Wineries

In every wine producing country there is some father figure to whom the quality revolution in that country is credited. In America though the most visible winery in the wine awakening was Mondavi, the guru who actually changed the way people thought about making quality wine was a Russian émigré, Andre Tchelistcheff. In France the person that updated & simplified the complicated world of winemaking was Emile Peynaud, who recently died. In Australia it was Max Schubert. In Israel, without doubt there has been a revolution in both viticulture and vinification techniques ensuring the quality wine available from so many wineries today. The man responsible for this more than anyone else was Peter Stern.

When Shimshon Welner, the first General Manager of the Golan Heights Winery, was looking to California to find a Jewish U.C. Davis trained winemaker for his new winery project in 1982, he was given the name of Peter Stern. As he presumed he was Jewish, he invited him for an interview. Even though it was revealed that he wasn’t, it started off a relationship between Peter Stern & the Golan Heights Winery that was to last 20 years.

The Gamla line wines are premium, quality aged varietal wines which are fruit forward and expressive. They are produced with the same care and attention to quality as Yarden wines. “Gamla” is the name of an ancient Israeli town on the Golan, which withstood the conquering Romans for a number of years. Recent excavations represented by the coin on the label tell an exciting and heroic story.