Castel Winery.

The first thirty years

Eli Ben Zaken, the founder and owner of Castel Winery, tells us how a winery that started as a hobby became one of the pioneers of the quality revolution in Israeli wine.

Festive interview

Mira Eitan

07/09/2022

Wednesday, 07 September 2022, 15:35 Updated: Thursday, 08 September 2022, 10:49

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"In the beginning there was no intention at all to build a winery, everything started as a hobby, when the one and only intention from the beginning was to make good wine without compromises," says Eli Ben Zaken, the owner of the Castel Winery, which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Ben Zaken is one of the seniors of the wine industry in Israel and one of the leaders of the new wine era in Israel, who founded with his family Le Tefaret Winery, which today produces 400,000 bottles a year.

The winery, which is located in Israel's ancient wine region, renewed the ancient tradition, with strictness and uncompromising creativity, and paid respect to Israeli wines in Israel and abroad, as evidenced by the best wine critics in Israel and the world.

In an exciting exhibition at the winery you can witness 30 years of work, but let's start from the beginning.

The barrel cellar at Castel Winery, Yad Hamona (Photo: Moni Belach)

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How did you get into this hobby?

"After wandering around the world and immigrating to Israel from Zionism, we had a restaurant in Jerusalem in the 1980s that worked well. We lived then in the Ramat Raziel moshav on a plot we bought in 1971. The upper part of the plot was the house and the bottom a coop, and this is on the map that was hanging in the secretariat. In 1988, the moshav started talking About an outline plan. I thought they would take the plan that is pending in the secretariat from 1980, which was the result of a mandate received by two members of the moshav to arrange the borders between the neighbors. But I had no problems with the neighbors. The border line between us was not in dispute and they never came to me with complaints."

"Suddenly a triangle appeared in the new plan that does not belong to me between the area of ​​the house and the area of ​​the chicken coop. I knew there would be an argument with the Moshav Committee about the lower part, and I realized that they would take the triangle away from me, so I planted fruit trees, an olive vineyard and vines in the area. Then the plan arrived as I feared. But at Moshav they realized that they would not be able to use the area, because there is no access to it from the outside, and decided to rent it to me. And this is where it all started."

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To the full article

From the exhibition: Eli Ben Zaken in the barrel room of the Castel Winery (Photo: Mira Eitan)

Why wine?

"To play. I didn't think of doing anything commercial. If we already planted a vineyard then why not make wine? We opened the restaurant in 1980 and traveled abroad a lot during this period, where the world of wine was discovered to me.

In 1988, an American who studied at the Faculty of Agriculture came to visit Moshav.

On his visit, when he saw the nature and the orchard below the house, he said that this location was good for growing vines.

In the part where the vineyard is today, I saw that there was a rock with a thin layer of soil, which was clear that the only thing that would work there were vines.

So I planted some vines there, and I was already thinking of making wine and playing with it."

"The American introduced me to Sasson Ben Aharon, who was then in charge of the laboratory at the Wine Institute and made wines from all kinds of experimental plots in Israel.

When I became interested in what to do with the vines I planted, Sasson invited me to a tasting at the Wine Institute.

In the same year there was also the Vinexpo exhibition and together with it Vintech.

There I met the barrel makers, bought some wine books and started rolling."

"In 1992, we made the first wine in two new barrels that we ordered from France, and Shawn helped with the chemistry. When the wine came out, I thought 600 bottles was a lot, but people asked to buy it. In the two years after that, we grew, by the third year there were already 2,400 bottles. And so it grew. In 1999, there were already close to 50,000 bottles."

From the exhibition: An old man's family in a joint photo (Photo: Mira Eitan)

What pushed you to establish a commercial winery?

"Three factors: the first and most significant was Serena Sutcliffe's fax. The wine-loving radio personality Avi Etgar was enthusiastic about my wine and offered to send a bottle with the journalist Delia Penn Lerner to London. Delia was friends with the influential wine critic Serena Sutcliffe, master of wine and manager of the wine department of the auction house British Sotheby's. I understand that she was in Israel that year, 1995, and tasted the best wines produced here. Dalia handed her the first bottle of wine, Castel 1992, from which 600 bottles were made. After tasting it, she sent a fax with many praises for the wine, which is Different from the rest of the Israeli red wines she tasted, and she also explained the importance of the right terroir."

"This exciting fax was the first push. The second thing was to check that there was no family objection. Ariel, who was 23 at the time, was interested in studying abroad.

A place was found for him in a winery in the south of Bourgogne, where he made the harvest, stayed to work for another two years, and also studied at a school for vine growers and winemakers in Bonn.

"Then came the third positive factor. I realized that Lul is considered agricultural land and I can turn it into a winery, that the local committee is ready to give a permit, and the administration is ready to sign the plans. All that remains is to make wine. Of course, you can't do it without problems in the country and there were problems along the way, but they were solved in the end." .

From the exhibition: The fax that changed everything (photo: Mira Eitan)

When do you realize that wine is going to be your next thing and not the restaurant?

"When we decided to build the first winery in 1996, after all those green traffic lights. I left the restaurant in 1997, Monique, Ilana and Ethan continued there until 2002. The first vintage in the new winery was in 1996 with two small tanks. We then produced only the Grand Van. Petit Castel and Chardonnay were produced for the first time in 1998. Ariel returned to the winery in 1997. The year before, the first vineyard (except for the one next to the house) of Cabernet and Merlot was planted in Moshav. I knew the terraces there well, because I rode a horse there, it was like a jungle. We need to bring a bulldozer, water, fences there. Of course, there were also problems there that the Moshav did and the planting was delayed. And slowly we grew over the years. Towards the year 2015, Ariel thought we needed to grow more and there was not enough space in Ramat Raziel, so we moved near the Hamona, where today we have already reached - 400 thousand bottles".

Castel Winery: View from the balcony (photo: Mira Eitan)

When and why did you decide to switch to kosher wine production?

"Another unplanned thing that fate led to. At an exhibition in London I met a French Jew, a kosher wine merchant. He told me you make the best Israeli wine and you must also make it kosher, let's do a kosher series. In 2002 he sent me a French rabbi who was in Israel, An expert in wine kosher, who came with a team to make the wine, and together we made ten thousand kosher bottles. I became friends with the rabbi who was in charge and comes from time to time, a pleasant man who explains everything, understands and knows, a real expert. One day I told him that if I ever become a kosher winery I will do it with him. And in the spring of 2003 we started."

"He also gave me solutions to things that seemed impossible and recruited people, we went with it and it was easy to do it. To me it was very significant, here I am trying to make an Israeli wine that stands up to the best wines in the world, and that is the goal and the passion, but I can't show that to a large part of my people who cannot enjoy it. Becoming kosher actually freed me from this limitation, from that moment every Jew could taste Castel wines. In addition, we were just at the beginning of growth and it turned out that the family was doing all the duties in the winery alone. Two years before, we also recruited a friend Ariel's class, Ben Moshav, Ofir, and we needed more people, and the solution came with the new religious workers."

Castel Winery Archive Wines (Photo: Mira Eitan)

When did Eitan join the story?

"Around 2006. He arrived as a foreman, to deal with logistics, recruitment, transports. Later on, he got closer and closer to making wine until finally we hired someone else to do his job so that he could deal with winemaking. He is talented, he also knows how to operate people better than me He can explain for hours and delegates authority. Today we have a large winemaking team. The overseer, who has been with us for a dozen years, Yishai, who has a phenomenal memory, tastes everything before him, learned to do laboratory tests and put in yeast, and is really a winemaker for everything. Michal, who was with us for a year , studied for two years in Tel Hai and returned. We love her very much, in the off-season she also works two days in the vineyard. In Ramat Raziel there is a guy who is responsible for the cellar, the topping, the arrangement, data and quantities, very strict. And of course Ophir also manages the winery. And he has a religious worker who studies A master's degree in viticulture at the university."

Castel Winery.

Visitor Center (Photo: Elad Barmi)

What happens between the years 2002 and 2006?

"Those years were very difficult. In 2000 there was the second intifada. The restaurant invested a lot for the sake of the winery in the first construction in 1996 and also in the expansion of the winery and the cellar in 1999. Then the work became very weak. In 2000 we already produced 80 thousand bottles and in the winery we had three vintages for sale. The stores didn't work, the restaurants didn't work. Then in 2002, a final decision was made to close the restaurant and focus on the winery. Today, Eitan Yeinan Kastel, Ilana is responsible for all purchasing, Ariel is the actual chairman of the board, and in fact the manager of the winery. He is the most talented in the family, in management, In the concept, he founded the new winery, to which we moved in 2015."

The women of the 'Hashazara' community visit the Castel Winery (Photo: David Silverman)

Where are the vineyards today?

"We have spread out a lot, up the fifth, under the gas station and across from the Neve Ilan hotel. All the vineyards are ours, and this year's plantings will be completed. We are also starting to plant in Beit Meir after the vineyards of Tsara and Shuresh. On the other side of the road are most of the Syrah, Grenache, Morbadar plantings And Raziel's Rossan. Next year, Marsan, Cabernet Franc and more will also be planted."

Castel Winery.

Visitor Center (Photo: Elad Barmi)

How did the idea to bring the old winery back into operation and establish Raziel Winery come about?

"There were three options, the simplest and most logical option was to do more of the same and add to the wines in the hand of the eight. A second option was to rent the winery. And the last option was let's do special things. In 2016, the idea of ​​producing sparkling wine began to brew, and we made a first base sparkling wine, and then Step by step it developed. We made the Red Raziel from a bottle that we have in the Tsova vineyard and a Carignan that we bought from Batia Souvenir. I really like Carignan. Next year we already have our own Syrah, Grenache and Morbader in Beit Meir, first vintage, with different dahlias, of the Rhone Valley. Today We produce close to 50,000 bottles in Raziel, and the goal is to reach 100,000 bottles, sparkling, white (Rossanne), rosé and red. And the intention is to maintain the difference and variety between the wineries."

Braziel only you make the wine?

?

"There is cooperation and talks between me and Eitan both in Raziel and in Castel."

What is it like to work as a family?

"It's not easy, but everyone has their niche, so they manage. My biggest concern is the third generation."

Eli Ben Zaken host (Photo: David Silverman)

Are there already candidates?

"There is a family decision that everyone will learn something different and gain experience in something else and then we will see who is ready to come to the winery. But I think in the meantime we should start teaching them basic things, tie them to the subject of understanding, because everyone will be partners one day and have something to say. Winemaking The way we do it is not like any other industry, it has a connection with the land with tradition, it's very complex, it's so noble. We always remember the nobility of wine compared to wineries that are like industrial plants."

Why 'Castell'?

"At first I thought of 'Chateau', but it seemed too ridiculous, then I thought of 'Castel', it's also Chateau, and you don't have to explain to anyone, they understand it in Hebrew as well.

Verziel?

This was requested, because of the venue.

Besides that Raziel is also the angel of the secret, which the Kabbalists love very much, and there is also 'wine goes in, secret goes out', and everything came together."

Castel Winery.

Visitor Center (Photo: Dror Einav, Dror Einav)

And finally, what do you think about what happened in Israel in the last three decades?

"A real revolution. Really. I have the good fortune to be part of a process that was not expected and planned, and I travel on this train. I can understand now in retrospect what happened, at that time. The government freed the residents to buy foreign currency at the bank and the taxes on trips abroad were canceled .

Israelis started traveling and were exposed to good food and wine, and Castel Winery arrived on the scene at this time, when everyone was actually thirsty for culinary adventures.

Good things have happened in Israel since then.

Obviously, many wineries also fell by the wayside.

It's quite simple to make boutique wine, today's vintage is not too difficult, the care is relatively little, and it is possible to do it as a hobby, but the problems start with the sale of the wine.

It is easier

to make good wine than to sell it.

However, there are many who survive."

"In 1998, I had a very heated argument with the person who was in charge of the agricultural division in the administration, I called on him to let go and let the farmers turn the buildings into wineries and not put sticks in the wheels to talk so nicely. How much money will the state lose from this? Even if there are 200 wineries, I asked him. So I thought 200 was a wild exaggeration

and today there are already close to 400 wineries, but all of them are not located in areas of demand and the payment they receive from them is tiny. The state should have given up a maximum of 20 million shekels, it is a small amount that it does not owe, but the administration is afraid to make a decision And it's actually quite tragic."

"More than a quarter of a century has passed since then and we have become a wine country. In the 90s I liked to say that I wanted to travel on the road and see vineyards like abroad, and today we travel everywhere and see vineyards.

The dream came true.

And the wines are so much better.

And the revolution is not only in the small wineries, the real revolution is in the large wineries, who realized that the customer is not a sucker, that he knows what he wants and is willing to pay a price at all levels.

A very big revolution."

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