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Travel > Articles > War-torn=20 Lebanon's Bekaa Valley is a wine country respite

MIDDLE EAST | FOREIGN BUREAU DISPATCH

War-torn Lebanon's Bekaa Valley is a wine country respite

Long before it gained a reputation as a bastion for = the=20 militant Islamic group Hezbollah, Lebanon's Bekaa Valley was known for = its red=20 wines and lush countryside.

By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff = Writer
July=20 23, 2007

Lebanon's=20 Bekaa Valley wine country

3D"photo Photo=20 Gallery

BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon =E2=80=94 The thick blanket of fog hampering = our travels=20 finally begins to recede. A checkpoint emerges from the haze. A gaggle = of=20 Lebanese soldiers in uniform standing guard calmly waves us through. We = descend=20 further toward the lush expanse of farmland and lakes emerging below. = The=20 vineyards of the Bekaa Valley beckon.

Share your Middle East travel stories, tips and advice = on our Travel=20 Message Boards.

It is mid-May in Lebanon, and snow still streaks the mountains to the = east=20 marking the Syrian frontier.

A day earlier, I was caught up in the fighting between Lebanese = troops and=20 Islamic extremists in and around a refugee camp up north. Bullets pinged = and=20 mortars crashed. Three nights ago, an explosion rocked a shopping mall = near=20 where we were dining. Ambulance sirens screamed and panicked residents = fled for=20 cover.

But all that seems fairly far away. I am with my wife, Delphine = Minoui, of=20 the French paper Le Figaro and my friend Ed Wong of the New York Times. = We are=20 all war correspondents, veterans of the Iraq conflict. But today we are = trying=20 to get our minds out of war. We are on a brief tasting tour through = Lebanon's=20 famous wine country, which is nurtured by cold, wet winters and hot, dry = summers.

Long before it gained a reputation as a bastion for the militant = Islamic=20 group Hezbollah, the Bekaa Valley was known for its red wines. = Historians=20 estimate that wine was first produced in Lebanon about 4,000 years ago. = The=20 ruins of a temple devoted to the Roman god Bacchus stand in the city of=20 Baalbek.

Of course, friends thought we were insane to indulge in wine tourism = with=20 bombs and bullets flying. But we needed a break, and alongside its = manifold=20 troubles, Lebanon has always been a major tourist destination, often = called the=20 Switzerland of the Middle East.

It's easy to see why. The Lebanese are festive, sophisticated and = friendly,=20 often toggling between Arabic and perfect English and French. Its sunny = beaches=20 are a stone's throw from its famed ski resorts.

Lebanon has a modern, convenient airport with direct connections to = major=20 European and Middle Eastern capitals. Amman, Jordan, and Damascus, = Syria, are=20 only a couple of hours away by car. Lebanon is a small country, with = almost all=20 of its attractions within a two-hour drive of the capital, Beirut.

Because of the recent violence, including the war between Israel and=20 Hezbollah last summer and the fighting in the refugee camps, the swanky = hotels=20 of Beirut have cut their rates dramatically, sometimes by as much as=20 two-thirds.

We stayed at the luxurious Albergo (http://www.albergobeirut.com/)= , a=20 fabulously well-appointed 33-suite boutique hotel in the upscale = Achrafieh=20 district, for less than $200 a night instead of the ordinary price of = well more=20 than $400.

Hotels such as the modern Crowne Plaza in the lively Hamra district = and the=20 revamped Commodore, which was home to most journalists during the = Lebanese civil=20 war and is now run by Le Meridien, can be had for $100 or less a night = if you=20 haggle.

Rather than rent a car and risk driving off a mountain road after = swilling=20 wine all day, we arranged for a taxi with one of the many reputable car = services=20 in Beirut. We went with Lord Taxi (011-961-1-217770). Our driver shows = up in a=20 late-model Mercedes-Benz with air-conditioning. He tells us with a laugh = that=20 his name is Jihad, which means Muslim holy war.

But he explains that he is a Christian whose parents were staunch = Arab=20 nationalists.

Before heading to the vineyards, we make a pit stop at the famous = Ottoman-era=20 castle at Beit = Eddine (http://www.beiteddine.org/), = which plays=20 host to performing arts groups throughout the summer.

The fortress, shrouded by evergreens and pine trees atop a terraced = hillside=20 2,500 feet above sea level, is worth the half an hour or so in extra = driving=20 time it adds to a trip from Beirut to the vineyards.

Beit Eddine was the palace of the Bashir Shihab II, the Ottoman = prince who=20 reigned over the area known as Lebanon from 1788 to 1840. It is an = elaborate=20 labyrinth of gardens, baths and resplendent living quarters decorated = with=20 handcrafted cedar-wood carvings and pink marble. Fountains throughout = the=20 building serve as a primitive air-conditioning system.

Our tour guide speaks French much better than English, which is = taught here=20 as a third language. Ed and I think it's quaint that Lebanon remains = committed=20 to its Francophone heritage but are grateful we're with Delphine, a = native=20 French speaker.

By the time we leave the castle and descend into the Bekaa, it is = already=20 time for lunch. We opt to eat at the splendid Blue Lake Restaurant=20 (011-961-8-860146), near the village of Saghbine. It is known for its = trout and=20 is surrounded by a huge outdoor terrace that looks upon Lake Karaoun. A = meal=20 including hearty appetizers and soft drinks costs about $15 per = person.

Down the road is the Cave=20 Kouroum (http://www.cavekouroum.com/), = among the=20 newest of the Bekaa wine distilleries. Sami Reha and his brother = launched the=20 winery 10 years ago with a capacity to produce 5 million liters, though = it's=20 able to procure only enough grapes and bottles to produce about 1 = million=20 bottles a year. Vintners plant in January and February, when the = saplings arrive=20 from France or Italy.

The summer war last year between Israel and Hezbollah didn't directly = affect=20 the vineyards. Shipments were turned back before reaching their = destinations.=20 The vineyards also could not produce an increasingly popular = Beaujolais-type=20 wine. But fortunately, the war ended two days before the harvest = began.

The war was nothing compared with the larger challenges of producing = wine in=20 the Muslim Middle East, where some grape growers refuse to sell to = vineyards for=20 religious regions.

But Reha, who says he is the only Muslin vintner in Bekaa, tells us = that all=20 the troubles are worth it once he tastes the product, especially his=20 Syrah-Cabernet Sauvignon blend, which he sells for about $20 a = bottle.

"Wine is life itself," he says. "It has life in it. It can be = affected by=20 everything: the weather, the noise, the light."

Up the road is the famous 56-year-old Kefraya = vineyards (http://www.chateaukefraya.com/), the=20 Bekaa's leading producer of wine, with 2.5 million bottles annually. = Carnations=20 line the walkways between the vineyards, named after famous opera = composers such=20 as Verdi, Puccini and Rossini. A restaurant (about $30 a meal, including = wine)=20 adjoins an elegant tasting room that glows orange with natural = light.

Kefraya's most celebrated wine, the Comte de M, is a smooth, dry = blend of=20 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grapes. When it first emerged in 1996, it = scored an=20 impressive 91 rating in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Its grapes are = planted at=20 a height of more than 3,000 feet. More recent vintages range in price = from $29 a=20 bottle for the 2002 all the way up to $83 for the 1999.

Lebanese wines, similar to the produce of nearby Israel, lean heavily = toward=20 the dry side. Reha says an unblended Lebanese Cabernet Sauvignon remains = undrinkable for at least 10 years. Experts compare Lebanese reds = favorably with=20 other so-called New World wines.

"It's very powerful and at the same time soft and rounded," said = OIivier=20 Watrin, a Bordeaux wine merchant who has traveled to Lebanon.

Even the Lebanese whites tend toward spicy rather than fruity. My = wife, who=20 prefers sweeter wines, is entranced by the variety of desert wines = available at=20 the vineyards, including Kefraya's Lacrima d'Oro ($10).

Ksara (http://www.ksara.com.lb/), in the = provincial=20 capital of Zahle, is the region's oldest vineyard. Although its natural = caves=20 are famous, visitors generally sit before a video instead of being taken = on a=20 guided tour.

Zahle is also epicenter of the wine business. Visitors can dine or = stay=20 overnight at the Grand=20 Hotel Kadri (http://www.grandhotelkadri.com/<= /A>);=20 $137 a night for two includes bed and breakfast), a splendid Ottoman-era = estate=20 with a piano bar overlooking the Berdawni River.

Smaller Lebanese vineyards include Clos de Cana (http://www.closdecana.com/) and = Clos St. = Thomas (http://www.closstthomas.com/). = Club Grappe (http://www.clubgrappe.com/), a = Lebanese=20 tour service, organizes trips from Beirut to vineyards off the beaten = path.

We'd like to visit as many as possible, but the day's crisp sunshine = has=20 begun to fade and it's time for us to head back up the mountain road = toward=20 Beirut. Despite the crystal-clear day in wine country, we find that the = fog has=20 only thickened since the morning.

daragahi@latimes.com

Borzou=20 Daragahi is The Los Angeles Times' Beirut=20 Bureau Chief

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