Ben Shoshan Winery is a boutique wine producer at Kibbutz Bror Hail in the northern Negev — a community in the agricultural heartland of the Negev’s most accessible zone, the region between Be’er Sheva and the coastal plain. Bror Hail was founded in 1948, immediately following the War of Independence, by pioneers determined to make the desert bloom — a phrase that captures the quintessential Zionist dream of transforming arid land into productive agriculture. The kibbutz sits on the edge of the Negev where the climate is still Mediterranean enough to support diverse farming, but with the hotter summers and drier conditions that characterise the Negev proper.

Wine production in the northern Negev has expanded significantly over recent decades, as Israeli winemakers have explored what this transition zone between the Mediterranean and desert climates can offer in terms of distinctive wine character. The combination of hot days, cooler nights (especially in the Negev’s higher zones), low rainfall requiring careful irrigation management, and mineral-rich loess soils has proven capable of producing wines with bold fruit, natural structure, and a distinctive desert character that distinguishes Negev wines from those produced further north. Ben Shoshan Winery is part of this growing story of Negev wine.

As a kibbutz-based operation, the winery combines the community’s collective agricultural expertise with the personal passion of its winemakers. The kibbutz tradition of working the land together is well suited to the demands of quality winemaking. The winery produces wines for local consumption and tasting, representing the growing diversity of Israeli wine production beyond the established northern regions.

For visiting arrangements and current wine releases, contact the winery directly.

Ben Shoshan Winery

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