Only 5 Km away from Bethlehem and 12 Km from Jerusalem, the name “Cremisan" comes from Kerem Zan which translates to  “Vineyard of the Zan grapes”, a very delicious type of local grape and an etymology that testifies to the area’s long history of significant viticulture.

In 1863, a young Italian missionary, Fr. Antonio Bellone, began to take care of poor Christian orphans in the Bethlehem area by offering them shelter and a proper religious and vocational education. For this purpose he opened the orphanages of Bethlehem and Beit Gemal. Cremisan was founded a few years later as a religious educational house for the congregation of the Holy Family established by Fr. Bellone. In 1885 the winery opened to guarantee the self-sufficiency of the institute and also to give work to the poor people in the area. 

A few years before his death, Fr. Bellone met Don Bosco, the founder of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales. After considering their parallel missions of caring for poor young boys he decided to become a Salesian, thereby securing the Society’s support for his charitable activities in the Holy Land.

Today, Cremisan continues to thrive and prosper. World-renowned oenologist Riccardo Cotarella – most noted for his Falesco winery in Italy – heads Cremisan’s winemaking operations, lending his considerable expertise and talent to the company.

The area of Cremisan is one of the most beautiful localities in the Judean Hills, not only owing to the safeguarding of its ecological surroundings, but also owing to the patient work of the Salesian community, which terraced the slopes, cultivated vineyards and olive groves, and over the last 100 years afforested wide areas with one of the oldest pine-woods of the region. Because of this, Cremisan has become a very desirable destination for picnics and excursions.