Carmel Winery (יקבי כרמל), the largest producer of wines in Israel.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild was the owner of the world famous Château Lafitte Winery in Bordeaux. In 1882, he sent representatives to Palestine to assess the land’s growing conditions. They returned with favorable reports that the climate was similar to Bordeaux and recommended planting vineyards for the production of wine. By 1890, construction of the first section of a winery in Rishon Lezion was already completed and the first grapes were harvested. In 1896, the winery started to export throughout the world. The new company’s success led to the opening of new branches, initially in Odessa, Hamburg and New York. These were soon followed by other branches located in Berlin, Vienna, and London. Simultaneously, the Carmel Winery began to export wines throughout the Ottoman Empire.
The outbreak of World War I signaled a difficult time for the Jewish settlement and for the wineries. The international wine market fell into a period of disarray meaning that the Near East became a more important market for wine, with Carmel Mizrachi becoming a dominant force in the market. In 1957 James Rothschild, son of the Baron passed ownership of the winery to the Winegrowers Association. The Carmel winery grew and its wines continued to accompany all the important events in the State of Israel.
Ismar David designed the original logo of the Carmel Winery.
