Arak or araq is a distilled Levantine spirit of the anise drinks family. It is translucent and unsweetened.
Chateau Musar is a Lebanese winery located in Ghazir, Lebanon, 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of the capital Beirut. Musar grapes grow in the Beqaa Valley, a fertile sunny valley at an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), situated 40 km (25 mi) east of Beirut.
Lebanese cuisine is the culinary traditions and practices originating from Lebanon. It includes an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten, it is usually lamb and goat meat. Dishes include copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, and dishes are often seasoned with salt and lemon juice. Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Lebanese diet.
André Viktorovich Tchelistcheff was America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker. Tchelistcheff is most notable for his contributions toward defining the style of California's best wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. Called the "dean of American winemakers", industry pioneers, such as Rev. John Staten of Field Stone Winery, Robert Mondavi, Louis Martini, Rob Davis of Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Joel Aiken, Michael Silacci of Opus One, Greg La Follette, of Ancient Oak, and Rick Sayre of Rodney Strong Wine Estates, considered him their mentor. Andre advised Warren Winiarski in launching Stag's Leap Wine Cellars which famously made the 1973 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon that was awarded the most points in the ”Judgement of Paris” wine tasting in 1976. Andre also assisted Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in launching the Anthology program at Conn Creek Winery in 1991.
Miljenko "Mike" Grgich was a Croatian-American winemaker in California. He was the winemaker behind the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that bested several white Burgundy wines in the wine tasting event that became known as the Judgement of Paris. In recognition of his contributions to the American wine industry, Grgich was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America's Vintner's Hall of Fame on March 7, 2008. The tribute came at the same time that Grgich was celebrating his 50th vintage of winemaking in the Napa Valley.
Enologix is a privately held California corporation that designs predictive analytics for luxury winegrowing. The company sells grape and wine quality indices, models, software and consulting products. Enologix created the first algorithms that predict grape harvest dates, grading new wines, digital blends, and future market price, volume and taste scores. The most important metric among winemakers are digital blends and a taste index which predicts 100-point scores of consumer critics such as Robert Parker. It claims that the quality of wine can be measured chemically, and a score assessed, much like a wine critic. Clients include Beaulieu, Cakebread Cellars, Diamond Creek, Ridge Vineyards. Enologix's metrics have been correlated with market performance metrics, including 100-points critics' scores.
Lebanon is among the oldest sites of wine production in the world. The Israelite prophet Hosea is said to have urged his followers to return to God so that "they will blossom as the vine and fame be like the wine of Lebanon, [and] their fragrance will be like that of Lebanon". The Phoenicians of the coastal strip were instrumental in spreading wine and viticulture throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times.
Paul Draper is a California winemaker who has been the chief winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in California since 1969. Without any formal training in winemaking, Draper first gained recognition for his 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon when it placed fifth at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting. Draper has played a significant role in the history of California wine through his pioneering work in popularizing "vineyard-designated" wines as well as instigating the resurgence of old vine Zinfandel. Along with Ravenswood Winery's Joel Peterson, Draper is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Californian Zinfandel, rescuing the grape from obscurity and demonstrating its full potential as a serious wine. Draper was featured in a short film titled Terroir and directed by Christopher McGilvray which was shown at the 2017 Cinequest Film Festival.
Youssef Gergi Abed, also known as Pépé Abed, was a Lebanese explorer and entrepreneur. He was dubbed as the 'Hugh Hefner of the Middle East', he was frequently linked with a series of beauty icons from around the world.
Anissa Helou is a London-based chef, teacher, and author. She specializes in cooking and writing recipes for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently lives in London and runs a cooking school, "Anissa's School."
Château Ksara is a winery in Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. it is located in the town of Ksara near Zahle. It was founded in 1857 by Jesuit priests.
Massaya is a Lebanese winery and arak distillery owned and operated by the Ghosn brothers Sami and Ramzi. Situated in the north of the Beqaa Valley near Chtaura and Zahlé, 38 km from Baalbek, the winery and distillery are located on the Tanaïl property, which is also home to vineyards and a restaurant. The Beqaa Valley has an extensive history of viticulture dating back over 5,000 years to the Phoenicians. The northern Bekaa has traditionally been a favoured terroir for viticulture, especially since the beginning of the last century. Vines have also been introduced in the southern Bekaa as part of the recent surge in the number of wineries established in Lebanon.
Chinook is a Washington winery located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Founded in 1983 by the wife and husband team of Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook was one of the pioneering wineries that established Prosser, Washington as a major wine-producing region in Washington state. Kay Simon, who began her career after graduating in 1976 from University of California-Davis in California's San Joaquin Valley and at Chateau Ste. Michelle, was one of the first female winemaker in Washington State. Chinook wines are widely regarded for their quality and help spread recognition for Washington wines. They are considered by wine experts such as Paul Gregutt to be "the classic expression of Yakima Valley fruit". Chinook's work with Cabernet franc, in particular, has garnered the statewide acclaim with the dry Cabernet franc rosé often described in wine reviews as a "Washington Chinon".
Clark Robert Smith is a pioneering innovator in the wine industry. He is largely respected for his contributions to winemakers and the wine industry of California and worldwide. He has built many successful brands, consults on five continents, judges wines at several competitions and teaches winemaking in six universities.
Daniel Baron is an American winemaker. He is best known for his work with the Duncan family-owned Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars, and was Director of Winemaking for both. After his retirement in 2017, he launched Complant Wine with his son, Sam Baron, to produce small production, artisanal, single vineyard wines. Originally a field worker for John Rolleri at Chateau Montelena, he gained experience in the Bordeaux region of France and was mentored by the likes of grape geneticist Professor Harold Olmo, and winemakers Jean-Claude Berrouet and Justin Meyer. He became general manager of Christian Moueix's Dominus Estate in the 1980s. He became winemaker for Silver Oak, an exclusive Cabernet Sauvignon producer, in 1994, and was trained by Justin Meyer to follow in his footsteps as Silver Oak's winemaker before Meyer’s retirement in 2001. In 1999, Baron was instrumental in persuading the Duncans to establish Twomey to pursue Merlot, Pinot noir, and Sauvignon blanc after discovering high quality Merlot grapes on Silver Oak’s Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard. He has served on boards such as the American Society of Enology and Viticulture and the Napa Valley Wine Technical Group.
Jean-Claude Berrouet is a French winemaker. World-renowned in his field and in Merlot production, he is best known for his work with Jean Pierre Moueix at the famous Chateau Petrus and Dominus Estate, also owned by the Moueix family. The Oakland Tribune considers Petrus under Berrouet to be "arguably one of the world's most revered and most expensive wines." He is known for making wines of subtlety and nuance that are considered the counterpoint of Michel Rolland.
Vinologue is a publisher of an enotourism guidebook series of the same name. It was founded by Miquel Hudin in 2007 with the guides are designed to allow those interested in enotourism to visit "Big Wines from Small Regions" as they focus exclusively on the wines as well as the gastronomy and local culture of small regions throughout the world.
Barbara Abdeni Massaad is a Lebanese-American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, and TV host. She is the author of several cookbooks, including Man’oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery and Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry, which have been translated into French and Arabic, respectively.
El Namroud is a Lebanese-Israeli brand of arak, manufactured in the eponymous distillery in the Goren Industrial Area, Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council, in the Upper Galilee. The distillery was founded by Elias Karam, one of the South Lebanon Army militiamen who fled to Israel after the year 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, with aid from General Antoine Lahad, a relative of Karam.
