This is a story about a small winery in the Shomron.
Bet El bottles its own single estate wines and uses grapes from its region to produce wines.
Bet El was Dovid’s choice, he was in the city of Beit El for Shabbos the week before our visit, and he had a bottle of theirs for Shavuos and liked it a lot.
For me, Bet El Winery has a special status. The Bet El Winery Cliff Carignan was the first wine I tasted that made me want to pay more for a bottle of wine than was in my budget.
And that’s really what Kosher Wine School is about: understanding kosher wines and helping you understand if wines that cost more are really worth more.
So it works out really well that our first trip was to Bet El
Bet El winery is a part of the small city of Bet El located in the Shomron region of Modern Israel.
Now is probably a good time to recognize that Israel is a complicated and controversial place (in case you haven’t noticed).
Israel is so controversial, that there are places that will be called totally different names by different people. To make matters worse, many of these places are sooooo old, they may have been called different names 50 years ago, 100 years ago and another name 1,000 2,000 and 3,000 years ago. (About 3,000 years ago is called the “Biblical Period” when the stories of the Bible are thought to have occurred).
Bet El is a great example of how many different names a place can have.
To make things simpler, let’s start by saying it’s here.
In Genesis 28:10 - 19 the Bible tells the story of Jacob’s dream of a ladder with angels traveling up and down. In Genesis 28:19, Jacob names the place Beit El (BethEl). At least some of the people in Beit El think that it was the place where Jacob had his famous dream. However, many others think the dream took place in the place where the Temple was later built in Jerusalem.
The modern city of Beit El and the modern city of Jerusalem are very different places. They are not far from one another (maybe 30 minutes by car). However, they are certainly not the same place. And there is no one who thinks that Beit El was the original location of the Temple.
Soooo, let’s just say that Beit El is a small city in the hills about 30 minutes north of Jerusalem.
So now that you know where Beit El is, let’s talk about the vineyard.
Here’s what you should know:
Beit El is a family business. What do I mean by a family business? It means that Hillel Manne and his wife Nina run the vineyards and the winery with the help of their two sons Yisrael and Shalom Dovid.
The senior Mr. Manne is originally from California where he studied the science of winemaking at the University of California at Davis, one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the US.
Hillel made aliyah to Israel and met a wife when the two were working together on a Kibbutz. When one of Hillel’s professors from UC Davis relocated to Beit El, the Manne’s decided to move there too and in 2001 opened the Beit El Winery.
Dovid and I visited Beit El on a pretty ordinary Thursday afternoon in early June. Everything about this place feels like a family business. It is built to be a place where the family can work, learn Torah, and produce remarkable wines. Nina Manne, the mother of the family business, was quick to point out that the place was not built to be a fancy wine bar. In fact, the only sign that you have arrived at the Beit El Winery is a piece of cardboard with Nina’s phone number written in magic marker.
In other words, if you’re planning to visit, make sure you call first, and drive very slowly after you turn on to Ha-Mesila Street. The address on Google maps is correct, but you’ll only know its correct when you get the gate where Nina’s cardboard sign may or may not still be there.
If you just want to know if one of their wines is worth the 150 NIS - 360 NIS it usually costs in Israel or the $35 to $55 their wines were listed for on KosherWines.com, here is our honest review:
Our Review
Adam:
I fell in love with the Cliff Carignan when I first tasted it in 2021. I still love it and it brings me a joy I can’t really explain. I’m not going to trade in my anti-depressants for it, but I can say that when I first tasted it I felt like I experienced Tehllim 104:15 that wine makes the heart of a man feel joy. I think that sounds corny, but I really felt it and I felt it again when I drank the Malbec that Nina shared with me.
So, I can say that the Malbec and the Carignan were definitely worth what I spent on them. BTW, I find if you look hard enough you can find them for 105 - 125 NIS if you look hard enough. Still, I think that 150 NIS is not too much to pay for the Carignan or Malbec.
However, they sell a few other wines, including their 360 NIS bottle and I have not tasted that. So, for my money, I don’t think I’m going to spend more than 150 NIS on a bottle of wine from Beit El. I’m not sure how much happier the wine that costs twice as much will make me, but I know how much paying 360 NIS for a bottle of wine will make me feel.
Dovid:
Some wineries can be hit or miss. Whether it's a lack of care in the winemaking process or just an off year due to difficult weather, you can often taste the difference—a sharp edge, an overly tarty aftertaste, or even that unpleasant, nauseating sensation in the throat or stomach.
With Bet El Winery, however, my experience has been consistently excellent. Whether tasting their wines at a festival in Shiloh, around the table with family, or most recently on-site at the winery itself, one thing is clear: their wines are smooth, well-balanced, and deeply enjoyable from first sip to swallow.
There’s a certain pleasantness that runs through all of their bottles, a signature calm and care that’s hard to fake, and I’m not surprised. What I witnessed during my visit confirmed it: they treat their wine like a baby in a crib. It may sound funny, but the result speaks for itself.
For example, they are meticulous about what grows near their grapes, choosing to plant in rocky soil so the vines have to struggle for water. That struggle, they explained, creates grapes with deeper flavor and character - something you won’t find from vines pampered in lush, over-watered soil. In fact, they told me they hadn’t watered their vineyards at all this year.
But it goes beyond farming techniques. They often invite people to study Torah right next to the barrels and aging bottles, believing that the sound of Torah adds something intangible yet real to the wine. They avoid pesticides and chemicals, and once the grapes are pressed, nothing foreign is added. It’s as natural and pure as wine can be.
When a father, mother, and sons tend daily to something they love, you don’t just get good wine, you get something exceptional. You get Bet El.
It’s absolutely worth the 150 shekel price tag. And if you're sharing a meal with someone who truly appreciates a fine bottle, go for their 360 shekel Legacy, made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It’s not just wine; it’s craftsmanship in a glass.