Tag: wine

Enjoying an Ixir Grand Reserve Red 2016, a wine from North Lebanon

Lebanese Wines: Ixsir Grand Reserve Red 2016

Chris Khatsch1 Comment

Name: Ixsir Grand Reserve Red 2016
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2016
Country: Lebanon
Region: North Lebanon
Date Consumed: April 9, 2024

A wooden bowl filled
with black fruits and red fruits.
I feel I’m
on a hill constantly caressed by the wind
coming from the sea.

It’s a weeknight and friends are over
for barbecue
and for moments of loud laughter.

I uncorked this bottle minutes
before they arrived
and had a few sips,
looking for verses and notes
residing in the elixir,
looking for memories
I haven’t made yet.

Château Kefraya Les Exceptions Carignan

Lebanese Wines: Château Kefraya Les Exceptions Carignan

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Name: Château Kefraya Les Exceptions Carignan 2018
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Carignan
Year: 2018
Country: Lebanon
Region: Beqaa Valley
Date Consumed: January 28, 2024

A sunrise, a vineyard, stairs that invite you
to enter darkness.
Paintings on the walls of a cold, dark cellar
— unsmiling fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers.
Wines waiting, wines forgotten,
spiderwebs like dreamcatchers,
time machines in bottles.
Although you can’t travel back in time,
you can still experience the past
in the present
by drinking the potion.
But you know this very well:
We don’t drink wine to remember,
nor do we drink to forget.
We drink wine to make
memories that, in the future,
we might want to forget.

Wine of Adyar Monastère de Rechmaya 2012

Lebanese Wines: Adyar Monastère de Rechmaya

Chris Khatsch1 Comment

Name: Monastère de Rechmaya 2012
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet-Franc
Year: 2012
Country: Lebanon
Region: Chouf
Date Consumed: December 9, 2023

It was cold outside,
not as cold as it should have been,
but cold enough for wine to be drunk
to warm our spirits.

“Such a lovely restaurant,” one of us said
as we let the waiter lead us to our table.
Our table faced the fireplace —
“Such a lovely fireplace!” —
where the gentle fire performed
a belly dance.

We ordered arak first,
and then wine,
and then mezze.

And we talked until
our stomachs were full.

I must say,
This is the kindest December I’ve ever met.
It has rained a few times
but not enough times to convince people
that a new season has come.