Event Notice: Wine Festivals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for Travelers and Locals
Heading to Israel for Passover this year? Make room in your diary for two standout wine events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, taking place on consecutive Thursdays, 3 and 10 April 2025.
The festivals are organised by Nati Naim and his company, MyYain, which is known for championing Israeli wine culture and making boutique wineries accessible to a wide audience. “For me, wine is more than just a drink,” Naim tells me, “it’s an experience and a way to connect with people.” These two MyYain events offer a uniquely Israeli pre-Passover wine experience.
The Wine Festival at the First Station Jerusalem (4 David Remez St) is on Thursday, 3rd April from 18:00-23:00. Over 45 wineries and importers will be there to welcome thirsty attendees, offering unlimited tastings of hundreds of different wines, accompanied by tasty nibbles and live music.
Alternatively, MyYain’s Tel Aviv wine tasting event, Wine Fest 8, will be on the ground floor of Gan Ha’ir (City Garden Mall), Tel Aviv (71 Ibn Gabirol St, next to Rabin Square) on Thursday, 10th April 2025, from 18:00-23:00. Over 50 wineries and importers, along with plenty of food and live music. Coming just days before the start of Passover, it offers one of the last opportunities to taste and purchase wines in person.
Wine writer Adam S. Montefiore of The Jerusalem Post calls these events: “Fun, casual and very professional. Lots of good, well-known wineries and some interesting new wines. Perfect for the wine lover, the connoisseur, or for anyone looking for a fun time. Recommended.”
The format is simple: a single ticket (currently discounted to 129 NIS, around £27) provides access to unlimited tastings, a crystal wine glass (from Stolzle’s “Supernova” line) to keep, and a 20 NIS credit toward wine purchases on-site. There is also free parking at the Tel Aviv event for those purchasing wine. If you are hosting or attending large Seder meals, these events offer a rare chance to select wines from a wide variety of well-known and boutique producers. It’s an opportunity to buy with confidence by tasting first rather than relying on labels or recommendations alone.
These tasting events promise to be relaxed, enjoyable evenings for wine lovers with opportunities to taste and compare, but also a fun night out for those simply looking for something to do with friends. Either event will be a good place to schmooze, eat, drink, and be merry with wine, food, and music! While not all of the local wines are certified kosher, the majority of them are, including many boutique gems that are not exported.
Nati Naim’s MyYain’s wine festivals attract thousands of visitors each year. While both events are primarily local, English speakers will find themselves well accommodated. Many of the wineries are accustomed to serving international customers, and signage is provided in both Hebrew and English. The events draw a diverse crowd — from young couples and tourists to seasoned collectors — and the atmosphere is described by regular attendees as warm and welcoming.
“It’s not just a tasting,” Nati Naim tells me. “It’s about storytelling, meeting the people behind the wine, and discovering something new. Wine brings people together — it’s part of our tradition and part of how we celebrate.”
Whether in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, these festivals promise lively evenings of discovery, conversation, and celebration — just in time for Passover.
I won’t, alas, be at the Jerusalem festival — but I do hope to make it to the Tel Aviv event this year. Come join me there! 🍷
If You Go:
Jerusalem Wine Festival
Date: Thursday, 3 April 2025
Time: From 6:00 PM
Location: The First Station, Jerusalem
Tickets: 129 NIS (includes tasting glass and purchase credit)
Tel Aviv Wine Fest 8
Date: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Time: From 6:00 PM
Location: Gan Ha’ir (City Garden), Tel Aviv
Tickets: 129 NIS (includes tasting glass and purchase credit)
Booking and more details: www.myyain.com
About Me:
For more than two decades, I’ve been drinking, writing about, consulting on, and speaking professionally about kosher wines and spirits. For over twelve years, I penned a weekly column on kosher wines and spirits that ran in multiple Jewish publications, and my writing continues to appear in a broad range of Jewish and mainstream media, both in print and online.
In addition to writing, I frequently speak publicly, leading tutored tastings and hosting educational programs on kosher wine and spirits appreciation for audiences of all kinds. If you’re interested in commissioning articles, arranging tastings, booking events, or just wanting to connect, feel free to reach out at joshlondon246@gmail.com.
In what now feels like another lifetime, I also authored Victory in Tripoli: How America’s War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation (John Wiley & Sons, 2005), a slice of early American history.
When not immersed in wines and spirits, I work in the charity and non-profit sector. I currently serve as Development Director for Yad Vashem UK Foundation. Previously a longtime Washington, D.C.–based lobbyist and pro-Israel advocate, I relocated to the U.K. with my family during the COVID era—and happily prefer life across the pond, despite the truly lamentable and frankly uncivilized shortage of kosher Beaujolais here. That said, I still make it back to the States from time to time.