A drive northeast from bustling Casablanca — Morocco’s largest city — will lead you through land that’s beautifully lush: tall palms with deep-green leaves punctuate flat expanses thick with verdant grass.
Continue in this direction for 90 minutes and you’ll reach Domaine Ouled Thaleb — a 4,890-acre agricultural estate, where endless field workers dot the vast and similarly leafy terrain. I arrived at the peak of autumn’s harvest, and as I approached the laborers by foot, all I heard were the quick snips of scissors slicing plump grapes straight off the vine.
The fruit would neither be dried for raisins nor jarred for preserves. Ouled Thaleb, which was founded in 1923, is Morocco’s oldest winery. Those ripe purple grapes awaited their final destiny: to be juiced, fermented and ultimately made into wine.
You wouldn’t expect wine to be produced in Morocco, whose population is nearly 100 percent Muslim — a religion that strictly forbids alcohol consumption. But 40 million bottles are corked annually in the North African county (3 million of them at Ouled Thaleb alone), with 37 million of them ultimately enjoyed domestically. There are 15 Moroccan wine-producing regions stretching between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and together they make this northern African nation — along with Lebanon — the hottest spot for wine in the Arab world.
The nation’s wine industry is indeed on the rise, and its existence helps paint a fuller picture of Morocco as a modern and cosmopolitan destination. But as important as it is to experience Moroccan wine through taste, it’s equally as crucial to witness its production. Luckily, at Ouled Thaleb — located outside of the city of Benslimane — you can spend a day doing both.
First, have a guide whisk you through the farm by truck — weather permitting, of course — where you can drive among Ouled Thaleb’s 570 acres of planted vines, then step out for a close look. Nineteen varieties of grapes are grown here. Whites include the native faranah, plus sauvignon blanc and chardonnay; while merlot, syrah and grenache grapes help round out the list of reds.
Generally, the grapes are mixed together to produce Ouled Thaleb’s many bottles, including its signature rose, which is made with 60 percent syrah, 30 percent grenache and 10 percent cinsault. The soil looks deceivingly sandy, but it’s actually quite rich — and set on an elevated plateau near the ocean, sea moisture and cooler temperatures help the fruit reach perfect maturation (no fee to tour; +212 5-23-29-84-66).
The harvest begins in August, and during that time large metal tanks full of grapes stand just outside Ouled Thaleb’s on-site winery, which you can also visit for free. The whole production process — from juicing to bottling — happens in a sprawling indoor/outdoor facility with an easily manageable visitor path. The best part comes at the very end, when you stumble upon the winery’s colossal warehouse, which is lined on all sides with countless full bottles awaiting shipment. Even the cellar’s walls are flanked by large barrels whose contents are fermenting. Of course, it’s an oenophile’s paradise, but the sheer volume puts in perspective just how far Morocco’s wine industry has come.
You’ll finish your tours hungry — and with a serious wine craving. But don’t even think about drinking on an empty tummy. Ouled Thaleb’s eatery, Le Ryad du Vigneron, serves French-influenced Moroccan cuisine with a market-sourced menu that changes daily. The restaurant — which has cozy indoor seating and outdoor tables set around a small pool — offers a four-course prix fixe menu with a choice of starter, entree, a cheese plate and dessert ($25 per person).
Best of all, you can wash it all down with as many Ouled Thaleb bottles as you please (from $10 each). We recommend the winery’s white blend, which features a floral scent and taste. But if you fancy red, order the syrah, which has smoky accents and a spicy finish.
Then, keep the juices flowing at Casablanca’s oceanside Villa Blanca hotel. While rooms are spacious and many include prime water views, the hotel’s true lure is its social scene. The al fresco Sky Bar serves mixed drinks in a lounge setting; for dancing, head downstairs to V Club — a nightclub that keeps the music going well past bedtime. These see-and-bee-seen venues lure the city’s most fashionable crowd, who can be seen arriving in Ferraris and Mercedes (from $502).
Getting there
Royal Air Maroc recently launched Boeing 787 service between JFK and Casablanca. An improved business class features flatbed seats and French wines (from $4,862 round-trip; coach from $956).