Remnants of ancient wine cisterns and utensils can be found scattered throughout the country. The modern wine industry was re-established over one hundred years ago. In 1882, Baron Edmund de Rothschild introduced French vine strains to the settlers in Israel, as well as glass factory plants for the manufacture of wine. He established wine cellars in Rishon Le Zion and Zichron Ya'akov which are fully operative today.
Some wineries also bottle natural olive oil of high quality.
The drinking of wine on the Sabbath, on Jewish holidays and at special ceremonies, is part of traditional Jewish ritual. For years, kosher Israeli wine was synonymous with sweet wine. Though per capita consumption of wines and alcoholic drinks has not grown significantly in recent years, there has been a dramatic change in the quality of Israeli wines, due mainly to the planting and growing of quality strains of vine grapes and new vinyard areas. This is coupled with the growing exposure of Israelis to the European and American culture of wine drinking. The Israeli wine industry currently offers a variety of quality dry and semi-dry red and white wines.