Announcing Wine Blogging Wednesday #56: Fine Kosher Wine

This month's theme, to be posted on Wednesday, April 15th (the last day of Passover), is Fine Kosher Wine, hosted by yours truly, The Corkdork.

Much of the reason for creating Wine Blogging Wednesday, now nearly 56 months ago, was to push us out of our comfort zones and to learn something new about the infinite subject of wine.  This month's theme is no exception. It was inspired by a tasting I attended a few weeks ago where I was poured an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa that I was later informed was Kosher. I was aware that there were some quality wines out there that were labeled Kosher, but I had no idea what that really meant. I was shocked and amazed. The wine was the 2006 Covenant, by winemaker Jeff Morgan. It inspired me to contact Lenn and Tim and suggest this theme, which they fast-tracked (Thanks, guys!) to hit the holiday. I have since been fascinated by a world of Kosher wine out there that I had no idea existed --Fine Kosher Wine.

It also inspired me to arrange a vertical tasting with Jeff Morgan for Alder of Vinography.com and myself at the SF Wine Center yesterday. We got a chance to taste some of the most high-end Kosher wines on the market and get a really deep dive into the challenges and responsibilities of a someone making Kosher wine, which I'll be writing up for my formal post. I urge those of you close to a Kosher winery to visit and you'll be very surprised about what it really takes. Jeff's site has tons of great information on it as well to get you started on what makes wine Kosher.

I doubt there are any other categories of wine that are more stigmatized than the Kosher Wine category. Most of us, gentiles like me or most Jewish wine enthusiasts alike, have a lot of negative reactions to the very concept. Most of that has to do with the supermarket Concord grape wines that we're all familiar with (Jancis Robinson calls these sweet wines with foxy flavors). I won't go into the technical details of what makes those wines Mevushal and why most of the finer Kosher wines are Non-Mevushal here. I'll leave that for you to explore.

I realize this one is more challenging an assignment for some in rural areas, but there are some excellent on-line resources for Kosher wine. A quick bit of Googling and you'll find many specialty wine merchants that can send you some.

So find something reputed to be Fine Kosher Wine, taste it, blog about it, then send me a link to your blog posting by Wednesday, April 15th, 2009. You can email me the links to: thecorkdork (at sign) gmail.com.

Comments

[Genevieve McCarthy]

Spain is actually becoming a leading source of fine kosher wines. Here are suggestions for specific cellars in Spain offering kosher wines for export- http://www.cellartours.com/blog/spain/kosher-wineries-in-spain-spanish-wines-for-hannukkah

[john witherspoon]

Hey CorkDork,

thanks for the great topic

my contribution:
http://anythingwine.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/wine-blogging-wednesday-56-kosher-wine/

[1WineDude]

My contribution:

http://1winedude.com/index.php/2009/04/15/youve-come-a-long-way-eyfel-2-examples-of-the-rise-of-kosher-wines/

Cheers!

[Avi]

I have some great posts on Israeli wine (mostly kosher) and where to buy Israeli (kosher and non-kosher) wines in the US, including some boutique wines not common in the supermarket or wine shop.

[Wine Predator aka Gwendolyn Alley]

Heads up: If you're visiting a kosher winery you may find a message like this on their website: Herzog Wine Cellars will be closed April 9-17 in observance of Passover. The winery will reopen on Sunday, April 19th.

Guess I'm going tomorrow or else!

[Karen G]

Very excited to blog about this one. Now we can be sure what should to pair with Mazo Balls. :-)

[Erika]

Oh,and the Covenant is awesome as is the Chateau Giscours. I like Jeff Morgan's Red C too.

[Erika]

Thanks for hosting this topic! It's a subject that is near and dear to my heart and I'm already plotting my post. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everybody can find. In NY, my possibilities are limitless, but I'm curious what others find.

[art predator]

I'm lucky with this WBW since Herzog is located in nearby Oxnard! I've tasted a few of their wines here and there but haven't been to their tasting room before now. Thanks for the excuse!

[Alleigh]

Great and timely topic! I'm looking forward to the exploration, and maybe it will even mean having an excellent wine to serve at Passover.

[Loweeel from PSychospath]

Just a warning, do not get Gedeon Petite Sirah. It is awful, nasty, undrinkable swill. You can get more pleasure for your money by taking a Hamilton out of your wallet, lighting it on fire, and accidentally burning down your house.

Hagafen makes excellent wines (and their whites are a nice value as well); for reds, I like to go Israeli.

[Remy Charest]

Very good theme. Indeed, there is quite a Manischewitz-related stigma to Kosher wines.

Looking at the SAQ lists, for Quebec, there are dozens of Kosher wines available, from Israel, California, France and Spain (Celler Capçanes, which is really, really good stuff). It's even more than I would have expected. Should make for a delicious tasting.

L'chaim!

[The Corkdork]

Very true, Rob. I did learn yesterday that when you read that some wines, like Ch. Giscours is Kosher, what it really means is that there are some bottles that are kosher from specific lots/tanks, etc.
Sonodora, check K&L, for instance. I think there's one in your area and they have a bunch of good choices from Israel, California, and France.

[Rob]

makes sense as a theme for Passover. Ready to make it happen.

Sonadora, more wines are kosher than you think. Especially as Passover is getting closer I would bet that many retailers would be able to tell you which of their wines are kosher. Fair warning however on bottles from manischewitz...

[Sonadora]

Interesting theme. Any hints on where to find Kosher wine? It's not something I've noticed at my local stores....