Jezreel Valley Wins International Wine Tourism Award

Israel's Jezreel Valley won the Best Resilient Practice in Wine Tourism award at the 11th annual Iter Vitis Awards, VINnews reports. The ceremony was held on October 9 at the historic Principovac Manor House in Ilok, Croatia, as part of the Danube Wine Festival, with representatives from 16 countries attending. The award recognizes the region's work to build wine tourism despite years of disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war.

The valley's "Wine Valley" initiative brings together 18 wineries, VINnews reports. The tourism department of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council leads the project together with local winery owners, and over the past six years new wineries have opened, vineyards have grown and wine events have drawn visitors. The project also includes a wine school in Tzipori and festivals that tie the region's farming heritage to its growing tourism trade.

Israel's Tourism Ministry backed the project's international promotion through its international relations division, VINnews reports. Tourism Ministry Director-General Michael Izhakov said, "The award is recognition of the hard work and determination of the local tourism industry." He added that the ministry was proud to support efforts that strengthen local businesses and introduce foreign visitors to Israel's cultural heritage and farming traditions.

VINOvation reports the prize draws attention to the Jezreel Valley Wine Route, a regional tourism initiative, and the digital platform built around it. That platform is the Jezreel Valley Taste Pass, VINnews reports. It links wineries, farms, restaurants, cafés, heritage sites, artists' workshops and places to stay, and visitors use QR codes and interactive maps to find attractions and plan their routes. The idea is to give smaller businesses more visibility by connecting them with the visitors the wineries attract, turning a scattered rural region into one connected destination.

Iter Vitis, whose name means "The Way of the Vine," is a cultural route recognized by the Council of Europe since 2009, VINnews reports. It promotes wine heritage, sustainable tourism and cooperation among wine regions. The Jezreel Valley is one of four Israeli wine and cultural routes recognized through Tourism Ministry initiatives, alongside the Innovative Wine Route of the Negev in the Ramat Negev region, the Biblical Wine Route of the Judean Hills in Mateh Yehuda, and the Way to Jerusalem.

The Psalms praise "And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart." (Psalm 104:15) The valley's growers kept that gladness flowing through the hardest years. What it means: the land is still yielding its fruit, and the people who work it are still welcoming the world to taste it.