Sept Winery

Sept Winery is run by the talented, self-taught Maher Harb, it is a homage to Maher’s father, who he lost at the tender age of seven years old to the Lebanese civil war.

The project started in 2012 after many serendipitous events which led Maher back to his roots. For the first 4 years, Maher worked alone, hand planting 5000 vines with his trusty companion; Miles, the Jack Russell. Through Maher’s hard work and determination, he developed Sept Winery into what it is today, producing eight spectacular wines each distinct and unique, with a range of winemaking styles and techniques. 

Sept is nestled in the high-altitude foothills of Mount Batroun, facing the Mediterranean Sea in Northern Lebanon. Whilst an impressive and beautiful viewpoint, the location benefits from the coastal influence, and the white wines have a coincidental ‘salty’ edge to them.

Maher sources his wines from both the Northern mountains and the Bekaa Valley, in an attempt to showcase different expressions of the Lebanese terroir. While the mountains bask in a high-altitude Mediterranean climate characterized by limestone, clay, and sand soils, the Bekaa Valley is more known for its continental climate with soils ranging from white to red clay and gravels, the combination thus leading to a diverse outcome of rich and complex wines.

Contrary to assumptions, Maher’s vineyard is located 950 meters above sea level giving the wines a cooler climate, freshness and good levels of acidity to provide overall balance. These factors of the terroir and its unique location contribute to the character of the flavours and complexity of the wines.

Maher feels a spiritual tie to the soil under his feet where he grew up, he feels his roots are like the roots of the vines.

From the beginning, Sept has used biodynamic techniques to grow the grapes and make the wines. This is an old technique developed in the early 1900s that provides guidance to follow the lunar cycles of the moon and specific agricultural methods. These methods respect and rely on the natural elements of the ecosystem the grapes are grown in to provide more natural protection to the vines and help the grapes grow to optimal ripeness and full natural potential without the need for chemicals (pesticides etc). Fermentation takes place from the natural wild yeasts and the winemaking is also minimal intervention with zero additives and only sulphur used at bottling (to preserve the wine from

spoilage). 

Sept has always wanted to work the unique land and the indigenous grape varietals that have always grown there as part of the heritage of the area – some of the vines that Maher works with are over 200 years old!

On their land, there is a beautiful combination of revived native varieties such as Merweh and Obaideh and also more commonly known varieties such as Viognier, Syrah, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon; both indigenous and Western varietals have proven to flourish and make outstanding wines. Sept also is the only Lebanese winery (that we know of) which focuses on single-varietal wines (e.g. Syrah not a Syrah blend) from single parcels of land to provide unique wines with varietal identity (instead of a blending approach which the historic Chateau Musar proved very successful).

The project is encapsulated in Sept’s motto; “Un vin de lieu”, which translates literally as “a local wine”; however, this captures the wider approach of single, local plot of vines, from a single grape varietal. The winery is fronted by Sept’s intriguing logo; an etch from Maher’s childhood schoolbook, a nostalgic symbol that embodies his entire ethos: For Maher, Sept Winery is a deep reverence to his homeland and the revival of its native varieties, which influence his innovative winemaking style. His approach combines ancestral, and ancient methods with a contemporary and creative approach resulting in concentrated, rich and complex wines.