by Sanaa Kamal
RAMALLAH, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- For Palestinians, it is not easy to make a brand globally distinctive. However, Canaan Khoury, a 30-year-old Palestinian man living in the West Bank, has largely succeeded in doing so through producing herbal beers and wines tagged "Made in Palestine."
Khoury's family used to own the only brewery in Palestine, the Taybeh Brewing Company, which is located in the Al-Taybeh village in the city of Ramallah. With a population of about 1,000 Palestinian Christians, the village is famous for manufacturing alcoholic drinks as a main source of income for local residents.
But the brewing business in the village faces tough challenges as Israel imposes restrictions on the traveling by Palestinians, hindering the import of many raw materials used to make alcoholic beverages.
"I came up with the idea of making our own beer and wine by using natural herbs scattered in the West Bank, especially the wild ones in the mountains," Khoury recalled.
Thyme, sumac, sage, sumac, wheat, ginger, cinnamon, lemon and white mulberry are among the major essential herbs that Khoury uses in making his beers and wines.
"I attempted to make beer and wine from herbs...In the beginning, all the attempts proved to be in vein, and this made me frustrated," Khoury said.
"Every time I made alcoholic drinks, I resorted to the experienced people to take a taste, unfortunately, back then they didn't like what I offered," he added.
But Khoury did not give up. He continued to adjust the recipes until he finally succeeded in making the first beer from the raw wheat grown in Palestine, whose taste won recognition from his friends.
"Really, I was overjoyed... I couldn't believe that I had finally succeeded in taking the first step toward realizing my dream of owning a special and rare brand of Palestinian beer and wine," he recalled.
After producing about 200 liters of herbal beer and wine, Khoury participated in the Taybeh Festival, which his family hosts annually to attract foreigners to the small village to taste different types of alcoholic drinks with Palestinian flavor.
"The flavor was praised by everyone without exception," he said.
Based on the success, Khoury opened the Taybeh Winery in 2012 in partnership with one of his relatives. He named the wine Nadim after his father, who earned a brewing master degree in the U.S. and started the Taybeh Brewery in the West Bank in 1994 with his brother.
In order to further improve his capabilities and experience, Khoury attended a specialized wine-making program run by a U.S. university in 2015, which qualified him to participate in an international competition in 2017.
"I was able to get the first place among 1,500 other contestants in the John Ford competition," he said, noting that was the first time that "Made in Palestine" was tagged for a wine.
After returning to his homeland, the young Palestinian man expanded his winery by increasing the number of workers to 25. He started to explore producing more types of alcoholic drinks based on the knowledge he acquired.
Currently, the Taybeh Winery produces about 20 types of alcoholic beverages based on natural herbs, including the brands called My Grandmother Lemon, Nadim Taybeh and Premaster Beer.
As the predominantly Muslim population in Palestine rejects alcoholic drinks, the beers and wines produced in Al-Taybeh are largely exported to Israel and other countries. After years of hard work, Khoury now exports his products to about 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, Denmark, Jordan, France, and Britain.
Khoury's herbal wine is considered the most expensive in the Palestinian territories, as one bottle generally costs about 10 U.S. dollars. In contrast, other types cost between 1.5 and 2 dollars at most.
"I am very happy to see that our small village has become an attractive site for tourists and foreigners to Palestine to enjoy our special wine," he said.
The young man is planning to open a new factory in 2022. "Success begins with an idea followed by a step and determination," Khoury said. ■
