Lebanese winemaker strains to keep business alive through war and drought

By Emilie Madi and Maya Gebeily

RIYAK, Lebanon (Reuters) -Elias Maalouf crouched to examine a shrivelling grapevine in his ancestral vineyard in the sun-kissed plains of eastern Lebanon. Last year, Israeli air strikes kept him from picking most of the grapes. Now, a drought has slashed his harvest.

“Whether it’s a political war or a climate war, we’re suffering on all sides,” said Maalouf, 42, whose family has been making wine for six generations.

As the sun rose, six women quietly picked…