Word: lebanons
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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, already reeling from criticism over his handling of last summer's botched war in Lebanon, took another heavy blow on Monday with the announcement that he faces a criminal probe for alleged bribery in a property deal...
...Admittedly, Lebanon - which makes about 6 million bottles of wine a year - is one of the world's smallest producers. But its wines are smooth and tasty, and a few of the country's dozen or so commercial labels are internationally renowned. For a recent dinner of frogs legs, thick yogurt, and saut?ed liver, Ramzi invited a TIME correspondent to drink a Massaya classic red, not one of his fanciest, but one that best reflects the region, with a peppery taste and smells of mint and thyme. The humble cinsualt grape he uses doesn't have a strong personality...
...Perhaps it was the bottle of red, or the ros?, or the arak, or the starry Bekaa night, but suddenly it all started to make sense: We were drinking for Lebanon. The Lebanese economy is now hugely dependent on aid from foreign powers - who have turned the country into a regional battleground - and also on the foreign tourism that has turned Beirut into an Oriental Disneyland for the privileged few. But if foreigners start quaffing Lebanese wine en masse, Bekaa valley vineyards could become incubators for economic independence and environmental sustainability: In vino, libertas. Come to think of it, Israel...
...Unfortunately, Lebanon's recent troubles cloud the outlook for the wine industry. This year, impoverished Bekaa farmers took advantage of the security forces' being distracted by the protracted battle against Islamist radicals holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp, to plant another of the Bekaa's fabled crops: hashish. Hashish farming threatens to gobble up land that could be used for vineyards, and creates a get-rich-quick gangster culture that's at odds with the patient investment necessary to produce wine...
...Following last summer's war with Israel, an ongoing political crisis, and a string of assassinations, Lebanon's reputation hangs in the balance. "Wine develops as long as the country where it is produced conveys positive values," Ramzi explained. No one wanted to drink South African wine during apartheid, and Chile couldn't sell its wine as long as Pinochet was in power. "Wine is a journey," he said. "And who want to travel to a country that conveys negative values...