B for Bacchus

Our first episode of 2020 is with Alex Rowell, author of Vintage Humor: The Islamic Wine Poetry of Abu Nuwas. Farrah talks to Alex about who Abu Nuwas was and what his poetry meant to Arabic literature, Islam, and wine. Don't miss the announcements at the end.

Encyclopedia Britannica: Arabic Literature

SPECIAL NYE RELEASE: Today marks the 5th anniversary of Serge Hochar’s passing. This episode is dedicated to the wine legend. Farrah speaks to his son, Marc Hochar, about the philosophy of Chateau Musar and what it means to believe.

GQ: A Wine Worth Fighting For

Decanter: Remembering Serge

NYTimes: Eric Asimov on Chateau Musar

For a special Christmas release, B for Bacchus leaves Lebanon for the first time and talks to Fadi Batarseh of Cremisan, a West Bank winery near Bethlehem. Farrah asks Fadi about his thesis on the area’s indigenous grapes and what it’s like to be part of the first winery in Palestine.

Grapevine training & pruning, illustrated

Haaretz 2014 article: Italy’s Vintners to the Rescue of Cremisan Monks

SommSelect’s Master Sommelier, Ian Cauble, tries Cremisan wines

Part 2 of 2 episodes where Farrah talks to brother-sister duos from two Bekaa Valley wineries. In both episodes/wineries, the older sister handles marketing & sales while the younger brother is in charge of winemaking. They've got a lot in common but the main similarity for both teams is that they came back to Lebanon for one thing: to build a winery together.

Part 2 features Eddy & Eva Naim of Chateau Qanafar.

Part 1 of 2 episodes where Farrah talks to brother-sister duos from two Bekaa Valley wineries. In both episodes/wineries, the older sister handles marketing & sales while the younger brother is in charge of winemaking. They've got a lot in common but the main similarity for both teams is that they came back to Lebanon for one thing: to build a winery together.

Part 1 features Peter & Aida Skaff of Reserve Ammiq.

A special 3-in-1 this time around: Thouraya Karam of Karam Wines, Joanna Gerges of Chateau Cana, and Andrea Geara of Aurora Winery. Each of these three young women represents a family-run winery in a different region of Lebanon and they are each important members of their wineries' 2nd generation. Over a bottle of Karam's Arcenciel rosé, the ladies share what all of that means. 

A for Arak by Oliver Weinfeld

Mashrou' Leila Tracks:

Inni Mnih

Marrikh - Live at AUB Assembly Hall

Radio Romance

Cavalry

Maher Harb, the winemaker at the young Sept Winery in the small Batroun village of Nahla, is the only biodynamic winemaker in Lebanon. Farrah talks to him to find out what that means and what it took to start Sept, a project that's a tribute to his late father. 

Sept Winery

Farrah talks to Hady Kahale, wine consultant, manager of Batroun's Atibaia, and husband of Episode 2's guest, Jennifer Massoud. Hady is the co-founder of Ixsir Winery, which is now one of the big names in Lebanon, and he also happens to be the only Lebanese MW candidate. We talk to him about the nature of the wine industry in Lebanon and what still needs to be done for everyone to succeed together. 

Read Hady's article in the October issue of Executive Magazine here.

Farrah sits down with Jennifer Massoud of Atibaia winery in Batroun, a wine region north of Beirut. As one of the smallest, if not THE smallest, boutique wineries in a tiny country, business isn't done like a commercial winery with massive output. Luckily, wine isn't something new to her & her family. Jennifer discusses what came before Atibaia by talking about what was in the pages that led to this new chapter.

In the very FIRST episode of the B for Bacchus podcast, Farrah talks to Eddie Chami from Couvent Rouge, a winery in the Bekaa Valley's Deir el Ahmar. This particular area is known for its (illegal) fields of cannabis. Eddie talks about the region's gradual transition from cannabis to wine, what Couvent Rouge has been trying to do after so many farmers made the switch, and the potential of Lebanon's neighbors when it comes to wine. 

Get tickets to visit Couvent Rouge on Nov 23rd here.