Dan Marcipar, commonly known by the nickname Pepo, planted a small vineyard 20 years ago on the eastern slope of his property on Kibbutz Or HaNer. Over the years, the vineyard grew, and Pepo built a winery where together with his family he produces wine- starting with grape harvest, through fermentation, racking, and up until it rests in the barrel.
In addition to being a vintner, Pepo is an artisan iron craftsman, with many of his works displayed in his backyard open-air gallery while sipping on a glass of wine and enjoying the pastoral views. Walking down to the winery is a magnificent experience- located in an old kibbutz bomb shelter, adorned with Pepo’s art.
Pepo’s vineyard is unique in size, with just 150, or so, vines of three varieties of grapes: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and shiraz. Pepo personally attends to each grapevine he plants and similarly relates to every bottle he makes. He purchases additional varieties of carignan and malbec grapes and produces 1,000 bottles annually, including white wine from red cabernet sauvignon grapes (Blanc de Noir), rosé from carignan grapes, as well as blended red wines.
Pepo’s wines do not have standard printed labels, rather each bottle is marked with a one-of-a-kind label which Pepo draws upon purchase. Customers leave the winery with inspiration drawn from Pepo’s wine and his art.
The vineyard is situated in Kibbutz Or HaNer, near which there are several local attractions and activities, including Gvaram Forest bike path, Oryosss Coffee in Kibbutz Erez, Giller’s Farm vegetable greenhouses in Netiv HaAsara, Sderot culinary tour, Chella Coffee in Kibbutz Nir Am, and Patisserie Nichochot Haim.
