Lebanon is a wine country with tradition thousands of years old, according to some, including us, it is even the cradle of world wine. The country's most famous winery, the one that has exported the idea of Lebanese wine around the world is Chateau Musar, a legendary winery that has withstood even civil war and bombings, and produces a wine in the style of Bordeaux but with an exotic twist.
Normally, Lebanese wines are powerful and concentrated, which is precisely what one expects to achieve in such a hot and arid area. Here the sun shines 300 days a year and the vines are free of disease.
Wineries are blossoming exponentially, now numbering in the hundreds, and most of them naturally produce around 50,000 bottles annually.
The main production areas are the famous Bekaa Valleywith vineyards even at 2000 metres, mainly located in the west, Baalbek and Hermel.
As far as grapes are concerned, we at Apewineboxes.com assume that it all started here and that therefore even the so-called internationals are actually Middle Eastern grapes that later migrated to Western Europe. But in any case, among the white berries we find the indigenous Obaideh and Merwahwhile among those with red berries Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are the most cultivated, although they are giving way to grapes more suited to the local dry climate such as Octavianello (Cinsault), Carignan, Cannonau (Grenache, Garnacha) and Mourvedrecapable of producing more authentic and territorial wines.
The total number of hectares under vine is just over 4000 for a total of 8 million hl corresponding to an export value of just over 20 million euro