Photo Essay: Arad Wine Blossoms

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 the tube into a rubber seal around the vat cover protects the 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.

To view the rest of the Photo Essay, click here.