Domaine des Tourelles is Lebanon’s oldest commercial winery and is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary – noisily, thanks to the current co-owner and winemaker, 34-year-old Faouzi Issa.
The winery was founded in Chtaura by civil engineer François-Eugène Brun and was taken over by the (unrelated) Issa and Issa-El-Khoury families 20 years ago. Today it is run by Faouzi and his sisters and Émile Issa-El-Khoury. Faouzi is particularly proud that the winery is actually based in the Bekaa Valley, and that he is a Bekaa boy. (He does a fine imitation of the sound of explosions across the Syrian border five...