Sunday-Thursday 10:00-16:00,
Friday 10:00-13:00
Book in advance for guided tours and tasting.
From its humble beginnings in 1999 in a small studio in Tel Aviv, the winery relocated in 2004 to an ecological lone farm situated in the Halutza sand dunes, by the Revivim riverbed. The boutique winery produces about 10,000 bottles a year, and was founded because of artist, farmer, and winemaker, Erez Rota’s love of the desert. The farm grows on the remnants of ancient Nabatean farmland, incorporated into the landscape.
The vineyard panning 18 dunams is planted on ancient terraces 300 meters above sea level, in loess soil, where water seeps through the sand and pebbles allow it to easily drain. The aridity, cold winters, hot summers, steady breezes, and chilly desert nights – grant optimal conditions for growing wine.
All Rota wines are Single Vineyard, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz, and muscat alexandroni. The vines are organically grown, ensuring ecological balance. They are irrigated with desalinated water from the Mediterranean Sea. With the emergence of summer, clusters are carefully selected for handpicking on cold nights. The grapes are transferred to the neighboring winery, where they go through a controlled and measured fermentation, soaking peels to extract the fruit’s aromas and cultivate depth. After a few weeks, the young wine undergoes aging in French Sagan-Morro oak barrels, for varying periods depending on the typicity of the wine.
On the farm there is an art studio, sculpture garden, large Khan (hospitality tent), hikers’ cabin, camping area, hiker’s kitchen, bathroom, shower, fire pit, and wading pool. There are guided wine tours, mindfulness and art workshops, as well as space to host family events and desert celebrations.
