Levant - 'land of the sunrise' in French, is the eastern Mediterranean region. In ancient times, the Levant was a major wine growing and production area known for its quality. The wines produced in the Land of Israel were distributed by the Phoenicians throughout the Mediterranean basin, in merchant ships like the one shown on the label. The Phoenicians were a Canaanite people who had close cultural and commercial ties with the people of Israel. The ancient Hebrew script and the Western scripts developed from the Phoenician script.