The ancient coastal people who helped spread wine and viticulture from Lebanon through the Mediterranean were the Phoenicians.
Centered on ports such as Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre, the Phoenicians built a maritime trading network spanning the Levant, North Africa, Sicily, Greece, and Iberia. Wine was both a valuable export and an important religious offering, so their commercial voyages carried winemaking knowledge, grape cuttings, and transport practices as well as finished wine.
Archaeology supports Lebanon’s long winemaking history. A Phoenician wine press at Tell el-Burak, south of Sidon, dates to the seventh century BC and appears to have served an overseas market. Phoenician traders also used large ceramic amphorae, often sealed with pinewood and resin to reduce oxidation.
A common mix-up is crediting the Phoenicians with inventing wine itself. Viticulture developed through older Near Eastern networks, and grape domestication likely involved regions farther east. The Phoenicians’ distinctive contribution was their role as maritime intermediaries who expanded wine culture around the Mediterranean.