Exploring White Wines in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Lebanon is one of the  oldest wine producing regions in the world. Legend and even recorded history, at least according to those can interpret and place ages on old drawings and containers say that it goes back 9000 years. And, in Lebanon, if you want the best wine they have to offer, you go to Bekaa (Beqaa in Arabic) Valley.

Roughly 20 miles to the east of the capital city of Beirut in the far eastern part of the country, Bekaa Valley is the most fertile part of the larger Great Rift Valley. Situated between Mount Lebanon to its west and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains shielding it from the east, the valley has the characteristic Mediterranean climate with warm, nearly arid summers, but cold winters with often considerable snowfall. Everywhere in Bekaa Valley that is fully shielded from the sea is also largely shielded from rain making for ideal grape producing weather.

The terroir in the Bekaa Valley is quite varied (not unlike many other valleys that might have (in US terms) multiple AVAs within a single valley). With the Litani River flowing through the valley, farmland in the valley has its own natural water supply. The soil is diverse. Depending on the part of Bekaa Valley that you are standing in, you might be on red clay reminiscent of north Georgia (US) or limestone, two very different soils for growing grapes.

We've written previously about wines in Lebanon, but they have been red. But, two little-known white grapes are indigenous to the Bekaa Valley. Merwah is thought to be a relative of Semillon and Obaideh connected to Chardonnay.

We'd love to tell you exactly what these wines taste like, but that's difficult. While in most of the better known winemaking regions, winemakers aim for consistency in their wines. In other words, each winemaker wants or has a signature style. In Lebanon, however, and in the 12 wineries of Bekaa Valley, it is quite common for winemakers to experiment from year to year.

Merwah and Obaideh are often blended together. The composition of the blend itself will significantly alter the taste of a particular vintage. Merwah grows best in the gravelly soils like those found in the far west of the valley. Obaideh, on the other hand, loves the chalky limestone in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon Range on the east side of the valley.

These wines are somewhat unique in their pre-sale processes. Typically, likely due to the French influences in Lebanon, the grapes are blended and aged in the smaller and more slender barriques typically for up to a year. Then they are bottled and often age from 3 to 6 additional years in bottle. The result is an ageworthy white wine (15-20 years of improved life is common) that is best served at cellar temperatures of about 15C/59F and may benefit from decanting.

The resulting wine when young (relatively speaking) will be quite lemony, but dipped in honey. It will have the richness of a fine white Burgundy, but the dryness nearly of a Sancerre. As the wine ages, it begins to resemble a Sauternes, but not having that level of ageworthiness.

These wines pair wonderfully with the finest pate, but also love spicy food as well as most any seafood. They can be wonderful on their own, yet are extremely food friendly.

These are sadly not inexpensive wines, but we need to consider what we are comparing them to. We've put them up against the fines white Burgundy and Bordeaux, wines that may sell for $60 to more than $200, so at about $30 to $40, our Merway and Obaideh might be considered bargains.