So what will we drink on Passover?

As every year, Walla’s recommended wine column for Passover is dedicated to local production. As every year, I tasted a great many bottles before formulating this list. Unlike every year, this tasting took place during a war, between alerts and sirens. It is clear that some of the wines listed here were opened and sipped in a shelter. The best of them helped make the time a little more pleasant.

This list includes wines for all drinkers, from beginners with no background to connoisseurs; at all budget levels, from NIS 40 to NIS 190, and in all winemaking styles. May quiet return so that it will be possible to enjoy the wines at large meals or on nature trips, and not in safe rooms and shelters. Cheers, and happy holiday!

A particularly successful wine that is relatively easy to drink, with proper balance between citrus and tropical fruit layers and pleasant acidity, precision, sharpness and softness. Very high gastronomic coefficient and excellent value for NIS 65.

Rich and concentrated tropical fruit alongside an abundance of flowers. A technically perfect wine, with a hedonistic tilt, that suits fish and poultry mains. Wonderfully suited to the taste of the broad public and therefore will be warmly received by everyone at the Seder table.

Honeyed and mineral notes alongside green apple, complexity and airiness, cleanliness and character with a long finish. A Chenin Blanc that is nothing less than wonderful, a pleasure to sip with food or just on its own. A wine of quality, character, terroir and variety whose pricing places it very high at the top of recommended whites for connoisseurs, with change from one hundred.

Semillon grapes from the Upper Galilee (Elkosh vineyard) that spent a year in Burgundy oak barrels, on the lees without stirring. Citrus and minerality, elegance. A wine that holds a fascinating contrast with complementary elements. It has mass and delicacy, power and calm, and it is of course complex and intriguing. High gastronomic coefficient for fish meals, seafood, white meats and even veal dishes. Truly excellent.

The growing boutique winery of Ido Lewinsohn produces many uncompromising quality wines. His white Garage has long been a classic that has not disappointed in any vintage. This is one of the most impressive expressions imaginable for Israeli Chardonnay, which stands well against strict international standards. For fish, seafood and white meats, in meals for experienced diners/drinkers.

Vitkin, one of the more highly regarded wineries operating in Israel, produces Grenache Blanc only in selected vintages, in which the fruit result is relevant to this exceptional wine. First, it should be decanted for at least 3/4 of an hour before drinking. Second, it should not be too cold. It has a lot of character, a processual sip, and over the course of a meal lasting at least an hour and a half, more and more layers are revealed. Do not serve it to grandma and aunt of course, unless they are truly knowledgeable in the field. A high-level and high-quality wine in every sense.

A soft, round and somewhat flattering Merlot; without pretension to refinement or an important statement about life, in a typical “New World” orientation; but hey, who are we to complain about an unimportant but likable wine whose pricing makes it one of the more worthwhile purchases of Passover 2026?

60% Barbera, 30% Syrah and the rest Grenache, all from the Upper Galilee, in a blend that has softness, charm, lack of pretension but also surprising quality relative to the pricing. A middle-of-the-road option that almost all drinkers at the Passover table will happily live with. Great value.

A Mediterranean varietal blend (Carignan, Argaman, Shiraz, Petit Sirah, Syrah and Marselan. Red-black fruit, plenty of spices, herbs de Provence, lots of character and truly excellent value for money.

A blend of Carignan and Syrah, with a light body, elegant fruit, not too heavy and a distinct Mediterranean note. Nothing less than amazing value for NIS 88.

A rich, dense and powerful wine, with a structured body, concentrated fruit, present acidity and a long finish on the palate. Based on Merlot, Petit Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 12 months in wood and providing a very worthy counterbalance to almost any meat meal. Good and above value for money.

The most significant thing about this wine is the presence of restrained and measured use during 18 months of wood aging. The result is an elegant, soft and restrained wine on the one hand, and one that holds a charming rustic earthy roughness. A wine of truth and qualities that, like most Kishor Winery wines, is among the best local wines in its price category.

90% Mourvèdre with a little Syrah for completion, from the Lower Galilee. Mediterranean varieties, the production is deliberately expressive. The final result is more “New World” than Old, suitable for stews and will rightly appeal to mainstream wine lovers.

Like all the wines of the southern winery, this one is also rich in concentrated fruit flavors, expressive and elegant. Like its higher-end wines, it also represents high-quality “New World” winemaking at its best. Polished, flawlessly made and undoubtedly impressive of its kind. For the meat course at an indulgent Seder.