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When Shlomo Friedman established the Friedman Winery in front of the Founders' Park in Petach-Tikva, in late 1899, his one goal was to produce sweet Kiddush wine and brandy for the Jewish settlement in Israel. Shlomo's son, Betzalel, took over from him, and the business grew and flourished. As the demand exceeded the supply, the winery was moved to Kiryat Matalon, in Petach-Tikva's industrial zone, which was then just a desolate sandy area.
The move was not easy. Construction expenses were greater than originally planned. As the construction progressed, the winery ran into financial difficulties, and it became necessary to give the dream up and sell the family business.
In 1964 the winery was acquired by the Tnuva food cooperation, which also provided the grapes for the wine, in line with a marketing outlook which supporting an expanded product range. The winery's name was changed to Tnuva-Friedman, and it produced primarily wines from Alicante and Carignane grapes. In 1971 Tenuva decided that the wine business did not mesh with its food business, and the winery was sold to the Stock liqueur company, represented by W.E.S.T. from Netanya. Stock produced for the most part brandy, vodka, liqueurs, vermouth, and other non-wine alcoholic beverages; under the Stock 84, and Keglevich labels as well as some wine under the Monfort label. The winery in Petach- tikva was renamed and became Hamartef (The Cellar), and began producing wines from better grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc.
In 1988 construction of a new facility in the Barkan Industrial zone, near the city of Ariel, was begun to replace the aging plants in Petach Tikva and Netanya. The company's offices remained in Petach-Tikva at first, but they were soon moved to Barkan where all the production had already been transferred. In 1990, ownership of the winery passed into the hands of Yair Lerner and Shmuel Boxer, who were the winery's largest grape growers at that point. They immediately set forth on a program of modernization and the planting of vineyards, which they saw as the key to the production of fine wine and expansion of the company. |
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