Whatever one thinks of the ascent of Michel Aoun to the presidency of the Lebanese Republic and the return of Saad Hariri as prime minister (see post below), one must say that in the realm of wine, the Lebanese have come together as never before.   The challenges they have faced over the years have not entirely passed (see A Complicated Road: The Search for Indigeneity), but Lebanese winemakers are together putting their best foot forward to show their wines to wine professionals in New York who likely known nothing about the country’s wines beyond what they read about Chateau Musar.

Indeed, there is far more stories to be told about Lebanese wine than that of always impressive Musar (like several thousand years worth), with 50 wineries in the country.  Twenty-six of them are expected to present their wines at Astor Center on November 17.  For those of us who have been following developments in the Lebanese wine world for the past thirty years, the chance to taste so many at once is absolutely thrilling.  Indeed, there will be a number of wines that I have never tasted, or even seen outside of author Michael Karam and photo-journalist Norbert Schiller’s beautiful book the Wines of Lebanon or read about in the Zawaq Guide – Lebanon’s version of Gambero Rosso.  While I have not yet seen the list of wines, I hope there will be a few made from little-known grape varieties rather than all-too-familiar Bordeaux blends.   (Lebanese versions of the same can be unique – yes, terroir exists in the land of Bacchus.)

This event is designed to introduce industry professionals to Lebanon’s diverse wines. Christie Canterbury, MW, will lead two Master Classes on the subject.

Anyone interested in attending is welcome to write,
LebaneseWineDay@colangelopr.com, or register at lebanesewineday.eventbrite.com.