Lebanese wine

During the Ottoman period, wine production in Lebanon was restricted for four hundred years, except for religious purposes, which allowed Lebanese Christians to maintain viticulture.

[citation needed] Vitis vinifera may have been domesticated in Lebanon, although it probably arrived from the South Caucasus via Mesopotamia or the Black Sea trade routes.

Vines grew readily in the land of Canaan, the coastal strip of today's Lebanon, and the wines of Byblos were exported to Egypt during the Old Kingdom (2686 BC–2134 BC).

[5] As the first great traders of wine ('Cherem'), the Phoenicians seem to have protected it from oxidation with a layer of olive oil, followed by a seal of pinewood and resin—this may well be the origin of the Greek taste for retsina.

The Bacchus temple in Baalbek outlines the instrumental role that the Phoenician played in the development of the Ancient World around the Mediterranean sea.

Once Lebanon became part of the Caliphate, wine production declined, although under the millet system it was tolerated among the Christian population for religious purposes.

The Christians also developed Arak, an ouzo-like spirit flavored with aniseed.The first winemaker in Lebanon was Chateau Joseph Spath (Chateau Chbat) in 1847 at aaramoun kesrouan, later following of winemaker at Château Ksara in 1857 when Jesuits planted Cinsaut vines from Algeria at Château Ksara near Zahlé in the central Beqaa Valley.

However, the media coverage translated into surge in demand during the fighting as British buyers in particular bought Lebanese wine as a mark of solidarity.

Next biggest is Château Kefraya, whose majority of shares were bought by Druze politician Walid Jumblat from the De Bustros family in the late 1980s.