Clos de Cana | Domaine des Tourelles
Clos de Cana
Clos de Cana, Vineyard of Cana, lies at the very heart of Mount Lebanon, in Ras el Harf area, 1000 meters above sea level and 18 kilometers from Beirut. It enjoys 3200 hours of sunshine per year.
Following a bitter 15 year civil war, the vineyard owner, Fadi, was driven to establish his vineyard for more than commercial reasons:
He explains, ‘The destruction wrought upon [my village] was a calamity for the community. Many lost their lives, most lost their livelihoods. I figured that if people want to come back to their property, they have to have something to do. […] The best way I thought was to go back to the land. To plant roots literally and spiritually.’
(pg 238, Wines of Lebanon, Michael Karam, 2005 SAQI)
Fadi planted his first vines in 1998 and his first wine was produced in 2001. Uniquely, this vineyard produces wine made from the Lebanese mountains as opposed to the more common Bekaa Valley, this makes Clos de Cana wines rare, even amongst Lebanese wines. The vineyard stretches over ancient terraced slopes and enjoys an ideal climate.
The finest varieties of French grapes and the refined Mediterranean varieties are grown on its limestone clayey-stony soil. The variety of Clos de Cana wines reliably portrays the very features of their nurturing environment. Each type of wine reflects the truthfulness of Lebanese mountains as well as the state-of-the-art manufacturing set up.
Domaine des Tourelles
The Domaine des Tourelles, situated in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, 1000m above sea level, dates back to the 19th century. François-Eugène Brun, founder of the Domaine des Tourelles, was born in Chézery (Ain – France). This young military engineer left his village for Marseille where he settled. Then, when hired by an Ottoman company in charge of building the Beirut-Damascus road, François-Eugène settled in Lebanon, in a village called Chtaura located in the Bekaa Valley.
Captivated by the plain’s touching charm and green scenery that evoked memories of his nearby homeland, he founded, in 1868, the Domaine des Tourelles which became the first commercial cellar in Lebanon producing wines, Arak (Lebanon’s alcohol beverage) and other spirits. 
The distillery soon prospered and flourished with high demands on the cellar’s products. Brun’s passion for wine made his reputation as a wine grower, a reputation reaching beyond Lebanon; in fact, Brun soon won gold, silver and bronze medals in international wine contests. Over time, François-Eugène Brun’s descendants preserved the traditional aspect lying beneath the quality of the House’s products. The last of them all, Pierre Louis Brun (third generation) died in 2000. The Domaine was then inherited by his cousins in Paris and New Caledonia, who chose to sell the century-old property to the cousin of Margot Pierre Brun and to an old friend of the family.
Today, Domaine des Tourelles’ products are the result of an alliance between the modern enterprise concept and the traditional processes of a legendary Domaine that claims the most prestigious Arak and the oldest wine distillery in Lebanon.