Aanab News in 2026
The updated framework + more/less in Lebanese wine + special offer
Welcome (back) to Aanab News!
If you’re new here: For a refresher, Aanab News is an independent, reader-funded publication about Lebanon, through the lens of wine and culture. It began as a print newspaper that ran for two years and then I shifted it online.
I’ve been writing on the internet since 2012 but my entry into Lebanese wine ironically happened when I began working with my dad at our American imports emporium in Beirut.
My professional background is all over the place: I’ve got degrees in general biology and graphic design and I’ve worked in advertising, branding, retail, podcasting, and community building. In 2023, almost as a combination of all those things, I started producing short video essays that resemble a visual diary of sorts. It was never about wine alone for me and, even after getting certifications and working in wine sales, I still feel that the interest was a device to go beyond the drink itself. You can read more about that here.
Last year…
You can scroll through all posts from 2025 here.
One of my goals was to “gently prioritize my health as much as my work” and I didn’t do that. I DID push myself to learn new skills and feed my creativity with more play but that didn’t spill over into how I took care of my body. A win overall but with room for improvement. After meeting up for breakfast just before Christmas Eve, a good friend of mine - who has listened to my body image frustrations for a while - told me that I seem to be in a better place mentally, one that will be good for focusing on my physical self in 2026. I didn’t realize that change had happened until it was said out loud but the observation makes me feel accountable. My mind is in a better place but now the rest of me could use some more love and attention too.
On that note, I did this witchy winter solstice ritual and my friend gave me a tarot reading last weekend. I’m not a serious believer in what was called “new age” in the 90s but as Witchy Week showed, I like the idea of listening to rhythms in your environment and what signs the universe is leaving for you. Some of those messages might resonate with how I’m feeling and I can take what I want from them. Without divulging too much, both rituals pushed for embracing more of my ego (without fear of seeming conceited) and acknowledging that whatever is in my way is surmountable and within my control.
What I unintentionally left out of the 2025 recap is that I applied to over 20 different fellowships, artist grants, awards, and pitches. I was rejected from or ghosted by all of them. I didn’t realize the volume until I did a tally this month.
This is part of freelance work and the life of an artist. I’m at peace with the rejections but I’m pissed about the time that went into the applications and the feedback (and money, frankly) that I did NOT get from any of them. As a solo creator, my main goal behind applying to these is either collaboration or compensation.
To be fair, I’ve also done a lot of rejecting. Opportunities that have come to me that didn’t align with my path or that would be energy sucks without the proportional payoff (monetary or otherwise) were politely declined. Both sides of this freelancer-coin make me very grateful to have Aanab and you, dear gentle readers, as the sturdy skeletal system that I decoupage other media onto. Your presence reminds me that what I’m doing matters to others outside of myself and that is a potent and incredibly flattering motivator. It sounds lame but I can’t say it enough: thank you for being here!!
ON TO JANUARY 2026
I’ve been taking it slow while thinking about all of the above and what that means for this year’s editorial calendar. I needed to recover from the pace of December and I like using deep winter as a period to rest and reflect.
With that said, I kicked off 2026 by applying for a local film residency. If I get in, it will be a great interim project (while between personal ones) to learn from and with others. If I’m passed over, I’ll be okay. Other than that, I’ve got a destination wedding coming up, the Boston screening of Buffer Zone was impactful(!), and I’m scheduling another one in Beirut next month. I’m working on getting a few more cities onboard but I won’t force it. The partnerships need to feel right, not rushed. Read more here.
In the preview of WHAT'S ANU’s Macrotrend Report 2026, a part that stood out to me was under the key theme of aspirational humanity. It was the emergence of a “hierarchy of humanness” as backlash to the flood of Ai slop. If you can prove something is more human-made, it is more valuable.
The online discourse at the top of 2026 has been all about the return to analog, triggered by that same Ai backlash and the fact that we don’t own anything anymore. I also want to unplug from The Matrix but this spike is entering trend or “core” territory. As Amy Pigott said in this note, “it’s being turned into yet another thing to perform, another identity we need to co-opt, another aesthetic to make look beautiful and another way to signal that you’re doing life correctly.”
TLDR: I love writing here regularly but 1) I am online way too much, 2) I miss making things with my hands, and 3) I need to get out of my COVID-induced comfort zone literally and figuratively.
✨Aanab News framework for 2026✨
There are some minor changes but if you’ve been here a while, you won’t be too surprised. I’m cutting the Bulletins and the annual analysis listing 5 Predictions on Lebanese Wine. Instead of those, I’ll write an essay when a current event or development calls for in-depth analysis. Anything else that’s still worth knowing will be included in the links section of the free Monthlies newsletters.
At the moment, I’m not actively plugged into the Lebanese wine scene (the genocide in Gaza and the escalation in Lebanon rewired my brain) and I don’t see a rekindling of that infatuation happening anytime soon. There are still parts of the industry that I’m curious about, that I have knowledge on, and that connect to some of my other interests (agriculture, food, ecology, anthropology, etc) so I will let my internal compass dictate how wine shows up here as a subject. My focus is expanding rather than moving away from any one thing. As the writer behind this work, these adjustments feel the most authentic to how Aanab News is evolving.
Here’s a quick version of my Lebanese wine predictions:
MORE
Focus on eastern markets (including the Arab Gulf)
Co-ferments (different grapes or fruits) and color play (still blanc du noirs), “100-year-old vines” (or beyond 100), “regenerative farming”
Scientific breakthroughs and patented wine by-products (like Piùpa)
Cheaper or premium bubbles (but not mid-range)
Exclusive themed dinner party/supper club/chef collabs ($$$)
Casual comfort-food and social hour hangs (like Dua Lipa’s book tastings)
Wine shops championing local bottles over imported
Ai use in winery social content
Government-endorsed projects with no follow-through (but lots of press)
Recycled stories/narratives (for example: shallow takes on women in wine, the wine & war trope, nostalgia-coded imagery, solar panels being the only climate change effort cited in a country without 24/7 power)
LESS
New restaurant/bar openings (the bubble finally bursts)
Focus on natural wine (tide turned globally a while ago but Lebanon’s behind)
Screentime and virtual wine experiences
ABV (as in single-digit alcohol by volume)
Focus on export (more push for local marketshare)
Perfection (human-made!)
Participation in October’s Vinifest
Wine only operations (diversifying via other products like olive oils, preserves, salts, cedar-scented or crafted from cedar, graphic Ts)
Investing in billboard advertising
SKUs (trimming the fat and focusing on a few key bottles)
What do you think 2026 will bring to the Lebanese wine scene?
SUBSCRIPTION SPECIFICS
For all subscribers:
Monthlies (1x/month): A monthly newsletter that includes a short essay, a roundup of links, a pic of Penny, and a “last month on Aanab News” recap of newsletters published. Like last year, the first monthly will be sent out in February.
Essays: Long-form writing on biology, food, agriculture, the environment, film, art, design, and who knows what else. In short, just like my Instagram bio says: curiosity, culture, and cats!
[You know I was on the fence, and then you said “culture”] from Platonic, Apple TV
Essays will be free for all to read but everything on Aanab News is paywalled one month after being published and only paid subscribers get access to the full archive.
For paid subscribers:
track+field (1x/month): A recap of the physical activity and findings during the previous month. This log blends the two areas (health + work) and it tracks my time in the field. Like last year, the first track+field of 2026 will be sent out in February.
14 Days of love, loss, & longing (a February series): A daily newsletter that runs from February 1st until the 14th where I write about the emotions and musings that emerge leading up to Valentine’s Day/my birthday. Read last year’s intro to get a better idea of what it’s about.
Witchy Week (an October series): A daily newsletter that runs from October 24th until October 31st. Also read last year’s intro to get a better idea of what it’s about.
Aanab News will take two editorial breaks: a summer vacation (the entire month of June) and the end-of-year/new-year holiday period (December 15th, 2026 until January 15th, 2027).
Goals for 2026
Get out of my head and in my body (improve that balance)
1000 subscribers while maintaining my open rate (>50%)
As a free subscriber, you’ll be hearing from me once a month most of the time so if you want to get in on the extra fun, upgrade to a paid subscription and do it now because I’m offering 30% off of the annual subscription rate until January 31st!