About
Tanya Winery
A family owned boutique winery, founded in 2001 by Yoram Cohen and named after his daughter. The name is taken from the Talmud: “Tanya, said Rabbi Ishmael”.
The beginning
The winery
The wine series are named after Cohen’s children too: Elia, Hillel, Enosh and Ivri.
The winery is located in Ofra, in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem, about 900 metres above sea level. The village is named after the biblical town in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:23). Around Ofra, many ancient winepresses carved into the rock have been found, some 3,000 years old — striking evidence of winemaking in the central mountain region in ancient times.
The winery started with about 800 bottles in 2002, as a family winery sharing wine with friends. By 2007 it had grown to some 30,000 bottles a year, and by 2014 to about 40,000 bottles a year. Its wines have won 17 medals, 12 of them gold.
The winery over the years
Timeline
- 2001The winery is founded
Yoram Cohen founds a family winery in Ofra. The name “Tanya” — after his daughter, and from the Talmud.
- 2002About 800 bottles
The first harvest. A family winery, sharing wine with friends.
- 2007About 30,000 bottles a year
Remarkable growth within five years.
- 2010The Meir Ariel series
Following a suggestion from Shahar Ariel, Meir’s son, barrels are set aside for a numbered tribute series.
- 2014About 40,000 bottles and 17 medals
12 of them gold. The vineyards cover some 42 dunam.
The process
Our wine
From the harvest to the bottle, step by step.
The mountain
The terroir
The winery vineyards are planted on the central mountain ridge, on a gentle slope, on rocky chalk soil — next to and inside the village of Ofra, 900 metres above sea level. An excellent area for vineyards, and in fact a new terroir with clear characteristics in the wine.
The vineyards
Tanya winery vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Chardonnay grow in the winery vineyards, alongside Marselan, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Chenin Blanc. As of 2014 the vineyards covered some 42 dunam.
In the vineyard we keep a very low yield of about 900 kilograms per dunam, in order to get grapes with a high concentration of flavours and aromas that come through in the wines. The harvest takes place at the end of October, sometimes in early November, so that the grapes reach optimal ripeness.
