Archive for the 'Kosher Wine' Category

With the Jewish holiday Passover starting tonight, this past weekend was filled with questions about what wine to pick up for consumption during the traditional Seder. I’m sure I’ll get my fair share of these questions today as well, as people make their way to their local wine shops to pick up some selections before sundown. I don’t mind answering these queries; in fact, I love when people ask and I get the opportunity to geek out a bit. What I don’t like is how these questions, especially when it comes to kosher wine, are proposed.

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Each year around the Jewish holiday of Passover, we see pieces on kosher wine.  “Kosher Wine–it’s not just Manischewitz anymore!” The headline usually reads. Last year I wrote a similar post (Ahem, Kosher Wines Demand Your Attention!) We’ve given many 90+ scores to kosher wines, increasingly so in the past few years. It’s true that kosher wine quality is improving by leaps and bounds.
I attended the Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience last week, which blew me away. No less than 1,000 people attended, compared to a few hundred last year, signifying the growth of the market.  My mission, besides sampling enough food to feed Israel (15 kosher restaurants brought entrée-sized portions to the event), was to do a little hunting for you. New kosher wine producers are springing up constantly while well-established wineries are experimenting with new grapes. I sought to dig through the familiar, and shine some light on the unknown.  Rather than California Cabernet, you’ll find Carignan from Israel. These are exciting kosher wines, your Bubbie’s never had.

The problem is, these can be  hard to find. Most wine shops carry a maximum of five kosher wines, often from the big producers. So I’ve provided links to find them online.

Whether kosher wine is relevant to you or not, these are worth seeking out:

Carmel 2006 Old Vines Carignan “Appellation Series”, Upper Galilee, Israel $28- Israel is becoming known for producing great Bordeaux varietals, but Carmel Winery is breaking the mold here with this cherry-laden Carignan from 40-year-old vines.  Keep an eye out for more Carignan from Israel. Though Spain is more often associated with Carignan, it may emerge as Israel’s signature grape. Find it

Covenant 2008 Chardonnay “Lavan” Russian River, Sonoma, $37-  Many of the kosher Chardonnays at the show  were clunky on the oak but this new bottling from Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd is elegant and refined. It is creamy and lush, completely unfined/unfiltered. Lavan is a pedigreed vineyard in RRV. Find It.

Yatir 2005 Forest Bordeaux Blend $99- This Cabernet-based blend is ripe and decadent in dark fruits. From a unique microclimate: a forest on the edge of a desert.   Find It.

Domaine du Castel 2007 Blanc du Castel, $41- One of my favorite kosher wines is the Bordeeux blend, Domaine du Castel Grand Vin, and their 100% Chardonnay shows their dedication to quality, across the board. Find It

Chateau La Fleur Jonquet 2005- This was my favorite Bordeaux of the tasting. It has nice structure and supple black fruits. A kosher ’05 Bordeaux might come at a hefty price point though. Find It

Every year, I review Israeli wines for the April issue of our magazine. I do this because the majority of wines from Israel are Kosher, and a lot of Kosher wine is purchased and consumed in the month of April for the Jewish holiday Passover (September is also a busy season for the category with the High Holy Days including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). Every year, I have noticed an improvement over the previous vintage, and marvel at the fact that some fabulous winemakers are creating beautiful stuff that too many people are unfamiliar with.

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There are many major wine events that take place at this time of year, but Monday night, I attended one in New York that while possibly more under-the-radar than most, was extremely eye-opening: the Royal Wine Corp. Kosher Food and Wine Experience. Over 700 people  attended and tasted wines poured from France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and beyond, including the sought-after To Kalon vineyard in Napa Valley. Among those present were Israel’s premier wine critic, Daniel Rogov and Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. Of course, every bottle was kosher.

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