Our lunch with Massaya

Last week’s Spectator Winemaker’s Lunch with Sami Ghosn of Massaya was an instant a sell-out. For some reason it was also our first ever all-male lunch; more fool the girls, for Sami is nothing if not a charmer and his wines are outstanding.

Almost everyone has heard of Chateau Musar, which famously blazed the Lebanese wine trail, and very fine its wines are too. My late, greatly lamented predecessor, Simon Hoggart, was a huge fan and we ran a very successful Musar offer only the other week. Massaya (meaning twilight) might not boast Musar’s history, being a relatively new kid on the block, but it has been a true game changer and has done much to bring Lebanese wines to a wider audience. Where Musar led, Massaya followed in dramatic style.

Many folk new to Musar and Massaya are surprised that Lebanon can make wine at all but, as Sami explained over lunch, certain well-documented human conflicts aside, the Lebanon is a blessed place to grow grapes and make wine.