Vintner Serge Hochar of Chateau Musar - Biography

Serge Hochar, (eldest son of Chateau Musar’s founder Gaston Hochar) first trained as a civil engineer, then decided to study oenology. With the encouragement of his father, Hochar became a student of Emile Peynaud at the University of Oenology in Bordeaux. Having declared to his father "I want to make the wine my way, I want it to be known world-wide–and I want you to quit!" he became Chateau Musar winemaker in 1959, Hochar senior having graciously given way. Hochar the younger then spent 18 years perfecting the “formula” for Chateau Musar's Red and was chosen as Decanter Magazine's first “Man of the Year” in 1984 for his dedication to producing superb quality wines during Lebanon's Civil War (1975 to 1990). He died on December 31, 2014.