Château Ksara is a winery in Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. it is located in the town of Ksara near Zahle. It was founded in 1857 by Jesuit priests. Château Ksara wine is most popular in Lebanon, but due to a large Lebanese diaspora all over the world, it can be found and purchased in many countries. Château Ksara produces approximately 3 million bottles annually. Its wines are exported to over 40 countries. Main export markets include Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Africa, Australia and Arab Countries.
In 1898, a milestone was reached in Ksara’s history when a grotto – an artificial cave – dating back to the Roman era was fortuitously discovered at the site. The caves – which now run for two kilometers – form part of Ksara’s cellar network today.
In 1972, the Vatican encouraged its monasteries to sell off commercial assets, and Ksara was bought out by a local consortium of businessmen. The company continued production during the Lebanese civil war years. In 1991, a new management instigated several innovations such as changes in the company human resources, communication practices, new grapes varieties, and surface extension. In the following years, Ksara management innovated in production practices, bought new equipment, invested in new labels and packaging, then launched a marketing communication campaign to revamp the aged-image of their brand. To protect its intellectual property rights, the company filed a Community Trademark for Chateau Ksara SAL (in class 33) at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) in 2003.
Château Ksara is Lebanon’s oldest, largest and most visited winery, attracting some 70,000 visitors per year, mainly from Lebanon but also from other countries including France, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK).
In 2010 Lebanese wine-producers exported around 2.5 million bottles of wine, a 13 percent annual increase, and Ksara was responsible for 33 percent of the output. The Reserve du Couvent accounted for 27 percent of all Ksara’s international sales. As of 2010, Ksara produced 2.7 million bottles of wine per year, harvesting over two thousand eight hundred tons of grapes from three hundred forty hectares.
All of Château Ksara’s vineyards are located in the central and western Bekaa Valley: Ksara Estate, Tanail, Mansoura, Tal el Der, Tal Dnoub, and Kanafar. At an average altitude of 1,000 meters, the Bekaa enjoys dry summers and has a water table fed by the melting snow of the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges.
