Top 100 wines of Lebanon - Page 2

Discovering the wine region of Lebanon

Lebanon is a Middle Eastern country with an ancient wine culture that has experienced a renaissance in recent decades. In 2011, about six million bottles of Lebanese wine were produced from 2000 hectares (5000 acres) of Vineyards. Modern Lebanese viticulture has moved inland from the ancient Phoenician port cities to the fertile Bekaa Valley. There are also a handful of vineyards near Jezzine, a few kilometres from the Southern end of the Bekaa, just inland from Sidon.

The majority of Lebanese wine is exported to the UK, France and the US, where receptive consumers have encouraged healthy growth in Lebanon's modern wine industry. In 1998, there were less than 10 wineries in Lebanon; there are now more than 30. Red wines account for the bulk of production; they are generally made from the classic southern French Grape varieties: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. White wines may contain Ugni Blanc, Clairette and Chardonnay.

The modern wine industry dates back to the 19th century. As non-Muslims living in a Muslim state - which had been Part of the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s - Christians living in Lebanon enjoyed certain freedoms, including the right to produce wine for ceremonial purposes. It was on this basis that in 1857 a group of Jesuit priests founded a winery in Ksara, a small town in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon's best wine-growing area. Château Ksara deserves its own chapter in the annals of Lebanese wine history.