Carmel Winery is celebrating its 120th year of harvests. The first harvest to be received by Rishon Le Zion Wine Cellars was on August 3rd 1890. Soon the 2010 harvest will begin, which will be the 120th by Israel's most historic winery.

To celebrate this, a special Symphony has been composed by Gil Shohat. The premiere peformance of this unique work will be performed by The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at Carmel's Zichron Ya'acov Wine Cellars. In attendance will be government ministers, celebrities and Carmel's customers from all over the world, along with other special guests.

Gil Shohat is an acclaimed composer, conductor and pianist. Forbes Magazine, together with all three of Israel’s major newspapers (Yedioth Aharonoth, Ma’ariv and Ha’aretz) have declared Shohat to be “The most important and influential personality in classical music in Israel.” He is the winner of numerous awards in Israel and abroad. He is also a laureate of Israel’s Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation (2001). Carmel Winery was founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Paris Banker, Philanthropist, and owner of Chateau Lafite, one of the most famous wineries in the world.

Soprano Ira Bertman, the main soloist of the Israeli Opera, will also participate, singing a poem especially written for the occasion by Shin Shifra.

Israel Ivzan, Chairman of SCV des Grandes Caves and CEO of Carmel Winery, says: "Few wineries worldwide are able to look back over 120 harvests. This first ever, one time performance of this unique musical work, illustrates the connection between the two artistic expressions of wine and music. The story of Carmel Winery is not only the story of Israeli wine, but also of Israel itself."

The founding of Carmel represented the rebirth of an Israeli wine industry after 2,000 years. Carmel today is Israel's largest and premier winery, producing 15 million bottles, ranging from the flagship, Carmel Limited Edition, to Selected, Israel's largest selling brand. Carmel owns Rishon Le Zion and Zichron Ya'acov Wine Cellars, still the two largest wineries in Israel. It also owns two state-of-the art small wineries, designed to make handcrafted wines from different vineyard plots: Kayoumi Winery in the Upper Galilee and Yatir Winery at Tel Arad, in the north eastern Negev.

In celebration of 120 years since the building of Rishon Le Zion Wine Cellars in 1890, Carmel has released a limited edition, de-luxe brandy of only 2,000 bottles. Carmel 120 Brandy has components in the blend up to 27 years old. In addition, Carmel will be pouring a special wine at the event, taken from its cellar archive: a magnum of a Carmel Single Vineyard Merlot 2002 from the Shomron Region. The year 2002 represents 120 years since Carmel’s first vineyards were planted, in 1882.