Interview with Edouard Kosremelli, Directeur General Adjoint of Château Kefraya

How has been the wine industry in Lebanon performing in 2015?

Fifteen years ago there were less than ten Lebanese wineries, today we are almost fifty. At the same time, for the past three or four years we have been in the middle of an economic crisis because of the regional problems. We are at a point where we are almost in a bubble, not because the production has dramatically increased, but because demand is quite low in the local market. Nowadays, Lebanon is producing around 7 to 8 million bottles a year, but we will probably go quickly towards 10 million bottles a year. Investments are still ongoing and awareness abroad is increasing. The quality of Lebanese wine is known but the awareness of the wine itself is not very high. We had the trend for the new world wines, now it is a trend for the ancient world wines. Lebanon is part of that. I think we are seeing good trends abroad. Lebanon will depend on the regional conditions of course. The consumption per capita in Lebanon is also increasing. All of these factors will definitely lead to a better Lebanese wine sector in the medium-term. Sometimes we hear about competition but in fact it isn’t really competition; the wineries are creating synergies and are increasing the consumption in Lebanon and the awareness abroad and all of this is positive for all of us. If it is competition, it is welcome!

It is not only about superior and expensive wines; Kefraya also creates entry-level wines, but with the exact same quest for quality.

What is the philosophy behind Château Kefraya?

The philosophy behind Château Kefraya has always been the same since our beginning. It may look conservative but Kefraya is a modern winery despite the fact that it has always been sticking to its very basic guidelines and values. When you look at our logo, you will read ‘’Château Kefraya: un terroir, une âme, un grand vin’’ (a terroir, a soul, a great wine). That is more than just a marketing tagline, it is really a strategy and it started with the conviction that Kefraya’s terroir (Kefraya being a village in West Bekaa) is really adequate to produce red wines and generally premium wines. We have always stuck to grape supply exclusively from our own vineyards in Kefraya. When we say a soul, it is all of our knowhow, our expertise and our learnings from year to year and our understanding of this particular terroir that we transform into great wines. All of our philosophy is about extracting the best from our terroir and trying to transmit this richness to the bottle and then to the glass. Also, you will see on all of our bottles the initials ‘’MB’’ of the founder Michel de Bustros and ‘’Semper Ultra’’, which means in Latin ‘’always higher’’ and is kind of the motto for Château Kefraya. It is not only about superior and expensive wines; Kefraya also creates entry-level wines, but with the exact same quest for quality. We give the same attention and special care to our entry-level wines. That is not marketing; it is really our philosophy and our strategy. We are also very close to the consumers’ expectations and we are dynamic; our range is always evolving. We have the opportunity to have a big domain with quite a large variety of grapes and terroirs. This gives us the possibility to produce wines of different style, while always respecting our values.

Looking into the future what would be your personal vision for Château Kefraya?

Whether it is Kefraya or maybe other Lebanese wineries, we are all looking at the export markets, not only Lebanese restaurants abroad or the Lebanese diaspora, channels in which we are already solidly established. The objective is really to go beyond that and enter the regular mainstream wine export market whether in the U.S., France, Europe, Australia and other major wine destinations. That is where we are really putting all of our energy and focus into today.