Yatir, a small and high-quality winery, was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between the grape-growers of the area and Carmel Winery. The winery was built at the foot of the Tel Arad archeological site, which features the ruins of a 3000-year-old Canaanite city and from the later period of Judea. The winery is situated in the Negev, fulfilling the dream of David Ben Gurion of making the desert bloom. However, the high altitude, cool climate vineyards of Yatir Forest are only ten minutes away in the southern Judean Hills.
The connection with Judea encouraged the winery to choose The Lion of Judah as the logo of Yatir Winery. The viticulturists and winemakers of the winery are committed to the highest quality and aim to emphasize the uniqueness of their vineyards through the character and quality of their wines.
Ya’akov Ben-Dor is managing director and a member of the group of vineyard owners who originally planted the vineyards in the Yatir Forest in 1997. Eran Goldwasser, head winemaker, graduated from Adelaide university in Australia, working in many Australian wineries before joining Yatir. Through his winemaking skills he has become world renowned with several wines receiving gold medals and 90 point plus ratings from famous publications.
