Michael Karam

Michael Ramzi Karam (Arabic: ميشال كرم‎‎; born 1 May 1965 in London, England) is a Lebanese author, journalist, wine writer and communication consultant. He is notably the author of Wines of Lebanon, and was involved in the production of the feature-length documentary, Wine and War.

Michael Karam began his career as a journalist in Beirut. He founded the listings magazine What's On in 1996 before moving to The Daily Star (Lebanon) in early 1998 as Features editor. Between 2002 and 2007, he was the editor of Executive, a Lebanese business magazine, before moving into political and corporate PR, and eventually wine communication of behalf of the Union Vinicole du Liban and various independent wineries.

In 2007, he was appointed executive director of New Opinion Workshop and NowLebanon, a post he held until March 2009. His writings on politics, business, war and wine have appeared in The Spectator, The Times, Esquire, Decanter, Harpers Wine and Spirits Weekly and Monocle.

In 2005, his first book Wines of Lebanon, which won the 2005 Gourmand World Cookbook Award. His second book, Arak And Mezze: The Taste Of Lebanon is about Lebanon's national drink and what best to eat with it. It was shortlisted for the Gourmand Award for Best Food and Travel Book 2007.

He is a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Wine, The World Atlas of Wine, Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book and The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.

He has also written Château Ksara: 150 years of wine making 1957-2007 and in October 2010, he published Michael Karam's Lebanese Wines 2011, a pocket paperback and first comprehensive guide to all the Lebanese wines currently on the market.

Prior to his journalistic career, he worked for some time as an English literature teacher at the International College in Beirut.

Collaborations

In 2011, he began working with Dr Patrick McGovern from University of Pennsylvania and other experts to compile Tears of Bacchus: A History of Winemaking in the Middle East and Beyond, which was published in 2020.

He is married and has two children. He now lives in the UK.