Tabernacle Winery: A Modern Winery with Rich Heritage

By Gregory Aubrey

Nestled in the sun-soaked valley of the Upper Galilee in Moshav Tzuriel lies one of Israel’s newest and up-and-coming boutique wineries: Tabernacle Winery. Founded in 2017 by Kenny Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, this family-owned winery was established with a strong passion and connection to the Land of Israel, coupled with a vision to craft world-class wines while paying ode to Israel’s wonderful terroir.

Combining traditional winemaking methods with modern technology and a detail-focused, forward-thinking approach, Tabernacle aims to produce wines that are rooted in heritage and driven by superior quality. Today the winery produces anywhere between 40,000 to 80,000 bottles a year, consisting of two different series that are all centered around classic French varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Syrah (read on to learn more about the wines).

The Vineyards

With a high altitude of roughly 850 meters above sea level and sprawled out across the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights, Tabernacle’s vineyards benefit from fantastic and ideal viticulture conditions; low temperatures, heavy rainfall, beautiful Mediterranean sunshine, all while being surrounded by the wonderful Sea of Galilee that runs throughout the region.

This optimal environment allows for the grapes to flourish and develop in the most natural and best way possible, resulting in wines that are full of flavor, texture, and character, and most importantly perfectly suited for the different French varietals which they use.

A Talented Trio

What happens when you combine three different talented winemakers with varied backgrounds and experiences? Some might call it a great idea, others a giant recipe for success. For Tabernacle, both of these answers will do. At the helm of winemaking is a talented trio of experienced and passionate winemakers, all bringing their own unique approach, raw talent, and savoir-faire to the table (or the bottle, whichever you prefer): Itay Lahat, Yossi Izikowitch, and Ari Tennenbaum.

With over 25 years of winemaking experience under his belt across Israel and Australia where he received his Oenology and Viticulture degree, Itay is widely lauded as one of Israel’s best veteran winemakers and acts as the leading wine consultant for Tabernacle. Chief Winemaker Yossi is no stranger to the wine world either, having studied winemaking in Jerusalem and with former experience as head winemaker of Metzuda Winery, as well as being considered one of Israel’s up-and-coming winemakers. Last but not least is Ari, Tabernacle’s enologist who adds the American “je ne sais quoi” to the mix. His Viticulture and Enology studies at Cornell University and prior experience as cellar master at Lueria Winery have brought tremendous value to this extremely diverse, yet harmonious winemaking team. The combined and global experiences from each winemaker is like blending different varietals into one wine; each having their own character and flavor that adds up to craft a winning wine, in this case, a winning team.

Wines & Winemaking

The different grapes which Tabernacle uses are all sourced from the best vineyards in various parts of the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights. While many Israeli wineries enjoy using a variety of grapes, Tabernacle puts a focus on producing wines from classic French varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah - ones that have proven to be the perfect match to the terroir of the Galilee. Each wine is meticulously crafted with every detail in mind, from the growing and picking of the grapes to a more hands-off approach of leaving the grapes uninterrupted and the wine lightly unfiltered, in order to showcase the wine’s full flavor, quality, and texture, before putting the wine to age and gain more character and complexity in oak barrels.

The winery features two series - the Reserve and Betzalel, with the former being the “entry-level” wine and the latter regarded as the more premium series. Each of these series features two categories: one single varietal and one blend. Let’s get into the details.

The Reserve Series

The Betzalel Series

Say L'Chaim with Tabernacle Wines

If you love wines that are full of flavor, character, and elegance, give these wines a try for your next dinner party, Shabbos or Yom-Tov. We hope that Tabernacle's superb wines give you a taste of the passion and love of the Land of Israel, as well as the quality winemaking from the incredible terroir of Israel's Galilee. L'Chaim!