The Vintages
Years of harvests. Each wine a chapter.
Two Regions, Carried to the Galilee
The 2026 vintage tells a story of distance. Most of the grapes were harvested from desert vineyards near Mitzpe Ramon — fruit shaped by the extremes of a desert climate: intense heat by day, sharp cold by night, and the mineral, arid soil of the region. That contrast concentrates flavor and character in a way few other vineyards in the country can match. From this harvest came a Viognier White, a skin-contact Viognier Orange, and a Barbera — an Italian variety originally from Piemonte.
The Nebbiolo Rosé comes from an entirely different place: the vineyards of Mt. Meron. Nebbiolo is a rare variety in Israel, wild and demanding by nature, originally from Piemonte, Italy, where it is the building block of Barolo — one of the region's most celebrated wines. It is notoriously demanding: slow to ripen and difficult to grow, which is exactly why so few vineyards attempt it. Ours is still to be harvested in the coming week.
From the desert to the mountain to the Galilee — one wine region meeting another, each fruit given a second home. As always, the winemaking is fully natural — no added yeast, no preservatives, just the grape and time.
The Home Vineyard Harvest
The 2025 vintage is rooted in family and community. The grapes were donated by two neighbouring vineyards — my parents' home vineyard, and the vineyard of Uri and Orital Agmon, who grow next to them. Both families donated their harvest for the cause.
Two wines were made: a Malbec and a Viognier. Both are fully natural — no added yeast, natural fermentation only, and no preservatives. The wine expresses the land exactly as it is.
These wines form the heart of the Lasting Echoes project — a memorial for 18 young female soldiers who fell on October 7, 2023.
The bottom two photos show the 3 Vines Estate Winery Malbec vineyard.
The Winemaker's Turning Point
The 2022 Viognier was the vintage where everything changed. For the first time, I approached the harvest with a fully formed vision — I wanted to make a natural wine, free from added yeasts and chemicals, and let the grape speak entirely for itself.
Ten percent of the wine was made as an orange wine: the juice was left in contact with the grape skins, then blended back into the main fermentation and left to mature in barrel. The result was a wine of surprising depth and character — and the vintage that made me feel, for the first time, like a true winemaker.
Above is the harvest of the Viognier grapes for the 2022 vintage, beautiful grapes and amazing blazing Galilean August sun.
The Beginning
Everything started here. I harvested two varieties — a Petit Verdo and a Cabernet Sauvignon — intending to blend them. But when I tasted them separately, each wine had its own distinct voice. I decided to let them stand alone.
The proceeds from this first harvest were donated to cancer research. It was the inception of the Ben Barak Wine Initiative — the moment the idea became real.
The label of the Ben Barak Wine Initiative.
✦ Fun fact: I had originally set out to recreate Keren Naftali — a blend my father Yossi made in 2013, named after the mountain peak overlooking the Hula Valley, the Golan Heights, and the Hermon. The wine took a different path, but the inspiration remains.