Binyamina Winery was founded in 1952 by Joseph Zeltzer who immigrated to Israel from Hungary infused with a passion to continue being a winemaker, as he’d been in his country of birth.

Zeltzer originally named the winery Eliaz, after his son who fell in battle during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. He soon began making wine in the center of what was then considered Israel’s official wine region.

Zeltzer’s winery originally specialized in sweet wines, simple table wines and liqueurs, and was made from grapes only from vineyards in the Binyamina region. At that time, all winemakers had to work through the Carmel Mizrachi wine cooperative. David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, personally intervened on Zeltzer’s behalf to pass a law allowing Zeltzer to receive a small amount of grapes for independent wine production. The winery became known mainly for its fine quality liqueurs and brandy produced under the Hard Nut Liqueur label, named in honor of Ben Gurion, who was famously known as a “hard nut to crack.”

The winery changed hands several times until August 2008, when it was purchased by private investors who recognized the winery’s immense potential and sought to continue its role as a leader in Israel’s wine sector. To this day, they continue to invest regularly and unsparingly in the vineyards, premises, equipment and human resources.

Today, Binyamina Winery is one of Israel’s leading wineries.

Binyamina Winery’s team understands that good wine begins in the vineyard and valuable resources are invested in locating the finest plots a region has to offer, and in identifying and harnessing the country’s most professional vintners and farmers, across the length of Israel, to grow and develop the fruit of the vine.