The Berenice Winery of Galilee

Discovering the wine region of Galilee

Galilee is an administrative and wine region in Northern Israel. Its name is perhaps most widely recognized in the context of Lake Galilee, via its associations with the Bible, but it is now steadily becoming known as a wine region. 'Water into wine' is not a New theme for the Galilee region as the story of the wedding at Cana, in which Jesus turns water into wine, is widely thought to have its origins here. The Galilee (Galil in Hebrew) is located in the northern most reach of the couunty, with Golan Heights to the east and the Coastal Plains to the west.

The region is (unofficially) subdivided into Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee and the Golan Heights, with the latter confidently emerging as one the most interesting New World regions of the Old World. Lower Galilee is by far the smallest in terms of area under Vine, with just a small viticultural district around Mount Tabor, the iron-rich terra rossa soil of which bears more than a passing resemblance to that of Coonawarra. The vineyards of Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights are considerably more widespread, scattered over almost every Part of Israel's northeast corner. Thus the soil profiles vary considerably, offering greater choice to contemporary vignerons seeking out their preferred terroirs.

Among the soil types in Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights are free-draining gravels, limestone based and mineral-rich volcanic basalt all of which are found throughout reputable wine producing areas of the world. The landscape throughout Galilee is characterized by rocky elevations of well over 450 meters (1,500ft), with the landscape peaking at Mount Meron (1,210m/4,000ft) in the far north of which creates undulating topography. The cool elevations and relatively high rainfall in this area (for what is essentially a semi-desert region) allows for Grapes to retain their Acidity and therefor wine that is atypically fresh and vibrant. Very few wine regions at 33 degrees latitude are capable of producing wine of this quality – those that do are, like Galilee, reliant on high altitude to compensate for their low latitude.