The Central Bottling Company, (aka Coca Cola Israel), has bought a 51% controlling interest in Tabor Winery, through its subsidiary, IBBLS.
Tabor Winery (pronounced Tavor in Hebrew) is a small winery situated in Kfar Tabor in the Lower Galilee. It is a winery known for representing excellent value for money, rather than for any single outstanding wine, though its Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best in the country.
Tabor wines may be recognized by their striking labels, with a colored stripe on a black background. The winery was the first in Israel to introduce wines branded according to the soil of the particular vineyard. So they sell wines under names like Gir (chalk), Terra Rossa and Bazelelet (basalt) in their Adama series. They are also pioneers in Israel with use of the screw cap as a bottle closure, instead of the traditional cork – following the trend set worldwide by Australian & New Zealand wineries.
The winery was established in 1997 by its veteran wine-grower owners and the first wines were launched as recently as 1999. In 2001 they harvested 65 tons of grapes and were considered a genuine boutique winery. Today it is already out of that category, harvesting more than 300 tons of grapes. The fast growth will presumably now accelerate at an even greater rate.
The winemaker is Arieh Nesher, who has 30 years experience. He worked for large operations in Russia producing many millions of bottles, made aliyah in 1990 and worked first for Carmel at Zichron Ya’acov and then for Tishbi Winery, before joining Tabor.
Coca Cola Israel is the leading soft drink company in Israel with international market leaders such as Fanta, Sprite, as well as Coca Cola of course. They also own or distribute Prigat fruit juices, Neviot water and Nestea iced tea.
However Tabor wines will find their place amongst the alcoholic beverages, where the Central Bottling Company also has the strongest portfolio in Israel. It manages its alcohol division through IBBLS, otherwise known as Carlsberg Israel. They produce beers like Carlsberg & Tuborg at their brewery in Ashkelon and also import world famous beers such as Guinness from Ireland, Leffe from Belgium and Bass from England.
Through their subsidiary U.D.V. Israel, they also represent Diageo. Therefore they have distribution rights for mega brands such as Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker and J&B whiskies, Gordon’s & Tanqueray gins, Captain Morgan rum and Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur.
To advance the concept of ‘total beverage’, it was known that Coca Cola Israel was also interested in adding wines to its portfolio. In the past there were strong rumors of talks between Coca Cola Israel and Carmel Mizrahi, Israel’s largest winery, but nothing more was heard. Then, two and a half years ago, they started to market and distribute the wines of Tabor. Now they have gone the whole way and purchased the company outright.
A year ago, Tempo Beer Industries, Coca Cola’s main Israeli rivals, purchased Barkan Wine Cellars – the second largest winery in the country. Tempo now distribute brands such as Goldstar & Heineken beers, Pepsi Cola & Seven Up soft drinks and Barkan & Segal wines. Now Coca Cola Israel too has its own winery.
Today, the Central Bottling Company represents the world’s largest soft drink, spirits and beer companies – Coca Cola, Diageo and Interbrew. Now Tabor – a winery not in the top ten largest Israeli wineries, will be sold alongside these giants of the beverage & drinks industries.
October 2005
