Moroccan Wine Tasting: An Afternoon At Domaine de la Zouina
During our first week of living in Casablanca, we noticed that most restaurants feature Moroccan wine, which we had never tried, but tastes quite good. With an upcoming weekend trip to Fes, we researched that there are two vineyards outside of the town of Meknes, on the way to Fes: Domaine de la Zouina and Chateau Roslane. After sending out emails to both, we received an enthusiastic reply from Domaine de la Zouina inviting us for a wine tasting, and radio silence from Chateau Roslane, so our choice was easy!
We communicated with manager, Christophe Gribelin, to arrange a 2pm Friday afternoon wine tasting. We took the 9:30 am train from Casablanca to Meknes, arriving around 12:30, giving us some time to explore Meknes before heading to the Domaine. Because the vineyard is approximately 30 minutes from Meknes, we arranged with Christophe to have a driver pick us up in Meknes, take us to the vineyard, and after the tasting, drive us to Fes. The cost of the driver was 450 dirham (or about $45 USD).
They offer three tasting options, we chose the middle option “La Zouina,” which includes a tour, four wine tastings, as well as tasting of their brand of olive oil, accompanied by goat cheese and dried fruits. The cost is 300 dirham/person, or approximately $30 USD. The one caveat is the minimum group size is 4 people, so you will have to pay for additional people if your group is less than 4. (Another couple joined our tour so we were spared the extra charge).
The vineyard is located on 115 hectares, which includes the vineyards, organic gardens, production facilities, and a guesthouse they are currently transforming into a bed and breakfast with a small restaurant. We learned the owners of the vineyard are actually well-known French winemakers from the Bordeaux region. We also learned that “zouina” is the word for a beautiful female in Arabic.
After the tour, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, we were shown to a private tasting room with a table full of food and wine. The goat cheese was particularly notable (and not just because I love cheese), it came from a local goat dairy and they had three different types that had been aged varied amounts. It was really good.
Domaine de la Zouina offers two brands: Volubilia and Epicuria.
Volubilia is mass produced and composes nearly 380,000 of their 400,000 bottles they make each year. It is found in most restaurants around Morocco and is also exported to several countries. The Volubilia brand has a red blend, white blend, grey wine, and rosé. It costs 100 dirham (or $10) per bottle at the vineyard, but may cost around 300 dirham ($30) at a restaurant.
First we tried their Volubilia Gris or “grey” wine. Our initial question was: Is this like Pinot Gris? And the answer is “no”. Unlike Pinot Gris, which is its own grape varietal, Moroccan “grey” wine isn’t a specific varietal, but is a type of wine somewhere between a white wine and rosé.
Next we tried their rosé which was fresh, light, and dry with only a hint of sweetness. Although my husband and I prefer red wine, we loved both of these. Especially for $10 a bottle, the flavor and quality was much higher than any bottle you can find in the states.
Next we tried the Epicuria brand, of which there is a Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. Unlike the Volubilia brand which is aged in steel tanks, Epicuria is aged in barrels. The Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon will age for 18 months, while the Chardonnay is 6 months. They only produce about 20,000 bottles each year.
These wines were amazing! You can really taste the barrel aging and the depth created in the wine. We usually prefer Cabernet Sauvignon but ultimately bought two bottles of the Syrah because that was our favorite (however, we also bought one bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon 🙂 ).
The Epicuria wines cost 150 dirham/bottle ($15) at the vineyard. They actually do not distribute the Epicuria brand in Morocco because of its relatively higher price point, so most of the Epicuria wines are exported to European countries. That is a shame since the wines were so tasty. We are happy to have a few bottles to take back with us to Chicago to share with friends.
As evidenced by the photo above, we had a great time! All of our questions were answered, we never felt rushed, we were able to “revisit” wines we were interested in purchasing, and we even got some bonus tastings of their Epicuria chardonnay and their “sweetest wine” which is a white dessert wine that hasn’t been released yet.
I highly recommend tacking on a visit to Domaine de la Zouina if you are en route to Fes. Although there is a mark up if you are only a group of two people, you have the opportunity to take home some delicious, hard to find wines at great prices.
Questions? Please let me know in the comment section! Happy to discuss other Moroccan wine recommendations as well
Sounds like a wonderful experience! Hope I can go someday!
Thank you!! I hope you get to go someday too! You’d have to see what you think of their “gris”
Looks like a really neat place to visit. You will be able to compare the tastes of wines when you really do go to the Bordeaux region of France in a month or two..
I see olive trees in the one picture. How was the olive oil? Do you just taste it with your finger or what?
The wines were REALLY good for a country that doesn’t really drink but I imagine it’s just because the owners are so experienced with wine making. I hope we can go to their specific vineyards once we are in France. They make two olive oils, one that is only Spanish olives and one that is Italian/Moroccon blend. We only tried the Spanish one (more expensive) and just had it with the bread and goat cheese and dried fruits. We considered buying some but were nervous about it leaking with all of our upcoming travel
I’ve enjoyed this so much! The honeymoon trip was so interesting and sometimes scary
Thank you, Aunt Kathy! I’ll try to keep it up for the remainder of our trip
Love your posts!!
Thank you for the encouragement! It’s a lot of work but I am enjoying it
I am glad you enjoyed the visit and for sharing with us some pictures – the place looks really good and the tour value seems to be on point (would have loved to get some pictures of the cheeses you talk about)
In general we have some fairly decent wines in Morocco, and in recent years there has been a lot of work to make local ones more interesting (and with a stronger Moroccan influence) – the Epicuria wines are particularly good, with the focus on a single grape variety instead of the blends.
Cheers
Hey Ibrahim! I am not sure how I missed your comment from April! We absolutely loved our time at Domaine de la Zouina, I actually ended up visiting Domaine Ouled Thaleb a few weeks later but still need to create a post about that, it was also a really lovely time!
Hi! Thanks for sharing! I was curious what month you went and how the weather was? My husband and I are looking to go for our anniversary weekend, February 19, but heard it could be quite cold.
Our trip to Morocco could not have been better. My wife and I, as well as our three teenage children (15, 15, 18) had an excellent time thanks to our guide, Idir. He expertly helped us plan the entire trip – from picking us up at the airport to arranging meals, hotels and excursions. We were there for 10 days and can say that we really got to know Morocco and its people. I would recommend https://www.saharadesertkingdom.comme and Idir to any family looking to spend a great time together!!
Thank you so much for your insights. Looks like you had a wonderful time. I’m looking to go in April. Would you have an idea on what the grape on the vine cycle would be then?