Posted at 18:00h in Wine industry, Wineries by Avi 0 Comments
Binyamina Winery has recently succeeded to get wines listed in both Tesco and Marks & Spencers. Tesco is the largest supermarket chain and wine retailer in the United Kingdom. Marks & Spencer’s is one of England’s most famous retailers specializing in clothing, food and wines.
Tesco offer a kosher service for the Jewish community by stocking kosher wines in some of their branches. Marks & Spencer are appealing to those who want to taste something new, by introducing a focus on a list of wines from the Eastern Mediterranean. The following wines will be listed at Tescos: the Bin series, and both Binyamina Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz. Binyamina’s Caesarea Kiddush wine will also be sold there. Binyamina’s Bin Merlot will be one of two Israeli wines on M & S’s list.
Binyamina Winery was founded in 1952 and named Eliaz, after someone who fell in the Israel War of Independence. It was situated in the disused perfume factory founded by the Rothschilds in the town of Binyamina, directly south of Zichron Ya’acov, on the most southern part of Mt. Carmel. For many years Eliaz dealt purely with the religious market but in the last ten years in particular, has gone through a notable revival. Included in this was a change of name to Binyamina.
In 2008 the winery was purchased by the Hezi Hinam Supermarket chain and a large program of investment began. The Binyamina wines are made under the following labels, from the best downwards: The Chosen, Reserve, Yogev, Bin and Teva. They also have a prestigious boutique wine called ‘The Cave’. The chief winemaker of the winery is Sasson Ben Aharon, who previously worked for Efrat and the Israel Wine Institute. The associate winemaker is Assaf Paz, previously of Tishbi and Carmel wineries, who also makes wine for the Vitkin, a celebrated boutique winery.
The word Binyamina, the name of the town and winery, is named after Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the founder of a modern Israeli wine industry. His Hebrew name was Binyamin, which translates to Benjamin. Binyamina Winery is the fifth largest winery in Israel after Carmel, Barkan – Segal, Golan Heights and Teperberg. They have recently reopened their refurbished visitors’ center.
