2014 Château Cana – Jardin Secret

This wine’s unique bouquet can be attributed to its 100% tenor in a traditional Lebanese grape ‘Sabbaghieh’.

Grown in villagers’ gardens, ‘Sabbaghieh’ grapes deliver a wine that is dense and deep, offering the specific taste of sunny grapes. The vines are planted on terraces; and consequently the grapes are handpicked during the harvest season, which is softer on the vines and helps with the quality control, such as dismissing under ripe or rotten grapes. The sorted grapes are quickly de-stemmed and crushed. With our minimal intervention model of wine making, the must (or juice) can begin fermenting naturally within 6-12 hours. After around 5 weeks of fermentation, maturing of Jardin Secret takes place naturally by allowing the wine to rest in stainless tanks to undergo the malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in oak barrels to add complexity, reduce the acidity and round the tannins.

Technical Information

• Year: 2014
• Grape variety: 100% Sobbaghieh
• Fermentation: In stainless steel tanks
• Maturing: 6 months in second use oak barrels of 225 Liters
• Alcohol content: 14%
• Serving temperature: 12-18°C
• Altitude: The vines are located 900 meters above sea levels. They are hand picked and sorted on the spot.
• Yield: The average yield per vine doesn’t exceed 2 kilograms. The majority of our vines stretch over ancient terraced slopes and enjoy 300 days of sunshine a year.
• Talking points: Sobbaghie is a Lebanese grape.

Said Touma came from a family with a long history in the alcohol business and founded Clos St. Thomas in 1997. The winery was named after the chapel of St. Thomas, found in the heart of the vineyards.

Arak Touma is distilled four times using a variety of grapes and quality aniseed.

Arak Massaya has a beguiling aniseed flavor and freshness that cleans the palate and aids digestion. It is often served as an aperitif and then as the perfect accompaniment to classic selections of mezze, the array of tasty dishes with contrasting flavours that is the starting point for many lunchtime or evening meals.

Arak works particularly well with the mezze melange that will include olives, spices, meat and cheese flavors that are sometimes harder to match with wine.

Arak Baladi  is initially a pretty new arak varieties.

This Lebanese arak, however, belongs to the favorites among the compatriots already. Thus, however, this is also becoming more and more famous!

Finally, the Arak Baladi  is both strong and elegant.

The strong aroma is clearly noticeable in the bouquet as well as in the taste. In this respect, this brandy also has an honest and traditional effect on the drinker. Accordingly, gentle nuances of licorice unfold here again.

A really clear and honest arak from Lebanon. And despite its intense and impulsive personality, this arak still seems very approachable. Accordingly, even a little too seductive. Because once you start drinking it, some people might find it hard to stop. Especially if the the arak is drunk chilled and of course with ice cubes in the summer.

However, this brandy can be drunk with numerous dishes. Among them, of course, raw meat such as tartar or carpaccio. However, this arak is indeed one of the few varieties that can be drunk on its own.

Pale Lager style beer brewed by Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. in Beirut, Lebanon.

2.7% Alc.

Named after François-Eugène Brun, Arak Brun might be the world’s most famous arak! Its production has been uninterrupted since the inception of the winery in 1868. It is made from the alcohol of estate grown Obeidi and Cinsault grapes, harvested at optimum ripeness, and blended with fresh anise. Since 2015, Domaine des Tourelles grows its own anise in Deir el Ahmar, a village in the district of Baalbek. Their arak is produced inside a hundred-year-old cellar, processed traditionally using a three-stage distillation in traditional alembics, and aged in clay jars.

Arak is not sweetened.

Serve with water – ice can be added.

53% ABV.