Odem Mountain Winery Tour
June 20th 2014
The Mount Odem Winery was founded in 2003 by the Alfasi family with the goal of establishing a thriving family business in the Golan Heights. Given the Alfasi family’s love of wine, a boutique, family-owned winery was a natural business decision. Located on Odem Forest’s Moshav Odem, also home to the Alfasis, the Mount Odem Winery is the northernmost winery in all of Israel, tucked away in enchanting and secluded oak woodlands, 3,600 feet above sea level.
Visitors are invited to drop into Mount Oden Winery for a spontaneous wine tasting. While on the premises, you can also shop for locally made cheeses and ceramic tableware. If you’d like to participate in a tour of the winery, the Alfasi family requests that you make an appointment in advance. Formal tours of the vineyards, coupled with a wine tasting, take approximately 30 minutes. The winery also delights in hosting private events, ranging from intimate dinners to family celebrations and business events for groups.
The winery harvests its own grapes from five separate vineyards throughout Israel, including vineyards in the northern Golan Heights. Once harvested and transported to the winery, grapes are submitted to a slow and cold fermenting process. The process is designed to extract the most complex flavors, fragrances and shades from the grapes. Since 2007, all wines produced by the Mount Odem Winery have been kosher.
Among its 80,000 bottles each year, the Mount Odem Winery primarily produces dry red wines on three levels. Their flagship wine carries the Alfasi family name. They also produce and sell Har Odem Reserve and Volcanic labels. In addition, Mount Odem produces a line of dessert wines. Responsibility for the wines ultimately rests in the hands of the Alfasi sons, Adam and Yishay, who are assisted by a consultant with a Ph.D. in wine technology. Mount Odem wines consistently bring home awards from both Israeli and international wine competitions.
No matter when you visit the area, there’s something lovely to appreciate. In the spring, there are blooms of wildflowers, along with apple and cherry trees. If you visit in the summer, you’ll enjoy relatively cool temperatures and bursting fruit orchards. Even in the wintertime, the area delights visitors with snow that’s rare elsewhere in Israel.
