S alim Wardy says that it’s his passion for wine that enabled him to sustain 12 years of invest~nts – $20 million to be exact – without seeing any returns. All to establish Domainc Wardy, a wine launched in November 1999. His family’s arak business provided 70% of the funds, a bank loan the rest. About $12 million purchased 50 hectares (500,000m2) of land in the Bekaa Valley, while expenditure on equipment and facilities was roughly $6 million. Another $2 million went towards buying and cultivating 85,000 vines imported from France. As its distributor, Wardy selected veteran of the trade Gabriel Bocti – the exclusive agent for Heineken and Cutty Sark. Crystallizing the alliance was Wardy’s like-mindedness with the company’s scion Salim Bocti. What began as a contract between two family-run businesses emerged as a partnership spearheaded by the two young men. “Domaine Wardy is our baby,” says Bocti, whose
