Lori and Shaike Lander, a husband-and-wife winemaking and grape-growing team, have quietly been making notable wine for more than 20 years at Tzafririm Winery in Moshav Tzafririm in the Judean Hills. Despite operating under the radar, the family-run boutique winery now produces about 10,000 bottles a year and has shifted from heavy reds toward lighter, more refreshing styles that better fit current demand.
Lander, 70, said her approach to wine may have changed after a life-threatening event seven years ago. “Seven years ago I died,” she said, describing a cardiac arrest in a supermarket in Beit Shemesh, where two men ran to get a defibrillator. Asked whether it changed the wine’s taste, she replied, “Maybe, I don’t know. What is certain is that it is much lighter today.”
The couple, who immigrated from New York and Wroclaw, Poland, built the winery in a former chicken coop after moving to Tzafririm, once a moshav with little farmland. Their son Avishai, an agronomist from the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot, helps run the business with his twin brother Yoav. The winery now makes white wines, rosé, and several reds, including Petit Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with some wines sold under the “Lander’s Project” label featuring the sons’ photos.
The tasting emphasized the family’s current style, with Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, two rosés, and a Syrah described as fresh, crisp, and lighter than the old image of Israeli boutique reds. The winery is open on weekends, including Saturday, and will host winemaker Golan Flam this Friday as part of the Judean Wine Festival. Bottles are priced at 104 shekels each, with discounts for larger purchases.
