The Winery Zwebner Estate Vineyard of Judean Hills

Discovering the wine region of Judean Hills

Judean Hills wine region – which is theoretically further divided into the Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Southern Judean Hills sub-regions – Lies within the Samson region of Central Israel. The Judean Hills (or Mountains) form a low mountain range that dominates the landscape around Jerusalem and the West Bank. Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah also lie within the range, which formed the core territory of the Kingdom of Judah where the earliest Jewish settlements were located. Although not one of Israel's better known wine regions (like Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights in Galilee), Judean Hills is an emerging viticultural area, and significant potential has been identified for its future.

As the region's name implies, the topography here is decidedly hilly, with elevations of up to 1000m above sea level. It is precisely this relief that makes quality viticulture possible here, as the semi-desert of the plains below is typically too hot and arid to allow even the hardiest of vines to produce grapes with balanced sugars, acids and phenolics. This is to be expected given the continental nature of the macroClimate here in the Levant, and Jerusalem's latitude of 31 degrees North. Thus the Judean Hills are a fortunate exception in this otherwise desertous Part of the world.

There are very few northern hemisphere wine regions that are capable of producing quality wines this close to the equator, although attempts are being made in India and Mexico, and the southernmost wine regions of China sit on a similar latitude. Judean Hills vineyards enjoy more rainfall than those in the Negev to the south, and the climate here is characterized by Warm days and cool nights. This elevated diurnal temperature variation is the secret behind the wines' freshness, as it allows the vines to develop Complex sugars and phenolics during the day, then to cool down (and close down) at night, retaining vital Acidity. The shallow soils of the finer Judean Hills vineyards have a high stone content, which gives them excellent drainage potential.