A Lebanese man and his American wife returned from the US to take over his grandfather's land, and started the small winery. The wine is organic (they are actually going biodynamic--unheard of in Lebanon!!) , has won a number of prizes in competitions in London and in France, and is pricier than most of our group of teachers were prepared to spend..
.Hope you can make out a stash of their barrels, on the right.
The bus broke down for awhile here, sigh, putting us off Tom's carefully planned schedule by close to an hour.
Intrepid wine connoisseur Sharon, above, who made the trip despite a broken leg.
Next, at Domaine des Tourelles in Chtaura in the Bekaa Valley. Everyone's favorite, I think. It is a lovely spot, a great tour of the wine making facilities, and excellent, affordable wine.
A family run business (fourth generation!) Domaine des Tourelles also makes one of the most famous Araks in Lebanon (Arak = think ouzo or raki). Originally made by Pierre Brun, they have kept up high standards of quality and use the best ingredients. Below are sacks of anise seed imported from Syria.
On to Chateau Khoury, in the hills above Zahle, also the Bekaa Valley. It was a little hazy that day, and I was probably preoccupied with the win, so no photo of the view....
They had prepared a Lebanese mezze lunch for us (we could have ordered French cuisine--next time!) and we enjoyed the leisurely meal and tour of the place after. Another family run place, lunch was cooked by Mom.
Awfully dark, but hope you can see the bottles piled high in the cave (that's cave, dears, rhymes with Toyota Rav).
Back to Beirut way later than planned, due to horrendous, typical Sunday evening traffic trudging back into the city from all directions.
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