Great Wines take the spirit on a quest,
that of leisure and that of zest,
allow your buds the taste to soak,
great wines aged in mighty oak.
George Hanna Riachi (1930-2013)
A Legacy of Crafting Worthy Wines & Spirits
Claiming to be the oldest winery in Lebanon is simply absurd in a land that has be crafting wines and spirits since the dawn of civilization. What we can say is that we have dedicated 8 generations and more than 180 years of developing and crafting worth wines and spirits that would make any cultured Lebanese proud.
In keeping with this tradition, Riachi winery & distillery became the first and only Lebanese enterprise to become a registered member in the “American Distilling Institute” and certified as craft distillers. We are also affiliated with the UK based “International Drinks Specialists” that evaluate and rate wines and spirits.
Keeping Traditions Alive
Cultural preservation is a core belief of ours, and in keeping with our beliefs, in 2018 we revived the tradition of making Lebanese “Faqsh” wine, which is the “Baladi” way of producing wine in Mount Lebanon. Grape must is cooked pre-fermentation, the fresh grapes are crushed on its surface to re-activate the wild yeast for fermentation. It’s an intensely aromatic style of wine with very low tannins content, which allows it to be consumed chilled, and a perfect Mezza companion.
At the Forefront of the Craft
Distillation has been at the core of our craft since Moussa Riachi started production of Arak more than 180 years ago, and we’ve been developing this craft ever since. In the early 1900’s Hanna Nicolas Riachi started introducing brandy and sweet macerated liqueurs. However the evolution did not stop with Hanna, in 2012 we started experimenting with malting grains and distilling ales, and the ensuing year we filled our fist vat to age the first Lebanese single malt whisky “ATHYR”, which was launched in 2019, a year after we launched our contemporary gin “Junipium” in 2018.