As a Lebanese-American with two Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Graphic Design from the top two American universities in Lebanon, I have spent the last 12 years working in advertising, design, and retail. Through my work at Leo Burnett Beirut, I learned the art of communication and branding. As I moved away from campaigns for Procter & Gamble, I was placed in charge of the alcohol category at my family’s specialty supermarket. In parallel, I was co-hosting of A Better Beirut, an interview podcast with doers in the community that were leading on initiatives to better the country. My interest in wine grew while working in the retail space and it then blossomed into B for Bacchus, a media platform and podcast dedicated to championing Lebanese wine stories. 

In late 2019, after independently blogging about life in Lebanon for almost a decade under Bambi’s Soapbox, I was commissioned by The Wine Zine to write a profile on a winery in the northeast Bekaa Valley. I joined the magazine’s editorial team and contributed to 3 subsequent issues. Since that first piece, I’ve been published on MW Tim Atkin’s website, in Eater, Eaten Magazine, and Wine Enthusiast. Both of my entries (2021 and 2023) to the annual Jancis Robinson Wine Writing Competition were shortlisted. In 2021, I launched the self-published Aanab Newspaper and, after four print issues, shifted it to an online newsletter, Aanab News.

I’m currently in Beirut where my focus is on writing, community building, and storytelling in the form of short films. My entire body of work has been to further the understanding and nuances of our regional culture and history.