After rockets, Israel wineries hopeful on new vintage

ZICHRON YAAKOV, Israel, Aug 20 (Reuters) Before the Lebanon ceasefire, the owner of a northern Israeli winery was thinking about getting flak jackets and helmets for staff so that grapes could be harvested under floodlights at night.

But the August 14 truce after a month-long war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas meant Alex Haruni could put such drastic measures aside.

''It came just in time. It really is quite miraculous,'' said Haruni, 40-year-old owner of the Dalton Winery in upper Galilee yesterday.

The harvest began on Aug 16 -- two days after the guns fell silent following a conflict in which Israeli troops pushed into south Lebanon and Hizbollah rockets rained on northern Israel.

''Two weeks ago I was very, very nervous. We were making contingency plans to pick at night under floodlights, and getting flak jackets and helmets for our staff,'' said Haruni, whose winery started 10 years ago and produces about 700,000 bottles a year.

Israel's best grapes, all the experts agree, come from the north where the shelling and rocket fire were heaviest.

The country's wine industry has flourished over the last five years, producing many premium kosher wines comparable to many of the finest in France and California.

Gone are the days when kosher wine was a sweet, dark-red liquid. Today they are dry and complex, produced from a variety of European grapes.

Israel produces about 30 million bottles of wine a year, and the government hopes to increase exports to 15 million dollar a year over the next three years. In June, Israel held its first international wine expo with the hope of overseas growth.

ROCKETS DAMAGE VINES The Dalton winery is at the heart of a region where Katyusha rockets were landing from Lebanon, and it was hit by about 70 of the rockets during the month. Some vines were damaged but it was limited.

Haruni said cellar-door sales to visiting customers had been hit because visits were down.

''We probably lost 50-60,000 dollars over the month in cellar-door sales,'' he said.

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