Possibly the most inspiring story to emerge after the civil war was that of Château Belle-Vue, in Bhamdoun, Lebanon. Château Belle-Vue, a microwinery, established in April 2000 by Naji and Jill Boutros is one of the wineries that captures the determination and bloody-mindedness of the Lebanese. The war had hit the citizens of Bhamdoun hard. In 1983, roughly 500 people were killed during the fighting, and many more were displaced. The painful memory of conflict is what underpinned Naji’s dream. It’s was his healing process.
It was a journey that began in 1996, when Naji and Jill Butros, visited Bhamdoun and the ruins of the Hotel Belle-Vue. ‘It was rubble. I just burst into tears,’ admitted Naji. Unbeknown to him, Jill took a tile from the old hotel that she had found among the rubble and slipped it into his suitcase on the eve of their return to London. “I found it when I got to London. It was all that was left. I knew I had to return.”
The legacy of war was still present. Five days into the planting, they released they were working amongst unexploded cluster bombs. Naji could not wait. “I knew if we didn’t plant them in the next four days the vines would die and the project would be dead. We had to plant so I dug the holes myself.”
It wasn’t easy. Not only did the couple have to fight off developers and pay top dollar for land that was destined for residential use, Naji also had to convince a local population, genetically primed to skepticism, that it was a worthwhile venture. “People told me that I wouldn’t succeed, that the land was too expensive; that no one would back me; that it’s too long term for the Lebanese mentality and that we are not known for our sense of unity. If you count the cost too much, you go mad, but I don’t care. I go to the vineyards. I look at the beauty and it’s all worth it. Wine is all about love and romance.”