March 01, 2023 - 0 comments
Sept Winery: a pioneering natural wine estate in Lebanon
In the northern mountains of Lebanon, Sept Winery was born from a desire to revive family land and cultivate it with purpose and passion. The idea first took shape as a dream when Maher was living in France and working as an IT consultant. During a journey of self-healing and the search for happiness, he found his way back to his father’s land and to the deep connection to nature they once shared.
Wine was the spark. With every glass he drank, Maher found himself imagining a vineyard of his own in Lebanon. He felt it would bring him true fulfillment. So he returned to his roots, determined to revive the land he had inherited from his father.
In 2010, he planted 5,000 vines by hand in tribute to him. In 2016, his first vintage was born in the garage of his home, before the winery’s main building was completed.
From 2016 to 2021, Maher worked alone, handling every aspect of the project: winemaking, sales, distribution, accounting, and marketing. Over time, the team grew. His cousin Abdo joined, followed by Krystel in 2022 as head of brand communications.
Deeply attached to ancestral methods and natural processes, Maher brought together his vision and everything he had learned through his travels to shape Sept’s philosophy: crafting wines that express terroir with honesty, without additives.
To complement his wines, Maher also created La Table de Sept, a restaurant serving modern terroir cuisine in Lebanon. With locally sourced ingredients, seasonal blind menus, and herbs picked from his own garden, it’s the perfect place to discover Lebanese natural wines.
“From our perspective, natural wines are the best way to express the true value of our terroir, to improve people’s livelihoods, and to raise the quality of what we produce. They also reflect the identity of one of the oldest wine regions in the world. Indigenous natural wines are what will allow Lebanon to stand out as a truly unique wine region.”
At Raisin, we couldn’t agree more.
