When Frenchman François-Eugène Brun laid the foundation stone of Domaine des Tourelles in Chtaura back in 1868, he couldn’t have known that he had just begun to write the marvelous story of Lebanese wine.
A pioneer of what was to become one of the greatest ambassadors of the land of the Cedars, the winery is more than ever on Lebanon’s top list delivering one of the most exciting wines of the Middle East.
François-Eugène Brun was born in the 19th century in Chézery (Ain – France). At an early age he moved from his village to Marseille where he settled. Young man, he was hired by an Ottoman company in charge of building the Beirut-Damascus road which lead François-Eugène to Lebanon and more precisely to a village called Chtaura in the Bekaa Valley. Captivated by the plain’s landscape that reminded him of his homeland, he decided to settle in Chtaura where he founded in 1868 Domaine des Tourelles. Hence, his winery became the first commercial cellar in Lebanon producing wines, arak (Lebanon’s traditional alcoholic beverage) and other spirits.
