I would be harder on myself about the tardiness of this blog post going up but it's been an ordeal getting all the pictures from our wine tour. I can upload about 3 pictures at a time and then either the power goes out or my computer runs out of internet "traffic". Enough complaining, let me show you this great tour we went on.
This was the first tour that we went on of something that wasn't through the school. The company, Vamos Todos, does hiking tours, wine tours, trips to the beach and even out of the country tours. This wine tour went to three different wineries mainly in the Batroun region.
First we visited the Trappiste Priests winery. We had a typical Lebanese breakfast of cheeses, bread, olives, flatbread and then some of the jams they make. They are a pretty small winery and but they produce a high quality organic wine. We got the chance to wander through the winery before the very nice and very French priest told us all about the wine making in a language I don't know. Fortunately, a very nice Lebanese woman translated everything to me that he said to us.
Our second stop on the tour was in a town called Ghazir. Chateaux Musar looked like just a huge house on the side of the hill but ended up being an old 17th century castle. The winery is famous locally and internationally and was established by Gaston Hochar in 1930. The vineyards of Château Musar are located at an altitude of over 1,000 meters in the Bekaa Valley. The wines of Château Musar are known for their complexity and maturity.
First we visited the Trappiste Priests winery. We had a typical Lebanese breakfast of cheeses, bread, olives, flatbread and then some of the jams they make. They are a pretty small winery and but they produce a high quality organic wine. We got the chance to wander through the winery before the very nice and very French priest told us all about the wine making in a language I don't know. Fortunately, a very nice Lebanese woman translated everything to me that he said to us.
Pictures of the monastery:
The breakfast spread plus all the wines for us to try. We had a fun group from all over the world.
Some of the wines that we tried.
Me and the friendly French priest. I think French (in addition to the Lebanese Arabic I need desperately need to learn) is going to be my next language.
Ryan's principal, Fabio and us.
The person taking this photograph made me pretend to be drinking (out of an empty glass!), thus why I can't not smile.
Outside there was a little garden on the way to the gift shop.
The wine barrel cleaner person. Awesome job- you get too hot in the roasting summer weather, just spray yourself with some water and go get a drink of wine.
Entrance to the production area. They not only make wines but also Arak. If you don't know about it read up on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arak_(drink) It was both mine and Ryan's first taste of it and definitely my last. Black licorice flavor is similar to eating tires and skunks in my book.
Grape skins after being pressed.
The Arak barrels. I'll admit it smelled a little less like tires and skunks in here and more like Christmas.
Then we headed in the cellar to see all the barrels of wine and the bottles sleeping in their spiderwebby slumber.
Apparently, the spiderwebs help insulate and regulate the temperature of the wine. Also, the spiders themselves eat all the bugs that might eat the corks and spoil the wine.
Fellow ACS teacher friends, Mike and Gretchen.
Ryan with a super old bottle of wine that we got in trouble for touching. Oops! Ryan would be smiling more but I was whining and all freaked out because we might get caught.
The wines we tasted. Don't get me started on the tour lady. Let's just say I might have had a small fantasy about smashing one of these over her head to get her to shut up or quit counting over and over again on her fingers.
Then we went to the monastery of Kfifan, where where we visited Saint Neemtallah el Hardini and the beatified monk, Estephan Nehmeh. Yeah, I still haven't found out who they are but the gift shop sure sells a lot of stuff with their faces on it! Then we saw the winery of Adyar, located in the monastery of Kfifan. Adyar was established in 2003, cultivating vineyards in Batroun, Metn and Chouf, and producing unique wines. The vineyards are not exposed to any chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
View of one of the vineyards,
The tombs.
You can't see it but there is actually a mummified dead guy laying there. I think there should have been a warning on a sign somewhere. The little kid next to me asked his mom if the guy was made of plastic.
Adyar produces white, rose and red wines and we got to try them all. This was the first well organized winery tasting, in my opinion. We even got little crackers to snack on and bottles of water! Thank you Adyar!
Our group at Adyar.
After a long day, we were ready for some good food! Batrouniyat is an old house made of stone walls. The shop sells homemade jam, oil, dried fruits, honey, pickled vegetables and other organic foods and goods. It was delicious and just like the rest of the traditional Lebanese meals, I was beyond stuffed afterwards. Ugh.
We had to cram so many people in the car that Mike offered to sit in the trunk to keep an eye on all the wine we bought. Isn't he so kind?
Thank you Mark (from Vamos Todos) for a great tour!
And now for your moment of zen...
Many thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I do know this was a very interesting post thanks for writing it!
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