Eastern Mediterranean Flashcards
Lebanon’s modern wine industry can be traced to?
1857
Lebanon’s largest producer?
Château Ksara
Winemaking knowledge in Lebanon was readily adopted from?
French Algeria
French influence, still apparent today, further impacted Lebanon’s winemaking and wine-drinking culture between the World Wars, when Lebanon fell under French mandate before declaring independence in?
1943
At the outset of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, only four wineries operated within the country:
Château Ksara, Château Musar, Domaine des Tourelles, and Château Nakad
Who was influencial in terms of export markets in Lebanon?
Serge Hochar brought Château Musar to the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair, where his wines were praised by renowned critic and auctioneer Michael Broadbent, bringing new attention to Lebanon’s wines
Lebanon has yet to establish a formal appellation system, nor is one expected in the near term. Nonetheless, Lebanese wine has become nearly synonymous with one region:
Bekaa Valley
Lebanon is home to two significant mountain ranges:
The Mount Lebanon range rises from the Mediterranean coast to reach 2,500 meters in elevation, separating Beirut and nearby cities from the country’s interior. The range regularly sees snow and houses six ski resorts. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains form the Syrian border, ending at Mount Hermon and the beginning of the Golan Heights
The Bekaa Valley rests between these two mountain ranges, at roughly ?
900 to 1,000 meters in elevation
Mount Lebanon barricades the Bekaa from ?, while the Anti-Lebanon range shields the valley from?
Mediterranean humidity
the Syrian desert’s heat
Which river runs through Bekaa?
The Litani River, which frequently runs dry in the summer months, extends the length of the Bekaa Valley before emptying into the Mediterranean just north of Tyre
Much of the Bekaa’s soil is?
Alluvial, but the region is overall diverse, generally growing drier and warmer from south to north
limestone as well
Beyond the Bekaa, several new producers have established themselves around?
Batroun, a northern coastal city. Grapes are also cultivated on the mountain ranges themselves, and multi-region blending remains common.
Name the grapes of Lebanon
White
Obaideh, Merweh, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Ugni Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Clairette, Muscat
Obaideh and Merweh, both white, are Lebanon’s most notable indigenous varieties. Long mistaken to be Chardonnay and Sémillon, respectively, they are organoleptically similar to these French counterparts. Unlike the European varieties, Obaideh and Merweh are most successful in the mountain vineyards, rather than the Bekaa.
Red
Cinsault (35% of all plantings)
Cabernet Sauvignon (25% of all plantings)
Cabernet Franc, Carignan, Grenache, Merlot. Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Gamay
Many of Lebanon’s wineries also produce arak:
An unsweetened grape-derived spirit. Arak undergoes multiple distillations (typically two to four), most traditionally in a Moorish copper still, with anise seed added before the final distillation. The spirit is then aged in cloth-covered clay amphorae. For serving, arak is typically cut with two parts water to one part spirit, which gives it a cloudy appearance, similar to absinthe when diluted
Name some top producers from Lebanon
Chateau Musar
Chateau de Tourelles
Chateau Kefraya
Ixsir
Chateau Ksara
Chateau Marsyas
Cyprus is believed to vinify the world’s oldest continually produced named wine?
Commandaria PDO: Raisin Wine or Fortified Wine
Name the grapes for Commandaria?
White: Xynestri
Red: Mavro
The native red Mavro and white Xynisteri are harvested from bush vines, then sun-dried for about two weeks
non-vintage, fortified wines composed primarily of Mavro made at the larger firms, and vintage-dated, unfortified examples with a higher concentration of Xynisteri.
While Commandaria must be vinified within the appellation boundaries (spans 14 villages), it can be aged?
outside the region
