When most people think of legendary winemakers, they imagine vineyards and wineries in regions of Italy and France. And while these countries have been bottling wine for a long time, the Israeli wine industry dates back just as early — to biblical times, in fact.

Located along a wine trading route connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia, Israel absorbed knowledge and techniques from passing traders and manufacturers, and wine became a large part of Israeli culture. Israeli wine became popular in other regions as well, including the Roman Empire.

Despite its optimistic beginning, the Israeli wine industry all but died out between the 7th and 18th centuries, beginning with the conquest of the Middle East by Muslims. Wineries and vineyards were closed, and some of the area's indigenous varieties of grapes were lost forever.

The Israeli wine industry began its revival with Baron Edmond de Rothschild of France, who helped found the Carmel Winery in 1882, which remains Israel's leading producer of wine. Rothschild shared his knowledge of winemaking techniques, in addition to importing several types of French grapes to region.

Israeli wine improved again about a century later, when winemakers diverged from traditional sweet kosher wine to bottle dry vintages as well. Since then, Israeli wine has been recognized for its quality by critics the world over.