The Story of Wine in Lebanon: From the Phoenicians to Today
Wine in Lebanon carries a story of its own.
The Phoenicians and Wine
The story of wine in Lebanon is unlike any other—unique, steeped in history, and born from the journeys of the Phoenicians, who sailed the seas and carried their culture across the world. Our ancestors spread purple dye and the alphabet, and in return, they brought back the vine and the art of winemaking. They left us many secrets—some revealed, others still hidden.
It all began with the Phoenicians’ travels, when they first tasted wine and felt captivated by its flavor and aroma. They carried it with them from one shore to another. Ancient Egypt, which until then brewed only beer, received wine through the Phoenicians, who turned it into a sacred drink offered to the gods. From there, wine journeyed across civilizations as a symbol of fertility and life.
Lebanon as a Natural Laboratory
Lebanon was never just a land for vines—it served as a natural laboratory for cultivating the perfect grape. Byblos, with its unique location between land and sea, thrived not only as a coastal town but also as a center that preserved this ancient tradition. Even today, Lebanon’s caves reveal traces of rituals once linked to fermented drinks. What we now glimpse from those ages, however, remains fragmentary—mysteries from our ancestors’ lives that still resist full understanding.
Between Past and Present
Historians explain that the Phoenicians introduced the vine to Europe and North Africa, spreading winemaking throughout the Mediterranean. Centuries later, after Lebanon’s civil war, the country imported vines back from France. The irony is striking: once we spread wine to the world, and now we reclaim what we had given.
After the Civil War
In the years after the war, vines returned to Lebanon’s mountains. Farmers received seedlings to encourage them to remain on their land, and new wineries took on the task of buying their harvest. The vine helped heal the wounds of war and opened the way for a fresh start. The 1990s launched a new chapter in the story of Lebanese wine, as wineries spread a culture that quietly declared: “We can begin again.”
Lebanese Wine as a Global Ambassador
Lebanese wine soon transcended its role as a local product. It became an ambassador of Lebanon abroad. It entered international festivals, won prestigious awards, and found its place in global markets, standing beside wines from France, Italy, and Spain. Our wine now travels the world, carrying with it the taste of our soil, the warmth of our sun, and the echoes of fields cultivated with love and patience.
Diversity of Flavor and Identity
Wine in Lebanon does not belong to a single vineyard or variety. The country’s geography—from the Bekaa Valley to the mountains, the south, and the north—gives each wine its own character, as though each bottle mirrors the land it comes from. Soil, climate, and elevation combine to create endless variety—no two glasses ever taste the same. This diversity is, perhaps, Lebanon’s greatest treasure.
And though I cannot single out one wine above the others, my heart leans toward the wines of the south. There, the land blends with the scent of olives and soil mixed with resilience. The region has only a handful of wineries, yet for me they carry a spiritual aura. Everything southern touches me deeply, giving its wines a meaning that goes beyond taste—it becomes part of identity, part of belonging.
The Magic and Consciousness of the Land
Today, Lebanese wine means far more than a drink. It springs from rare soil, a varied climate, and the passion of people who have tended vines for generations. In every cluster of grapes lives the memory of the land, nourished by care and devotion. That is why Lebanese wine carries a character unlike any other, shifting from valley to mountain, from vineyard to vineyard, like a mirror reflecting both the place and the people who nurtured it.
The Bekaa Valley has long served as the heartland of the vine. Today, Zahle proudly calls itself the “Capital of Wine,” and visitors quickly sense that the land itself safeguards this tradition. Vines demand love and care, and without such devotion, no authentic wine can ever be born.
Harvest Season and Celebration
In earlier times, the harvest brought celebration. Families picked grapes by hand with care and affection, then crushed them—sometimes beneath the feet of young women. This tradition was not mere agricultural work but a festival of song and dance. Maidens pressed grapes to the rhythm of chants, while the juice flowed into clay jars, awaiting its transformation into wine.
Wine and Tourism
Today, wineries in Lebanon welcome visitors from around the world. Each carries a story and memory, each location its own magic. The experience goes beyond tasting and listening—it opens to the landscape itself: the mountains, valleys, and hills. Visitors stand in awe before this masterpiece of nature, where beauty endures despite wars, sorrows, and crises.
Here, one is moved to pause: do we truly deserve this land? What must we do to be worthy of it? Wine, with all its history and meaning, reminds us that generosity springs only from care and devotion. Lebanon’s soil still has the power to give, if only we remain faithful to it.
Conclusion
The story of wine in Lebanon is both a spiritual journey and a cultural legacy. For the ancients, wine was never just a drink—it symbolised wisdom, fertility, and the profound bond between humankind, the earth, and the heavens.
Douha Jaafar
English 
العربية