Ramon Vineyard

Winery

Road 171, outside Mitzpe Ramon, Mitzpe Ramon

A 650 dunam vineyard in the desert by Road 171 outside Mitzpe Ramon, planted in 2010 by a group of the town's residents, with tours, tastings, grape picking and a shaded garden.

Ramon Vineyard was founded in 2010 by a group of Mitzpe Ramon residents who formed an urban agricultural cooperative to put down roots in the town, and its site says it is the largest vineyard in the Negev: 650 dunams at about 800 metres above sea level, 450 of them planted. It grows 15 varieties of vine, among them Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, picked by hand at night in high summer for six wineries, and its own series of a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot, a Chardonnay and a Gewürztraminer is made from its grapes at the Ramat Negev winery at Kadesh Barnea. In the middle of the vineyard is a garden with a paddling pool, shaded seating and a lawn with fruit trees, where it holds guided tours with the story of the vineyard's founding, tastings of its wines with refreshments, family events and, for groups by appointment, dairy, meat or parve meals made from Negev produce. Grape picking runs from July to September, and groups can also pick table grapes at night by head torch. Its site says half of the vineyard's profits go to projects for Mitzpe Ramon's residents, and that it is closed on Shabbat.