Lebanon

Question 1

Wine region is centered in

Answer 1

West Bekaa Valley

Question 2

Bekaa altitude?

Answer 2

1000-3000 M

Question 3

Lebanon’s oldest modern winery?

Answer 3

Domaine des Tourelle

Question 4

Grapes?

Answer 4

; Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. White wines may feature Ugni Blanc, Clairette and Chardonnay.

Question 5

History?

Answer 5

he modern wine industry here can be traced back to the 19th Century. As non-Muslims living in a Muslim state – part of the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s – Christians living in Lebanon were permitted certain freedoms, one of which was the right to make 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 finest wine terroir.

Chateau Ksara warrants its own chapter in the annals of Lebanese wine history. The Christian community that founded the original winery effectively founded the modern Lebanese wine industry, and their efforts have been rewarded with the château’s success as the nation’s largest wine producer.

Even today one in every three bottles of Lebanese wine is produced at Ksara. The original vineyards at Ksara were planted with Cinsaut, which was subsequently joined by other French vine varieties. The first vines were brought from France via the French colonies in Algeria, and with them came contemporary French winemaking wisdom.