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Lebanon owes its high-quality wine production, unique among Middle Eastern countries, partly to a Christianpopulation that requires wine for the Mass and partly to the country's French heritage. Robert M. Parker, Jr., has given high marks to the 1996 Château Kefraya Comte de M, a big, spicy (and, at around $50, pricey) red that is aged in barriques from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (mainly), Syrah and Mourvèdre, three French varietals that do well in the long, dry summers of the southern Bekaa Valley. Two other Lebanese labels are worth keeping an eye out for in American shops: Chateau Musar and Ksara.