Tourelles can trace its history back to 1868, when it was founded by a Frenchman who came to the Middle East to help build the Beirut-Damascus road. It was bought from his descendants by the Issa family in 2000 and is now run by the highly charismatic and energetic Faouzi Issa who is driven to marry the best he has learnt by working with Rene Rostaing in the Rhône and at Château Margaux with the history and the very soul of all that the land of cedars has to offer. These are romantic wines, with a bohemian vibe and a real sense of place.

Ixsir is a flashier but no less serious set-up. Established only in 2008, its owners have built a great, palatial winery near the fish restaurants, lemon groves and Crusader ruins of the coastal town of Batroun, between Beirut and Tripoli. With a consultant from Château Angelus and, in Gabriel Rivero, a Spanish winemaker, there is a strong international strand and the wines have the gleam of modernity. But this is still Lebanon.

It’s always said that it was the civil war of 1975-90 that made Musar’s name. It was then, certain of the collapse of the domestic market, that Hochar and his brother Ronald, the second generation to run the family winery, redoubled their efforts to lure drinkers from abroad. Hochar travelled extensively, telling stories about shelling, roadblocks and Israeli tanks.

Today’s producers face their own problems. Regular visitors to the area say the biggest obvious change in the past year is the number of Syrian refugees, “hundreds and thousands of them, just camped by the road as you drive through the Beqaa Valley”, a visible reminder of political instability and the threat from terrorist groups.