My name is Lior Nachum. My lovely wife Anat and I have six wonderful children – and the seventh is Gat Shomron Winery, which was founded in 2002. I have lived here in Karnei Shomron for over 40 years and originally trained to be an electronics engineer.

People always ask me: how did you get into wine? The truth is, wine got into me…

It all started when I was 21 and a friend asked me to try a wine he had made himself. Something sparked in me when I tasted that wine – I loved it and asked him for the “recipe.” By the way, it was a sweet wine he’d made using regular table grapes, but it actually wasn’t bad at all! Two years later, on a magical trip to Safsufa in the Upper Galilee, I had my first encounter with real wine grapes and tasted a fine Cabernet Sauvignon. I saw the light, and my winemaking journey truly began.

I went to every wine festival and trade fair I could find in Israel, eagerly devoured the works of Michael Ben-Joseph, Israel’s most prominent wine writer, and naturally bought quite a few wines. As I wandered around vineyards in the north and in Samaria, I tasted the grapes and imagined what wines could come from them. 

After several years of producing my own wine at home, I began collaborating with my Karnei Shomron neighbor, Avigdor Sharon, another experienced home winemaker. In just a few years the winery grew and developed, transforming from a hobby into a real business. I decided that the time had come to quit my day job in the hi-tech industry, which I’d been working at for seven years, and focus on wine full time. As the winery moved from a private home to an industrial zone, Avigdor bowed out and I once more found myself on a solitary yet exciting path through the world of wine production and sales.

When it comes to wine, my personal focus is on producing unique wines that stand apart. Inspired by some of the world’s great wines, like Amarone and ice wine, I have developed my own personal touch and interpretation of these wines. In an interesting yeast fermentation experiment, for example, I discovered that I was more attached to the flavors of wines produced solely using wild yeast.

In conclusion, I really love wine and I especially love making it, creating blends, and striving to explore new frontiers of flavor, and concentrated flavors most of all, that express the unique qualities of each terroir.

Today at the winery we produce around 35,000 bottles a year, which are purchased by private customers, restaurants, and wine shops in Israel and overseas. I can only thank God that I was privileged to fulfill my dream and devote my life to something I love so much. And we have many more plans for the future…

You’re always welcome to visit, taste, and enjoy.

Lior