Algerian Wine and Spice Evening

The event has been canceled due to insufficient registration. 

Wine production in Algeria has a very long tradition and goes all the way back to the times of the Phoenicians at about 1000 BC.  After the invasion by the Roman Empire, the Romans took over viticulture. The Arab conquest in the 7th century AD and the accompanying arrival of Islam had a major impact on viticulture, without completely disappearing. Only in the 15th century, under Ottoman rule, did almost all viticulture in North Africa disappear. When Algeria became a French colony in 1870, around 50,000 French winegrowers emigrated to this country. Algerian wine production exploded and by the 1930s it was the fourth-largest wine-producing country and the largest wine-exporting country in the world. When Algeria became independent in 1961, the French winegrowers returned en masse and the local wine industry collapsed. Today around 200,000 hl. of wine is produced annually, of which less than 10 percent is exported. The largest private wine producer in Algeria is Société des Grands Crus de l’Ouest. Their wines are imported by La Grand’ Halte and a selection will be tasted during the Algerian wine and spice event on May 11.