Its parent company is Societe Cooperative Vigneronne des Grandes Caves Richon Le Zion & Zikhron Ya'akov Ltd.

[3] When the settlers of the First Aliyah, Jews who immigrated to Ottoman Empire from Eastern Europe in the second half of the 19th century, encountered difficulties in cultivating the land due to their lack of experience and the soil's characteristics, they began to seek support outside of the Ottoman Empire for establishing vineyards and wineries.

Their representatives visited France, where they met Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Château Lafite.

In 1896, the first Carmel wines were presented at the International Exhibition of Berlin at a special pavilion devoted to the industries of the Jewish colony in the Ottoman Empire.

Over a hundred thousand people visited the exhibition, looked at the products, and drank a glass of Rishon LeZion wine.

Branches of Carmel Wine Co., were opened in Damascus, Cairo, Beirut, Berlin, London, Warsaw and Alexandria, and sales increased, particularly during the First World War, when allied troops passed through Palestine.

The industry lost its principal markets in Russia due to the October Revolution, in the United States because of Prohibition, and in Egypt and the Middle East because of Arab nationalism.

However, during the Second World War, the industry began to grow again and with successive waves of immigrants, drinking habits gradually changed.

In the early 1980s, the wine industry in Israel fell upon hard times, but in the second half of the decade, wine became more popular and demands for quality stimulated tremendous improvements in the varieties of grapes being grown, the cultivation of new growing regions and the updating of fermentation and production techniques.

It was built in 1890 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, making it the oldest industrial building in Israel still in use.

Carmel Winery owns numerous vineyards across Israel, from the Galilee and the Golan Heights in the North to the Negev in the South.

Carmel has vineyards in the central and northern Golan and it is the leading winery presence in the premium Upper Galilee.

The main concentration of vineyards is in the valleys surrounding the winery towns of Zikhron Ya'akov and Binyamina.

This is the second largest area for growing vines in Israel, as it has a coastal Mediterranean climate: hot, humid summers and warm, mild winters.

Carmel is a pioneer in the Negev, a popular area for vine growing in ancient times, with its high quality Ramat Arad vineyard situated on the north east Negev plateau, 500 meters above sea level with very hot days and cold nights.