Wine from the Middle East . . . seriously?

I was lucky enough to try some Lebanese wine recently (even luckier that I was doing so in Lebanon). The results were not of note with one exception, the Ksara Reserve du Covent. A deep red blend of Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah and Carignan that was reminiscent of a warming Cotes du Rhone. Not really suited for drinking in the steamy Mediterranean sun but nonetheless a wine I will keep my eye out for. To qualify this I should say that I did not manage to sample any Chateau Musar wines. Musar is the flagship of the Lebanese wine industry (outside of Lebanon at least) and another to put on the list.