Damascus

Overview

Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and its surrounding countryside has cultivated vines since antiquity. The Barada River feeds a narrow green corridor of orchards and vineyards known as the Ghouta, while nearby slopes rising toward the Anti-Lebanon range reach altitudes that moderate the fierce summer heat. Viticulture here depends on irrigation, a practice inherited from Roman and early Islamic water systems.

Most of the region's grapes are grown for table fruit, raisins, and arak, yet the combination of stony mountain soils, intense sunshine, and cool desert nights gives promising conditions for concentrated wines. Smallholder farms preserve old local varieties alongside newer French table-grape plantings, keeping a living link to the Levant's vinous past.

Key Varietals

• Salti AkhdarA traditional Syrian white grape with high sugar and fresh acidity, valued for both table fruit and aromatic white wines.
• Aswad QarriA local red variety with dark berries and generous sugar, historically used in village winemaking around Damascus.
• Cabernet SauvignonAn international red that builds cassis and structure when grown on irrigated, well-drained foothill soils.
• Sauvignon BlancA crisp white benefiting from altitude and desert diurnal shifts, giving citrus and herbal notes.