National Geographic Traveler Interactive - 10.11 2019

TASTE OF TRAVEL

LEBANON

NATIVE GRAPES

Try Merweh, a white-wine

grape related to Sémillon,

and Obaideh, the star of

rich whites as well as arak,

an anise-scented spirit.

STELLAR CELLARS

When Jesuit monks

founded Château Ksara in

the 1800s, they discovered

Roman-built wine caves on

the property. Visitors can

tour the ancient cellars and

sip the château’s vintages.

chateauksara.com

TAILORED TASTINGS

Living Lebanon offers

personalized winery tours

that include tastings and

meze. living-lebanon.com

Wines of

the Times

Plots thicken in the
Bekaa Valley, where
great grapes grow in the
eastern Mediterranean
By Jackie Snow

Y

ou could say that Lebanon, home to some of the world’s oldest

civilizations, is a vintage destination. What’s more surprising

is the deep-rooted nation’s rising profile as a wine producer.

There is a historical precedent: the drink has been cellared here since

the Phoenician era, circa 2500 B.C., and amid the ruins at Baalbek

rises a temple to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine.

Travelers can find both the temple and the vineyards in eastern

Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, roughly 55 miles from Beirut. The high ele-

vation, wet winters contrasted by sunny summers, and a tradition

of young wines with few additives all help to create fresh, light reds

as well as crisp whites and rosés that seem made for savoring on a

breezy Beirut terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

The Bekaa Valley is resilient. Harvests pressed on throughout

Lebanon’s civil war (1975 to 1990) and the 34-day conflict with Israel

in 2006. “A lot of other wine producers would have thrown in the

towel long ago,” says Michael Karam, a journalist and author of the

book Wines of Lebanon. But the industry has kept going and now

includes at least 50 wineries. Two of our favorites for sipping at the

source: the sublime French-style white wines at Château Khoury

and the racy red blends at Château Héritage.

NATGEOTRAVEL.COM

Bekaa Valley

treasures: the

Roman ruins

at Baalbek and

sips at Massaya

winery (right)

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