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    Made ByWinery

    Château Qanafar

    Eddy Naim

    In Residence

    Eddy Naim

    Winemaker

    1. 01CityKhirbet Qanafar, Lebanon
    Château Qanafar

    Approaching wine in Khirbet Qanafar means reading proximity first: vineyards, cellar, and glass sit close, not as separate stages of a branded estate experience. At Château Qanafar, all vineyards are less than 10 minutes from production, so hand-harvested grapes move quickly into fermentation. In warm-climate wine regions, that timing shapes freshness, fruit clarity, and whether the finished bottle speaks of place rather than logistics.

    Terroir measured in minutes from vine to cellar

    Lebanon’s modern wine identity is often framed through altitude, sun, and ancient history, but small producers are increasingly judged by control: who farms, who makes, and how much distance lies between them. Château Qanafar works in that tighter register. Eddy, its winemaker, studied at UC Davis in California and handles the process from berry to bottle, giving the house a technical spine without pushing the wines into an international template.

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    The cellar approach is minimal interference, a phrase that can feel vague, but here it links to a concrete farming signal: manual harvest and rapid intake of clean fruit. The estate’s red blend changes year by year, a more honest model for terroir-led wine than forcing a fixed recipe onto variable seasons.

    Paradis de Qanafar and the house style

    Paradis de Qanafar sits in the middle of the range and offers a useful entry into the house grammar: well-rounded fruit with a touch of oak, introduced from the 2014 vintage onward. This is not a producer chasing novelty through obscure technique; it works inside a red-wine tradition where fruit, oak, and vintage variation must stay balanced.

    The origin story is small-scale: George began making wine as a hobby in 2005, and that private start remains part of the family-run structure. For wider context, pair this page with The Khirbet Qanafar wineries guide, then map the rest of the trip through The Khirbet Qanafar restaurants guide, The Khirbet Qanafar hotels guide, The Khirbet Qanafar bars guide, and The Khirbet Qanafar experiences guide.

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    Who works at Château Qanafar?

    Made By profiles Eddy Naim (Winemaker) at Château Qanafar.

    The field

    How it compares

    PlaceNotesAwards
    Château MontroseSaint-Estèphe·
    Château RayasChâteauneuf-du-Pape·
    Château Troplong MondotSaint-Laurent-des-Combes·
    Domaine Coche-DuryMeursault·
    Quinta do CrastoSabrosa50 Best
    Ridge VineyardsCupertino50 Best

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    Read about the people behind wineries like Château Qanafar in the Sunday email.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

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