Tourists trickle back

Post-war winechallenges for Israel Lebanon’s wine producers can breathe a sigh of relief. There was no force majeur and there may even be an increase in production as the Israeli blockade has denied Egyptian winemakers their annual shipment of around 400 tons of Lebanese grapes, creating a surplus on the local market. “Opportunist wine makers who want to exploit the situation will overproduce this year,” ventured one local producer, adding, “Negociants will be selling Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault for peanuts at the end of the harvest.”Next door, Israel’s $145 million industry did not face the same restrictions of movement, nor did it suffer the same scale of destruction. That said, the Upper Galilee, home to Israel’s best vineyards, was caught in the fighting. For nearly a month, the vineyards went unattended. Last-minute preparations could not be made and the harvest was delayed by about a week to ten days.But Israeli