Wine support plan unveiled

Brazil to host Lebanese Wine Day in 2014

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and local wineries are planning several activities to help promote local wines. “A conference about the local wine industry will be held in Beirut from September 30 till October 4,” said Louis Lahoud, Director General at the MoA.

Elie Maamari, Export Manager at Chateau Ksara, said: “The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) will be visiting Lebanon in early September to inspect local wineries and make sure they are implementing international wine production standards.” The OIV will give recommendations to the Lebanese Institute of Wine and Vine about grape growing and wine production, Maamari said.

The MoA, along with local wineries, held the Lebanese Wine Day in France on May 14 where local wineries displayed their produce and explored potential trade opportunities. More than 1,000 people attended the event, said Maamari: “Owners of hotels and restaurants and journalists from all over the world were present.”

Lahoud said a similar event is being planned for South America: “We are currently studying the logistics with Brazil.” According to Lahoud, the purpose behind holding these events is to increase the size of exports to various markets worldwide: “A Lebanese Wine Day in South America would boost our exports to these countries, and open new markets to our products.”

Rhéa Semaan, Commercial Delegate at Chateau Kefraya, said the Wine Day will be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2014. “Sao Paolo was chosen because of the huge Lebanese diaspora there. Moreover, the amounts of wine exported to Brazil are diminutive, and we need to increase our overall exports to Latin America,” said Semaan. Another Wine Day is also under negotiation to be held in China at a later stage.