the winery 2022 - Domaine Du Castel

Being a family winery

The Ben Zaken family values are present throughout the winery – in all aspects, including the wine itself.
As we strive to create the best possible wine from our grounds, we hope to also share our values with others. We believe that winemaking is a holistic, multi-faceted process, relying on the notion to “give time, time”.
In a way, everything starts at the vineyards, and that is where we put our main efforts.
Over time, our winemaking values have become an inseparable part of the Yad HaShmona winery – esthetics, refinement, harmony, patience, elegance and precision; all these guide us when creating wines with a strong presence and stamina, but with a hint of “down to earth” modesty. Wines that we ourselves also love to drink.

From vineyard to bottle –
agriculture, technology and tradition

The grapes that are handpicked from the vineyards surrounding the winery are chilled and fermented in the tank room; they go through a meticulous absorption process, which includes manually sorting and gently separating whole grapes, followed by an optical sorting machine. The final step is filling the wine tanks with the grapes, using a gravity-flow technique.

Everything is done to ensure that every grape and grain receive the best possible care. And here too, we “give time, time”.

The soaking and the fermenting of the grapes, gives them the ample time needed to reach their full potential. By the end of the harvest and fermentation season, most wines will sit to age in our exquisite French oak barrels or in custom Italian concrete tanks for at least one year. The wine will mature in our cellar until it reaches the very equilibrium we strive for.