Basic HTML Version
with
upscale
res-
taurants
featuring international
wines dedicated to an ever
increasing wine-conscious
clientele.
Climate and geography
Israel has a distinctly Medi-
terranean climate, with the
country located along roughly the
same latitude as San Diego and the
Mexico – United States border.
There are two primary seasons
- a hot, humid summer
season running from
April to October
with very little
pre-
cipitation and a cold, rainy
winter season from late
October to March. During
winter, average precipitation
is around 20 inches (50 cm)
with some areas seeing as
much as 35 inches (90 cms)
annually. Some vineyards in
the higher elevation regions of
Golan Heights can see snow
in the winter months. With a dry
growing season, drip irrigation is
essential to sustaining viticulture. Vine-
yard managers will utilizing pruning
and canopy management techniques
to maximize shade production from
the sunlight. Harvest will often take
place during the cooler temperatures
of night time. The dryness of the grow-
ing seasons serves a protective barrier
to many grape diseases that thrive in
damp weather and allows vineyard
managers to control vigor and yields
with by irrigation.
Israel is roughly equal in size to the
state of New Jersey and is bordered
by Lebanon and Syria to the north/
north east, the Mediterranean Sea to
the west, the deserts leading to the
border with Egypt to the south west,
the Jordan River and Dead Sea re-
gion along with the border to Jordan
comprise the
country’s eastern boundaries. Vines
are grown throughout the country
ranging from the mountain ranges
along the Lebanon, Syria borders
down to Beersheba and Arad in the
south. Small plantings are also found
on the Mizpe Ramon plateau and
at Neot Smadar in the desert north
of Eilat. The vast majority of Israeli
winemaking takes place in the more
temperate northern climate: Gali-
lee, Sharon Plain, Samson, Golan
Heights, and the Judean foothills in
the West Bank.
Across Israel there is a wide range
of microclimates due to differing soil
types and topography. Most areas
have limestone based soils with
layers of marl and hard dolomites.
The color of the soils range from red
terra rosa in Judea and Galilee near
Mount Tabor to gray in the mountain
ranges stretching from Mount Carmel
to Zikhron Ya’akov. Marine sediments
are found in the loam soils of the
coastal plains and at the base of the
elevated foothills around Binyamina-
Giv’at Ada and Latroun. The Golan
Heights and parts of the Upper and
Lower Galilee regions have signifi-
cant layers of basalt deposits of clay
and tuff created by centuries of vol-