(IsraelNN.com) The Asif Winery has opened its doors to tourists in the northern Negev town of Arad, just in time for the Passover spring season. Located in the Artists’ Quarter of the Arad industrial zone, which itself has been undergoing a facelift, the boutique kosher winery, staffed only by observant Jews, clearly fits within the development town's signature slogan, "Magic is in the air."

The wood really breathes as the wine ages inside the French oak cask -- all are imported from abroad
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

One might be especially tempted to agree after sampling the wares, surprisingly sophisticated for a winery based in a desert town like Arad. Owner Yaakov Oryah admitted in a pre-Passover interview that he is “very selective” about his blends, which he personally crafts -- a fact proudly publicized on the "Efron's Cave" label under which Asif wines are sold abroad.

“It’s not just business,” he explained. “It’s an art.” That’s the type of thinking that led him to Arad, where he found a unique combination of an industrial zone (legally necessary for a winery) and a tourist route.

Amazing that such a small crusher can do such a big job -- Oryah hopes to purchase a bigger one next year
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

First stop for the grapes after crushing: the fermentation vat
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

This is not wine -- it is what was removed when the vat was rinsed clean
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

The Arad Artists’ Quarter is located within the industrial zone alongside Route 31, which passes through Arad on its way from Be’er Sheva to the Dead Sea. “It’s perfect,” Oryah said, adding that he and his two partners hope that “focusing on tourism will allow the winery to focus on the quality of the wines and not quantity.”

This looks like the bottom, but it is actually the top, air-tight with a special rubber seal that protects the wine as it quietly ferments below the steel surface
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

Air piped through tube into rubber seal around vat cover protects fermenting wine
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

Asif, although small, is showing long-term potential to grow well beyond the average Israeli market, not only due to the high quality of the product, but also because it fills two special needs as yet untouched in the local arena.

Fermentation rate is carefully controlled by a computerized system that sends ice-cold water racing around the vats
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

A very small but significant part of Asif’s production is devoted to being a service winery; that is, producing wines for others under different labels of their own choosing. According to Oryah, no other winery in Israel produces wines for vineyards that are not their own, although the practice is not uncommon elsewhere.

As volume reduces during aging, more wine is added through opening at top of cask
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

“This is a good way for someone who is toying with the idea of becoming a winemaker to start. He produces the grapes but doesn’t yet want to invest in all the equipment required for winemaking, so instead he sends the harvest to our service winery and tells me what we wants me to do with them,” he explained.

A special water seal prevents air from getting into the bottle but allows gas to escape during fermentation
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

Oryah also shops around the country, buying raw wine with which “to make interesting blends,” a niche that so far has not been replicated anywhere else in the Jewish State. The blends created from the wines that he buys on his forays to various wineries are also unique: “I never produce a wine identical to the cellar I bought it from,” said Oryah. “It will always be used in a blend.”

Wine spills over as it is added to the reduced volume during aging, staining the oak cask
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

White wine is a completely different story, however. “The whites I make myself directly from the grapes,” he noted, adding that the process for producing reds and whites is very different. One sip of the crisp Chardonnay produced by Asif is testament to Oryah’s singular light touch. “I don’t like a lot of oak in the Chardonnay,” he smiled.

No, these are not the squeezed grape husks -- they are actually oak chips for flavoring
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

Asif also produces a very limited bottling of reds from grapes that are particularly hard to find in small quantities, notably the petit verdot and cabernet franc.

Only observant Jews work at Asif
Photo: Hana Levi Julian

All Asif Wines are certified kosher for Passover and all year round under the O-K Laboratories of New York. For more information about the winery, its products and tours, call Oryah at 052-593-1100 or email him at oryah@zahav.net.il.