Nabato Winery is a wine producer in the Mitzpe Ramon area of the Ramat HaNegev, whose name pays tribute to the Nabataeans — the remarkable desert civilisation that built and operated the ancient Incense Road through the Negev from the first century BCE through the seventh century CE. The Nabataeans, whose capital was the rose-red city of Petra in present-day Jordan, were masters of desert commerce and desert agriculture: their caravans carried frankincense, myrrh, spices, silks, and wines along routes through the Negev highlands, and their ingenious water harvesting systems enabled them to cultivate vineyards and orchards in the desert where rainfall was measured in single-digit centimetres per year. The Nabataean wine of the Negev highlands was famous in the ancient world: the Byzantine period that followed saw the continuation and expansion of this wine industry, with monastery wineries and large commercial presses producing wine for the Mediterranean market from the same highland terroir that Nabato Winery works today.

Naming a contemporary winery after this ancient civilisation is a powerful statement: it asserts continuity with the Negev’s wine heritage, claims inspiration from the Nabataeans’ ingenious adaptation to desert conditions, and connects the modern wine producer to a tradition of desert viticulture that stretches back over two thousand years. The Mitzpe Ramon plateau at approximately 900 metres elevation offers the dramatic combination of desert climate moderated by altitude that makes Ramat HaNegev wines distinctive: intense sunshine drives grape ripeness and concentrates flavour, while cool nights preserve freshness and acidity. The loess soils characteristic of the plateau, mineral-rich and well-drained, produce grapes with a distinctive desert character unlike those from any other Israeli growing zone.

Nabato Winery draws on this extraordinary heritage and terroir to produce wines that honour the ancient winemaking tradition of the Negev and express the unique character of the Makhtesh Ramon landscape. For visiting arrangements and current wine releases, contact the winery directly.

Nabato Winery

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