Yatir Winery

יקב יתיר

Winery

Tel Arad, Arad

The winery of the Yatir Forest vineyards, built at the foot of the ancient citadel at Tel Arad, with guided tours of its tank hall and cellar and tastings in its visitor centre.

Yatir Winery was founded in 2000 as a joint venture of the area's grape growers and the growers' association, and built at the foot of the Judean citadel at Tel Arad, ten minutes from its vineyards in the Yatir Forest, a planted forest of about 40,000 dunams; today it makes about 150,000 bottles a year. Its site traces winemaking in the Yatir area back more than 2,500 years, to the many ancient wine presses found there. The visitor centre offers three visits: a guided tour of about an hour, from the grape reception pit through the fermentation tanks to the cellar, ending with a guided tasting of three wines; a guided tasting of three to five wines with light refreshments, without a tour, of about an hour and a half; and, for groups of ten or more, a two-hour extended tour and workshop with five wines, boutique cheeses, breads and olive oil. Visits are booked and paid ahead and are for adults over 18, and a cheese platter, a bottle to drink in the yard, or focaccia and dips can be added.