# Lebnani Abyad Merwah & Sauvignon Blanc (2023)

- **Producer:** Mersel Wine
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Merwah, Sauvignon Blanc
- **Region:** North Lebanon, Lebanon
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.0%
- **Average price:** €22
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** orange, apricot, blossom, herbaceous

## About this wine

Mersel Wine was founded by Eddie Chami, an Australian-born winemaker with a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis. The winery takes its name from Maksar Mersel, the highest viticultural region in Lebanon. Lebnani Abyad translates to Lebanese White and is created to showcase Lebanese culture and hospitality. The wine is purposefully bottled in a 1-liter format rather than a standard bottle to encourage casual sharing among friends and family.

## Interesting facts

- Packaged in a 1-liter bottle to encourage casual sharing and celebrate Lebanese hospitality.
- The Merwah grapes are sourced from 150-year-old pre-phylloxera bush vines at 1,700 meters elevation.
- Mersel is named after Maksar Mersel, the highest viticultural zone in Lebanon at over 2,000 meters.

## Food pairing

The gentle tannic structure from skin maceration coupled with lively high-altitude acidity makes this skin-contact orange wine ideal for complex Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. The structural grip cuts through richness like olive oil and lamb fat, while balancing herbs, sumac, and citrus dressings.

## Wine making process

The grapes are grown organically at high altitudes around 1,700 meters above sea level. Sauvignon Blanc and Merwah are vinified separately in stainless steel tanks using natural yeasts. Sauvignon Blanc undergoes total skin maceration for five weeks with twice-daily punch-downs. Merwah undergoes slow skin-contact fermentation for three weeks. After pressing, both components are blended and undergo spontaneous malolactic fermentation before aging on fine lees for six to eight months.