Many of you would be positively surprised reading this now. I made my own wine! Those who know me, know that I help promote wines and wineries. But now, I have become a winemaker. A dream that came true in 2020.
I embarked on this journey because I was passionate about promoting wines, especially the Lebanese ones. There is definitely a great story to tell about each bottle, winemaker, winery, and everything in between. I was determined that the wine story from my country, Lebanon, needed to reach the world.
How It All Started?
When Eddie El Chami approached me to make wine in the North of Lebanon from grapes grown by small local farmers, I was reluctant but also very excited about the idea. “How can I make my own wine when I never did it before!”. It is true I completed WSET Level 2 thanks to the support of Elie Maamari. I also spent more than 10 years promoting wines all over the world, educating wine lovers on how to collaborate with wine brands to promote them, visiting wineries all over the world, all the while discovering their stories. As a marketer, I had to learn more about wine and the more I discovered this beautiful world the more passionate I became about wine and dreamt of making my own wine, someday, but I never thought it would be that soon. Eddie was very helpful, it was super fun to learn how to make the wine with him. He also introduced me to Rose, David and Chandler from Go There Wines who were looking for female winemakers.
Despite The Challenges, 2020 Was The Year
Coming from a background in marketing being a university lecturer a blogger, a trainer certainly made it more challenging. But guess what! I can tell the story of my wine from a different perspective. A story that can inspire everyone, especially women. A story that shows that despite all, in 2020 dreams come true. And this is exactly how I named my wine. When everything was collapsing, the world was shutting down there was hope. If you just put your heart at it, God has amazing timings to lift you up.
Just like everyone else in Lebanon, I was facing many challenges at different levels, my business, my health, the financial situation, the pandemic, covid hitting my direct family, teaching online, being away from my loved ones, being locked down and much more. It just sounded so surreal. Yet it happened.
How Did It Work For Me?
Today my wine is out there, and I am so proud of it. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Merwah, a perfect white wine for the summer. Merwah grapes are harvested from Wadi Annoubin, a dear region to my heart, where miracles happen.
I hope my story inspires every woman who is dreaming of doing something but doesn’t know how. Have faith, believe it will happen and it will. Want it from the bottom of your heart, study, learn, dedicate yourself to it and believe it.
My wine is available in the USA by Go There Wines. There is a limited quantity, I hope you get the chance to try it, if you do, send me your feedback, I would love to read about it.
It was an amazing journey and I am so grateful and I thank everyone who supported me and believed in me. Photo credits go to Hisham Assaad, he is not only a talented photographer, he is also a food stylist and author of the book Bayrūt The Cookbook available on amazon.
It is now time that another lady tells her story by making her wine and showing how beautiful the North of Lebanon is and how much potential it has.
Thank you for helping me spread my story to help motivate others.
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