With the arid Negev now officially recognized as a wine appellation, local wineries are looking to appeal to as wide a swath of wine drinkers as possible, as some combat the scorching heat to produce desert rosé and others add kosher labels to their lists.

The designation gives the Negev region — stretching from Kiryat Gat to Eilat and home to some 60 winemakers — its own internationally established winemaking identity, placing Israel’s south and its distinctive desert terroir on the global wine map.

It’s a heady achievement for a region that has worked hard to grow distinctive grapes in its sandy ground.

The recognition follows a four-year process in which a consortium of Israeli wine experts demonstrated that wines produced in the Negev have their own identifiable profile.

The Times of Israel recently visited three leading Negev-area wineries to explore how the region’s special soil and unique climate influence their exciting new blends.

“The desert is an extreme place, and I think you sense that in the wines as well,” said Eran Goldwasser, who has been Yatir Winery’s vintner for the last 26 years.

Yatir Winery, not far south of the Hebron Hills, has been planting vineyards 500 meters (1,640 ft.) above sea level since 1981. Its name is ancient, stemming from the Bible.

“We have one foot in the Negev and one in the Judean hills,” said Ya’acov Ben-Dor, one of Yatir’s founders and its CEO, as he poured Yatir Forest, the winery’s flagship wine.

Named for Israel’s largest planted forest, it is a rich, strong blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc known for its intense forest fruit notes.

Yatir began bottling its wines in 2000 and now produces some 300,000 bottles annually from its own grapes. It makes a mix of reds and whites, each aged in vessels specifically chosen to bring out a wine’s particular flavors — from Austrian and French oaks to newer ceramic barrels.

Darom Rose — Hebrew for Southern Rose —........

© The Times of Israel