The best wines of Jordan

Discovering the wine region of Jordan

Jordan is a country in the Middle East (or West Asia, as the UN officially calls it) bordered by Iraq and Iran to the east, Syria to the North and Israel to the west. The country takes its name from the Jordan River, which has been a vital source of water in this desert region since biblical times. Jordan's location in the cradle of civilization makes it an obvious candidate for a Long history of viticulture and winemaking. After all, neighboring Israel and Syria both have a history of viticulture that goes back thousands of years.

Israeli wine is also enjoying increasing success in the early 21st century. But there is little evidence that the land that makes up present-day Jordan was ever used for viticulture. Whatever Grape varieties were once grown in Jordan are thought to have been lost forever. Jordan's wines today are made from the Vitis vinifera varieties that have become household names in recent decades: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir for the reds; Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Chenin Blanc for the whites.

These last four varieties are strongly associated with the cooler Vineyards of France (Alsace and the Loire Valley), so it is unusual for these varieties to do well in the desert at latitudes as low as 29 degrees. Even Fiano, the Southern Italian white famous for its Fiano di Avellino, has found its way into modern Jordanian wine. The Jordan River rises in the Golan Heights (in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains between Syria and Israel) and flows south for 250 kilometers (155 miles) through the Lake of Galilee and into the Dead Sea. The river now forms the northern half of the border between Jordan and Israel.