The area from Mount Carmel in the north along the Mediterranean coast to Ashkelon area has always been a populated agricultural area. Mount Carmel forests and caves and fertile valleys are considered among the most important birthplaces of human agriculture thousands of years ago. Nowadays Coastal Plane is the place of the Israeli high-tech industry, with Tel Aviv-Jaffa at its heart, Israel's economic, liberal, commercial, cultural and culinary capital. Welcome to the Coastal Plain!

Mount Carmel, Home to Ancient Humanity

Known as the "Evergreen Mountain" in local songs, Mount Carmel is a beautiful hilly green ridge mounting from Haifa Bay to Jezreel Valley, with spectacular panoramic views. The area is rich with woods and fauna, colored by flowers and flowering trees in the winter, with streams flowing through steep banks. A large part of the Carmel is a protected "National Reserve Park". 

 

The caves on Mount Carmel were home to ancient human tribes, at first as a shelter and a home base for hunters, gradually becoming permanent home to farmers. The area was always populated because of the availability of fresh spring waters, rivers, fertile valleys, rich hunting grounds, and relatively pleasant climate.

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Ancient Trade Routes and Hebrew Tribes

The slopes of Mount Carmel and the Coastal Plains area were popular for cultivating wheat fields, vineyards, olive trees and household animals like goats, sheep, and cattle. As a relatively flat, fertile area along the Mediterranean Coast, major trade routes passed through Coastal Plane for thousands of years, from Africa to Europe and from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. Whoever controlled the area - controlled the trade routes. 

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Coastal Plane had been permanently populated by Hebrew farmers and traders until approximately 2,000 years ago. There are many archeological ruins telling the story of vibrant Hebrew villages with a rich culture. Approximately 2,000 years ago, most of the Hebrew population was exiled and spread across Europe by the Ancient Roman Empire, and the area has been inhabited by nomad tribes, with no permanent farming activity. The lands were neglected and the area became swamps land, unsafe at times because of bandits. 

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Birth of Modern Israeli Wine Industry

Fast forward to the 19th century. In the beginning of the return of the Hebrews to their homeland, it was needed to find occupation for the new-old comers, which included farmers. Baron Edmund James de Rothschild (owner of the Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild in Bordeaux) believed that the Coastal Plain is good for vineyards. The Baron commissioned French teams for the construction of two large wineries in 1882, and sent his experts to plant the traditional Bordeaux varieties, thus creating the first vineyards.

 

By his incredible vision and enormous generosity, Baron Edmund James de Rothchild personally founded the modern Israel's wine industry and opened the way to the many wineries of today.

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Climate & Soil

The climate of Coastal Plain is Mediterranean, winters are mild with temperatures between 4 - 16 Celsius), the rainy season is from November to May with many sunny intervals. Summers are hot. The humidity is higher along the coast and lower on the Carmel slopes. The soil is fertile, mostly clay and limestone.

 

Wines - Red, White an Rose

Some vineyards are quite old, cared for by the third generation of growers, from the days of the Baron Rothchild. More vineyards have been planted over the past 10-40 years.

 

Typically, the traditional varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Barbera, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Viogner and Chardonnay. There are excellent single variety wines as well as outstanding blends, of white, rose and red wines.

 

In recent years, as in all Israeli wine regions, growers started to cultivating the authentic unique varieties of ancient times in this region, to produce wines like Marawi.

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