Onward to Fes, with Wine Tasting

On the 3-hour journey to Fes, we drove through relatively flat farmland, with the foothills of the Atlas Mountains in the background. Olive orchards predominated the scenery, with some wheat fields, sheep farms and Eucalyptus windbreaks added in for variety.

We stopped at a winery estate for a tour, tasting and lunch. You’re probably thinking—a winery in a Muslim country, what’s that about? Well, we learned that even though alcohol is prohibited by Islamic law, it is not strictly illegal in Morocco. In fact, there are bars in the cities and some restaurants, and 80% of wine and beer production stays in the country, with 20% exported.

Some 80% of the wineries in Morocco are owned by one large corporation. But Domaine Zouina, which we visited, is an independent winery, owned by two French families who came to Morocco to produce French wine with Moroccan grapes in Moroccan soil. The vineyard and winery is kind of their sandbox to play around with new techniques that they might not be able to do in France.

Although our trip leader, Mohamed, downplayed expectations for the wine in advance, saying the point of the visit was to highlight the seeming paradox of winemaking in a Muslim country, we thought the wine was quite tasty, especially when paired with so many delicious Moroccan dishes.

Before lunch we got a brief tour of their winemaking facilities, but with a surprise—Domaine Zouina is experimenting with aging in clay jars imported from Italy (much like the amphora in ancient Rome). They won’t even taste it themselves for another year, but they are hoping they’ll be able to bring a unique product to the market.

Driving on for another hour, we arrive ld in Fes, the second-largest city in Morocco (pop. 1.8-ish million). We are staying in a beautifully restored riad (guesthouse) in one of the oldest districts of Fes.Read more