MOA Winery: Family Wine on the Ancient Incense Route
What happens when a desert farming family decides to turn curiosity into wine?
At MOA Winery in Moshav Tzofar, the answer is a deeply personal Arava story. Founded by Yehuda and Zvia Friedman, MOA was the first winery established in the Arava. What began as another chapter in the family’s agricultural journey has grown into an inviting desert winery where wine, food, landscape and family hospitality come together.
MOA is not a grand estate separated from its surroundings. The winery stands on the family farm, between the Friedman home and a young date-palm orchard. Its production space was once a pepper-packing house, while industrial refrigerators formerly used to cool flowers became the barrel room. This spirit of resourcefulness remains part of the winery’s character today.
From farming the Arava to making wine
Yehuda and Zvia met at Kibbutz Mefalsim and moved to Moshav Tzofar in the early 1980s, inspired by a pioneering desire to farm the land and build a life in the desert. Over the following decades, they cultivated crops for the Israeli and international markets and established the family farm.
Wine entered the family story through their son-in-law Elad, who worked in the wine industry and brought both bottles and enthusiasm to family visits. His passion proved contagious. Yehuda studied winemaking at Soreq Winery, and in 2014 the family decided to create a small winery of its own.
The first harvest followed in 2015. Since then, the winery has remained a genuine family undertaking—from harvest and production to welcoming visitors and pouring wine at the tasting table.
A name rooted in the Incense Route
The winery takes its name from the ancient Moa fortress and caravan station located near Moshav Tzofar. Moa was once a stopping point on the Nabataean Incense Route, along which valuable goods traveled across the deserts from the Arabian Peninsula toward the Mediterranean.
That name gives the winery a special sense of place. Travelers still stop here today—not with camel caravans, but to rest, meet local people and experience the flavors of the desert. A tasting at MOA becomes a contemporary continuation of the Arava’s long tradition of hospitality along the route.
Wines shaped by high desert vineyards
Although the winery itself is located in the Arava, MOA hand-selects its grapes from desert vineyards on the plateau east of Mitzpe Ramon, at an average elevation of approximately 800 metres above sea level.
The vines grow in mineral-rich loess soil and experience strong differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Irrigation and canopy growth must be managed carefully, and the grapes are harvested by hand during the cooler hours around sunset or dawn before being transported directly to the winery in Tzofar.
MOA works with varieties including Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Marselan, Roussanne, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. Its range includes lighter reds, rosé and white wines created to suit the region and its warm climate, as well as single-vineyard and reserve expressions. Visitors may encounter wines such as MOA Blanc, Chardonnay–Roussanne, Rosé, Syrah, Malbec and the colorful red blend Tzivoni, alongside the winery’s distinctive desert-flower aperitif.
Visiting MOA Winery
MOA’s visitor center offers a relaxed, seated introduction to desert wine on the family farm. Guests can choose a guided tasting of four wines or order a glass or bottle to enjoy at their own pace.
The experience is complemented by food designed for an unhurried desert stop: a Negev-style cheese board, local dips, bread, vegetables and other light dishes. Seasonal produce from the farm may add another direct connection between the tasting table and the surrounding agriculture.
The visitor center is accessible and air-conditioned, making it suitable throughout much of the year. MOA also welcomes private gatherings, company events, organized tours and group visits by advance arrangement.
Why MOA Winery belongs on your Negev journey
MOA offers much more than a tasting. It brings together nearly four decades of family farming, the ingenuity required to work in an uncompromising desert environment, and the historic memory of the Incense Route.
For travelers driving through the Arava, it is an opportunity to slow down and meet the people behind the landscape. The setting is informal, the story is authentic and the wine provides a delicious way to understand how the desert continues to inspire new ideas.
Plan your visit
- Location: Friedman Farm 51, Moshav Tzofar, Central Arava
- Experience: Guided four-wine tasting or wine by the glass or bottle, accompanied by optional food boards
- Suitable for: Individuals, couples, families, groups and private or corporate events
- Accessibility: Accessible, air-conditioned visitor center
- Kosher: No
- Saturday: Open
- Opening hours currently published by the winery: Sunday–Saturday, 12:00–17:00; Thursday, 12:00–22:30
- Advance reservation: Recommended and subject to availability
- Reservations and information: +972-52-545-0895
- Email: info@moawine.co.il
- Website: moawine.co.il/en
- Instagram: @moawinery
Opening hours, tasting formats, prices and food offerings may change, particularly on holidays. Please confirm directly with the winery before visiting.
Discover MOA Winery with the Negev Wine Card
MOA Winery is a participating partner of the Negev Wine Card. Use your card to enjoy an authentic family-run wine experience in the heart of the Arava and discover how ancient routes, modern agriculture and desert hospitality meet in one glass.
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