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LEBANON
DISCOVERY
CHATEAU KSARA
The Roman Tunnels underneath the chateau were
discovered when priests noticed that their chicken
went missing and followed a fox to its hideout. They
discovered tunnels of around 2 km long at a depth
of between 8-12m. The same tunnels served as a safe
house during WW1. People in the tunnels enlarged
their width which remains the same today. The
Roman Tunnels are ideal for storage as the temperature
is constantly between 10-12 °C with high humidity
that reaches 80%.
The Observatory at Chateau Ksara, the first of its
kind in the Middle East, was used by the Jesuits to
record rainfall and seismic activity. This landmark
of the Bekaa was to become one of Ksara’s flagship
wines, the Blanc de l’Observatoire. Today, Chateau
Ksara’s range of internationally award-winning
wines includes 11 blends and 4 single varietals of red,
white and rosé wines.
KISSED BY THE SUN
GABRIEL RIVERO, WINEMAKER (CENTER), AURELIE THOROS, MARKETING MANAGER (RIGHT),
AND GENERAL MANAGER TALAL MADI (LEFT) IN FRONT OF IXSIR WINERY’S ENTRANCE
Known to many across the world as the potion of
youth and love, Ixsir is a Lebanese winery founded in
2008 and located in the village of Basbina, Batroun,
in Northern Lebanon. The winery is set in a refurbished
and renovated traditional, 17th-century
Lebanese house that is as charming as the natural
surroundings, vineyards, trees and landscaped decor.
Walking into the winery prompts a sense of awe, with
its white stones and traditional stone arches. One can
overlook the stairs to the cellar to see the IXSIR logo
carefully crafted in the floor.
The high-ceiling, reinforced concrete cellar entrance
with its minimal lighting converges towards the
door leading into the winery. The hall is used as an
art gallery where informative videos about IXSIR are
shown.
The winery’s architecture has won several awards
including the International Architizer and A+ award.
IXSIR’s goal is to showcase Lebanon’s outstanding
terroirs, some of which have been lost to time. The
vineyards, which are dispersed across 120 hectares
over the mountains of Lebanon on calcareousclay
and limestone soils, from Batroun to Jezzine,
are farmed sustainably and take advantage of the
62 AUTUMN 2023 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE