Wine from the Arab World

Aghi Ourad is a Brit of Algerian descent who wants to change the way we think about wine from the 'Arab world' (his phrase).

Places like Algeria and Lebanon, where wine production has a surprisingly long history but currently operates in a challenging environment for religious, social or economic reasons.

Such wines from Muslim-majority countries, in Aghi's view, are under-appreciated and yet offer great interest and value for wine lovers. So he's set up a business, The Other Grape, to sell these wines and tell the stories of the people and places that make them.

Aghi has written movingly about suffering personal humiliation as a result of his 'Muslim appearance' and suffering from imposter syndrome with his own, European society. He's also very honest about the 'schizophrenic' attitude to alcohol in Muslim-majority countries like Algeria.

We quiz Aghi about the relationship between Islam and alcohol, as well as the wines from Algeria and Lebanon today. We also dive into the fascinating wine history of these countries - did you know, for example, the following factoids?

• Algeria was once the fourth-biggest wine producer in the world.
• Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia accounted for two thirds of the world's wine exports in the 1950s.
• Algeria was partly responsible for the development of France's famous appellation contrôlée system.

Peter also reflects on his recent trip to Lebanon, to film for his new wine and travel show, The Wild Side of Wine, and shares his insights into the wine scene there.

We talk indigenous grapes and unique wines, sampling a Lebanese Obeidy (white), an Algerian red blend from the Monts du Tessala, and a tiny-production Syrah from the Batroun hills of coastal Lebanon.

There's also poetry in this episode, as well as talk of big guns, power cuts, Islamophobia, drones, phylloxera and what exactly constitutes an, 'angry wine'.

We hope you enjoy the episode! Do let us know your thoughts on Instagram or Twitter. Or send us a voice message via Speakpipe.

Wines featured in this episode:

• Chateau Oumsiyat Obeidy 2018, 12.5%, Lebanon
• Saint-Augustin Monts du Tessala AOG 2017, 13%, Algeria
• Sept Syrah 2019 Batroun, 14.5%, Lebanon

Links

Aghi's wine business we discuss in this episode is The Other Grape - you can get 10% off if you use the code SP10.

Here's a link to see the trailer and find out more about Peter's new TV series, The Wild Side of Wine

This is Alex Rowell's book Vintage Humour: The Islamic Poetry of Abu Nuwas

As ever, all wine details, links, photos and more are on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S3 E24: Wines from the Arab World.

Finally, do check out our previous episode on Lebanon (S1 E22) to hear from Chateau Musar's Marc Hochar and Lebanese wine expert Michael Karam.