Jordanian wine is produced by two

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...

, with an annual production of nearly a million bottles a year. Jordan has a long tradition of wine making, dating as far back as

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

times. Archaeological digs near Petra have uncovered at least 82 wine presses of industrial scale dating back to

times. Several sources suggest that the wine served to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

during the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

came from

Umm Qais Umm Qais or Qays ( ar, أم قيس , , Mother of Qais) is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extre ...

in Northern Jordan. The modern wine industry in Jordan was established in 1975 by the Haddad distilling company. Two wineries exist in Jordan today. Zumot and Haddad producing Saint George and Jordan River wines respectively. Both wineries have their vineyards in

Mafraq Mafraq ( ar, المفرق ''Al-Mafraq'', local dialects: ''Mafrag'' or ''Mafra''; ) is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate in Jordan, located 80 km to the north from the capital Amman in crossroad to Syria to the north and Iraq to the east ...

in northern Jordan, where the high elevation, underground water and basalt-rich soil provide suitable conditions. The two companies have an estimated annual production of a million liters a year, most of which is for domestic consumption. In 2018, it was reported that the Jordan River wines had won 96 awards, and the Saint George claimed 23 prizes.

Grape varieties

The traditional local grape varieties appear to have been lost. Jordanian wines are therefore of necessity made from imported varieties of ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

''. Red wines are made using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

and Pinot noir. White wines are made using Chardonnay,

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

Pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

and Chenin blanc. In 2013, Carménère grapes of Chilean origin, and Tocai grapes from Italy, were being grown at Omar Zumot's vineyard in Northern Jordan. Zumot's award-winning wines are labelled "Saint George" and "Machaerus". The Haddad winery makes white wines labelled "Mount Nebo" and both red and white wines labelled "Jordan River".

References

External links

CNN interview
{{Wine by country Alcohol in Jordan Wine by country Jordanian cuisine

Grape varieties

See also

References

External links