EL Massaya Arak – 75 cl

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.

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.

Chateau Ksara Sunset Rose, an intense pink colour with an aroma of red berries and a hint of spiciness, with an initial roundness in the mouth, and finishing with a fresh and vivid taste. Winemaking & maturing Selected from the best vats of red grapes, this wine is obtained by bleeding. After 10 to 14 hours of maceration, fermentation is done at a low temperature (18°C). Once the alcoholic fermentation is completed, the wine is racked-off and sulphured to avoid malolactic fermentation. Once it has stabilised, SUNSET is bottled in the spring, to preserve its ripe fruit flavours. Ageing Better appreciated the first year; it can be kept for up to 2 years in a good cellar. Serving This fresh robust wine, with its slightly spicy aroma, is the ideal accompaniment to Mediterranean or Oriental cuisine. It also complements raw vegetables and cold meat. It should be served chilled (8-10°C) in order to reveal its spicy flavour, freshness and balance.

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Arak Fakra is an extra special baladi Arak, distilled in keeping with the ancestral Lebanese traditions with a selection of clusters of grapes and top-quality aniseed. It is then aged until maturity in baked clay jars which gives it a taste unlike any other.

Arak is the national Lebanese beverage. Today, over 100 years later, this family's descendants perpetuate the traditions of the Lebanese mountain by producing with the same method and according to the same formula that rare arak bearing the name of Arak Fakra, a name inspired by a prestigious site of that mountain situated at an altitude of more then 1500 meters. Already long before our era, the Romans had chosen this area to raise temples devoted to their divinities among which that of Venus and monuments honoring emperor Claudius (10AC - 54AD) whose name was Baalgalassos. The shadow of these temples' ruins still hands today over the cellars where Arak Fakra comes to maturity.

Winemaking: The grapes are manually harvested, totally stemmed and transferred to tank in order to achieve the alcoholic fermentation. The Cinsault is shortly vatted to keep the freshness, the Syrah and Mourvedre are kept for a longer time to extract the aroma and spices, and the Cabernet-Sauvignon undergoes long skin contact to express length and elegance. The free flowing and press wine achieve the malolactic fermentation in different vats.

Maturing: The grape varietals are matured separately in vats for 14 to 18 months before being blended, fined and bottled. Taste: Its bright intense ruby red colour, with an exotic fruity aroma along with spicy and licorice notes make it a wine to remember. The mellow and supple tannins produce a persisting length on the Palate Ageing It can be drunk upon purchase or kept for 2 to 3 years in a good cellar.

Serving: Its easy flowing taste suits daily consumption and goes along very well with leg of lamb and stew

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Arak Kefraya is a white Anise liqueur.

Its process goes through 4 distillations and is made by Chateau Kefraya.

And it is the best fresh anise traditionally from Lebanon, it can be enjoyed as an aperitif with water and ice cubes.