Lebanon has a 5,000-year winemaking history and is one of the oldest wine production regions in the world. The prophet Hosea (780–725 BC) is said to have urged his followers to return to God so that "they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon..."
History
Antiquity
Vitis vinifera may have been domesticated in Lebanon, although it probably arrived from the South Caucasus via Mesopotamia or the Black Sea trade routes, and the saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast strain crucial to winemaking, may also have originated in Mesopotamia, but a microsatellite-based study also identified a distinct cluster in Lebanon. Wine was cultivated and then domesticated in Lebanon, at least two thousand years before Alexander the Great conquered the Levant in 332 BC. Vines, including wild grapevines, which continue to grow today across Lebanon and the coastal regions of Syria, thrived in Canaan, the coastal strip of today's Lebanon. The Phoenicians were instrumental in spreading wine and viticulture throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times. The wines of Byblos were exported to Greece and Egypt during the Old Kingdom (2686 BC–2134 BC). Byblos wine was highly renowned, with some scholars suggesting that it was crafted from muscat grape varieties. The wines of Tyre and Sidon were also famous throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Excavations at Tell el-Burak, a Phoenician settlement near Sidon, uncovered a well-preserved wine press dating back to the seventh century BC, along with evidence of nearby vineyards, indicating the site's role in wine production for overseas trade. Robert Ballard found the wrecks of two Phoenician ships from 750 BC, whose cargo of wine was still intact. As the first great traders of wine, exporting from their Levantine ports, 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 be the origin of the Greek taste for retsina. The philosophers Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus of Soli are both said to have enjoyed their wine; the latter died from overindulgence. Wine played an important part in Phoenician religion, and the Greek/Roman god Dionysus/Bacchus may have originated in the wine rituals of Canaan. The great temple at Heliopolis (Baalbek) has many depictions of vines and winedrinking, most famously captured by David Roberts in pictures such as "Baalbec - Ruins of the Temple of Bacchus". Such rituals may also have influenced the Greek Bacchae, the Jewish Passover Seder feast and the Christian Eucharist. The Bacchus temple in Baalbek outlines the instrumental role that the Phoenicians played in the development of the Ancient World around the Mediterranean sea; their widespread settlements reached Spain. Phoenician wine is mentioned in the Bible, with Genesis 14:18 recounting how King Melchizedek offered bread and wine ("yayin") to Abraham, and Hosea 14:8 describes the fame of Lebanon's wine as exceptional, saying, "his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon." The importance of winemaking in Lebanon continued during the Roman Empire, as evidenced by the stone-carved vines still winding around the columns of the Temple of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, in the ruins of Baalbek. Some Roman cellars are still in use today, as seen in the cave at Château Ksara, Lebanon's oldest winery. The cellars feature a two-mile-long network of tunnels originally built by the Romans and later revived by the Jesuits, who established the winery in the 19th century.
Middle Ages Wine production persisted until the seventh century when Lebanon was conquered by Arabs and came under the control of the Caliphate; however, the large indigenous Christian community was permitted to produce wine primarily for religious purposes, although significant quantities were also made for trade. In the Middle Ages, the fine wines of Tyre and Sidon were highly prized in Europe and traded by merchants from Venice, who controlled those ports for much of the 13th century.
Ottoman period During the Ottoman period, wine production in Lebanon was prohibited for 400 years, with the exception of Lebanese Christians, who were permitted, due to the millet system, to produce wine for religious purposes. This exemption helped preserve viticulture in the region.
Château Chbat was founded in 1847, making it the first modern winemaker in Lebanon, followed by Château Ksara in 1857 when Jesuits planted Cinsaut vines near Zahlé in the central Beqaa Valley. In 1868 a French engineer, Eugène François Brun, founded Domaine des Tourelles. In 1893, Domaine Wardy was founded.
French Mandate During the French Mandate (1920–1946), French soldiers and diplomats boosted the local wine market. The French influence between the World Wars promoted a culture of wine drinking, as did the sophisticated Mediterranean culture of Beirut at that time, sparking unprecedented demand for wine that continues today. During this period, a few wineries were founded, including Domaine Nakad in 1923, Gaston Hochar's Chateau Musar in 1930, and Clos Saint Thomas in 1937.
Civil War period
In 1976, amid the invasion of 30,000 Syrian troops and the devastation of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), Serge Hochar of Château Musar faced a fractured market and an inability to sell the wines in his cellars, but he seized the opportunity to export them to the UK. After the invasion of Israel in 1982, 80 hectares of Château Musar vineyards in the Bekaa Valley became the frontline between Syrian and Israeli tanks, but loyal Bedouin pickers collected the grapes, and Musar trucks managed to reach the winery. Frenchman Yves Morard of Chateau Kefraya was arrested as a spy during the Israeli invasion, and was only released when he proved to the Israelis that he knew how to make wine. Despite the war, a few wineries, like Château Kefraya, were founded during this period.
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