
Chateau Khoury Wines
- Dhour Zahle, Bekaa
- 50K bottles/year
- 13 Ha
The vineyard is a family business born out of Raymond and Brigitte El Khoury’s passion for the vine and wine. The first vines for wine production were planted in 1995 on a land that had been abandoned after the Lebanese civil war. Before the war these vineyard plots had been planted for the manufacture of the famous Arak of Zahle. Old vines and old indigenous grape strains were found in the ground during the early work of trenching and grading.
[continue reading...]Today the vineyard covers 15 hectares around the Château. The construction of the winery began in 2002 and was completed in time to host the first vinification in 2004. After studying oenology at the Faculty of Reims, Raymond and Brigitte’s son Jean-Paul returned to the château to add the knowledge he acquired during his travels to the best French vineyards to his parents’ wine-making experience. Château Khoury enjoys a privileged location in the eastern foothills of Mount Lebanon at an altitude of 1,300 meters.
The vineyard’s altitude gives the vines exceptional exposure while maintaining the aridity of the plain in summer. The chateau overlooks the city of Zahle and offers panoramic views of the Bekaa valley and Mount Hermon. The buildings are built of cut stone, and they respect the purest traditional Lebanese style in order to blend in with this postcard landscape.
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