend devoting day two and three to exploring and tasting the wine of this area.
From Bar Giora, head down road #475 which will take you down into the Ella Valley and the Judean Plains. Turn into Kibbutz Nativ Ha’Lamed He and the Ella Valley Winery (and future home to Vertigo’s Eco-Village)
You could head to the nearby Agur Winery located in an ancient inn and then follow road #38 towards Beit Shemesh. Enter the Beit Gemal Monastery, where in addition to local honey and olive oil, you will find the Cremisan Winery, with wine made from grapes of the Bethlehem area.
Continue towards Beit Shemesh and turn into Kibbutz Tzora. End your day by visiting one or all of the three wineries of this valley. In Kibbutz Tzora you will find the Tzora Winery made from local grapes.
Also in the Kibbutz you can find the Teperberg 1870 Winery, which is one of the first wineries in the old city of Jerusalem.
At the end of the road you will find the Catholic monastery of Dir Rafaht. Here, between the vineyards and olive groves, the Mony Winery sits atop a small hill overlooking the area (Tel: 02-991-6629)
Overnight in the Tzora-Beit Shemesh area.
Day Three
Beit Shemesh to Latrun
Approx 35 Km.
Just north of Beit Shemesh, in the junction of #38 and #395, you will find the Flam Winery. This second generation family owned winery is a good place to start the day.
From here, you can head toward Mesilat Zion and pay a visit to the Katz Family Winery (Tel: 02-585-6144)
Head on road #44 toward Latrun, and stop at Kibbutz Harel. In the Kibbutz, on the foundation of an ancient oil press, you will find Clos de Gat Winery.
Keep following road #44 towards Karmey Yosef. The Bravdo Winery is located in the vineyards that supply the grapes for their wine. Also in the moshav, you will find the home of the Har Noy Family, producing wine with their name from grapes they grow on their land, in addition to olive oil (Tel: 08-928-7615)
Head back to road #3 north toward Kibbutz Nahshon, and the Nahshon Winery and visitors center.
From there, continue to Latrun and the magnificent monastery producing wine and olive oil, in a setting unique to the Middle East (Tel: 08-922-0065)
Pass the town of Modi’in and end your day with a visit to Kfar Ruth and the winery there . Here, on the ruins of ancient olive presses and wineries, you will find a winery inside its vineyards.
Overnight in the Modi’in area.
Associated Websites:
http://israeltravelcompany.com
http://www.israeltravelcompanytours.com
http://www.zeltours.com
