Domaine des Tourelles - Lebanon's First Commercial Winery

How to Complete

4 steps to experience this fully

1. 📜 1

   Find the Building That Has Not Changed Since 1868

   history Free

   Stand at the cellar doors of Domaine des Tourelles, Chtaura, and do the math: this building was standing before the Eiffel Tower was built. François-Eugène Brun — a French engineer who was supposed to widen a road for the Ottoman Empire — fell so hard for this valley he built a hotel and planted vines instead. The cement fermentation tanks inside are the originals with 150-year dark patina. Walk the exterior grounds at no charge (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat–Sun 9am–6pm).

   🔄 BACKUP: If the winery is between tour groups, staff will often let you step inside the cellar briefly before your official tour slot.

   🍷 Log Memory
2. 🍷 2

   Descend into the Arak Cellar Where Triple Distillation Meets 10-Year Clay Jars

   wine $$

   Most arak producers do two distillations. Domaine des Tourelles does THREE — triple distillation in artisanal copper alembics inside the 155-year-old cellars (guided tour $10, book at domainedestourelles.com). Then the spirit goes into old Lebanese clay jars to age for 10 years. The guide will take you past rows of clay jars — ask to smell the difference between young arak and the 10-year. Winemaker Faouzi Issa left CHÂTEAU MARGAUX to make arak in clay jars here.

   🔄 BACKUP: If fully booked, the shop sells Arak Brun Special Reserve 10 Years — you can taste the result without the tour.

   🍷 Log Memory
3. 🍷 3

   Taste the Wine Made from Vines the Phoenicians Left Behind

   wine $$

   The Merwah Skin orange wine is made from an indigenous Lebanese grape — DNA analysis suggests Merwah traces its lineage directly to the Phoenicians. During the tasting under the enormous walnut tree (included in $10 tour), ask for the Merwah by name. Faouzi ferments it in 19th-century clay amphoras, skin contact for 7 days, indigenous yeasts only. You are drinking wine made the way Phoenicians would have — from 150-year-old native vines, aged in the same material they used to ship wine to Egypt 2,700 years ago.

   🔄 BACKUP: If the Merwah is unavailable, the Marquis des Beys red alone justifies the visit — Wine Alchemy's Wine of the Year 2020.

   🍷 Log Memory
4. ⛰️ 4

   Request the Arak Brun 10-Year — The Spirit That Outlasted a Civil War

   Optional

   adventure $

   Arak Brun has been produced continuously at this winery since 1868 — through two World Wars, Lebanon's 15-year civil war, the 2020 Beirut port explosion. At the shop after the tour, ask for 'Arak Brun Special Reserve Dix Ans' (10 years) — triple distillation in copper alembics, then 10 years in Lebanese clay jars at 53% ABV. To drink it properly: serve in a short glass, add cold water until it turns milky white, then ice. The ratio is roughly 1 part arak to 2 parts water.

   🔄 BACKUP: If the 10-year is sold out, the 5-year Special Reserve shows the same clay-jar character at a younger stage.

   🍷 Log Memory