In 1988, Eli Ben Zaken decided to plant some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines on a hill behind his house in the Judean Mountains. A small vineyard that gave its first grapes 4 years later and its first wine in 1995, after 24 months of ageing in new French oak barrels. The Castel estate was born, taking its name from a nearby fortress built by the Crusaders. Eli Ben Zaken gives this first cuvée the name "Grand Vin", so great were the efforts made to achieve this result.

The estate became famous a few years later when journalist Dallia Penn-Lerner suggested that Eli Ben Zaken send a bottle to Serena Sutcliffe, then head of Sotheby's wine department in London. She was impressed by this Israeli wine, which was so different from the overripe and herbaceous wines that other Israeli wineries produced at the time.

In the early 2000s, Eli's son, Ariel Ben Zaken, joined the estate after 2 years of study in Beaune in Burgundy and a stint with Michel Picard at Domaine Emile Voarick. Other members of the family followed and the vineyard expanded, a new winery was built and cellars were dug into the rock. The Domaine then produced a white wine, a rosé wine and a second red wine called "Petit Castel" with a predominance of Merlot.