OUR Story
Heritage Winery: A Journey Through Time

From our founder’s first Ethiopian restaurant in New York to a thriving winery, our journey is one of tradition and craftsmanship. Explore the milestones that shaped our legacy.

1979
Araya Yibrehu opens Sheba, the first Ethiopian restaurant in New York, arguably the U.S.
1987
The iconic Blue Nile restaurant opens, becoming a New York City favorite.
1997-98
Sheba Tej is created, with Araya bringing his mother and sister from Ethiopia to perfect the recipe.
2001
Transitioning from restaurateur to winemaker, Araya focuses on Saba Tej Co. and launches the Axum and Saba brands.
2003
The first of many industry awards is won.
2013
Kirubell joins the family business, and together they establish The Heritage Winery LLC.
2018
Kirubell leaves his finance career to fully dedicate himself to THW.
2023
The company shifts to self-distribution, taking full control of its sales and logistics.
2024
A complete rebrand introduces a modern identity, while the family experiences the profound loss of its founder, Araya Yibrehu.
present
The focus is now on sharing Araya’s story through Tej, honoring his legacy with every bottle.

Message from The Founder

We at the Heritage Winery LLC, have spent many years perfecting Tej and Tej-based wines with a carefully guarded refining process developed by tradition, using absolutely no sulfites or any kind of additives. Our heritage of traditional Tej and Tej-based wine making has evolved over the years to include our mastery of the right formula including that of the correct recipe passed on to us from our ancestors. As part of our culture of utmost excellence, our Tej and Tej-based wines are produced from the finest, purest and organically grown ingredients using modern technology for a delicious reminder of antiquity.

The base foundation of our company is using an authentic recipe and a processing method based on tradition. We truly believe that you will find our processing method of producing our most exquisite Tej and Tej-based wines second to none. Therefore, we are confident that our respect for tradition and dedication to meeting our customers’ needs enable us to create the finest Tej available today. Recognized at national and international wine competitions, our sulfite-free wines have won several prestigious Medals as well as Best of the Class awards.

On behalf of my son, the general manager, the rest of my family and myself I thank you for your interest in our Tej wines and guarantee you our continuous commitments to the state of satisfactions.

Founder,
Araya S. Yibrehu

AWARDS WON
AWARDS WON
AWARDS WON
AWARDS WON
Sip, Savor, and Discover.

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