More than 3,500 years ago Phoenicia was a civilization centred on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and included modern day Lebanon. The Phoenicians were great seafarers and traders with their influence extending all around the margins of the Mediterranean. One of their major trading commodities was wine; they took wine and wine-making skills to modern day Greece, Italy, Spain and France.
At first sight Lebanon’s arid climate might seem way too hot and too dry for quality wine production but there have been vineyards here for more than 6,000 years. The Beqaa valley, at the east of the country, is located at an altitude of 900 to 1,200 metres above sea level. A fertile basin between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, the Beqaa is free of frost and disease and enjoys a unique climate with long gentle summers, wet winters and an average temperature of 25ºC, perfect conditions for viticulture. It is here that the wine-making is centred.
Whilst the geographical and climatic conditions may be ideal, the political situation certainly is not. The country torn by a civil war that started in 1975 and is greatly affected by the turmoil of its neighbours Israel and Syria. In spite of these apparently insurmountable problems the wine industry of Lebanon has somehow managed to not just survive but to thrive.
Probably the most famous name in Lebanese wine-making is Château Musar, run for generations by the Hochar family. French in origin, the Hochars (pronounced Hoshar’) arrived in Lebanon with the Crusades and have remained there ever since! Musar is internationally renowned for its complex reds that have the potential to age for decades.
Whilst Musar has a long history and a great reputation, my favourite Lebanese producer is a newer venture. Massaya (it means twilight) is run by two brothers, Sami and Ramzi Ghosn, and the story of Massaya in many ways reflects the upheaval, determination and bravery of the people who live in this hugely challenging country.
In the 1960’s the Ghosn family were wealthy and lived in Beirut with a weekend country retreat at Tanaïl in the Beqaa Valley. Here, as was the tradition, grapes were grown for eating and to be made into arak the local, aniseed flavoured spirit of the Levant. The civil war, however, forced the family to leave Lebanon and Sami and Ramzi went abroad to study and work Sami in the US as an architect and Ramzi to France as a chef.
In 1991 the civil war ended and the brothers decided to return and rebuild their Beqaa estate and to revitalise the traditions and economy of the land so badly ravaged by the war. Initially concentrating on arak production, they wanted to make wines that would rival those from the likes of Château Musar. To this end they engaged the support and assistance of two iconic families in the French wine industry and formed a partnership with Frédéric and Daniel Brunier from the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape property, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, and Dominique Hebrard, formerly of Château Cheval Blanc in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux.
This combination of Lebanese land, the determination of Sami and Ramzi and the knowledge of their French backers has turned a hopeful vision into reality with Massaya going from strength to strength. In 2014 a new, high altitude, winery was opened in Faqra on Mount Lebanon. Situated 1750 metres above sea level, it overlooks Faqra, the highest Roman temple in the world, and in the distance it has views over the Mediterranean. The Massaya journey has been long and difficult but, like the view from the new winery is inspiring. Try their wines, they’re great!
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