Seder 2005 Wine Report
While we stuck mostly with tried-and-true favorites for our Shulchan Orekh wine (we remained wedded to Almog for the four cups), this year’s sedarim did provide two wines worth reporting on. The first, a 2002 Shiraz-Cabernet (55%-45%, respectively) blend (mevushal) from Kolobarra Hills of Australia (Victoria) (image from kosherwine.com)
was a good match for our brisket-ish French Roast. It was interesting, though, that the wine tasted a bit off when we first tried it with the gefilte fish. Once properly paired, the wine was quite flavorful, revealing the black cherry and pepper notes that the label claims you’ll find. While not a very red dry wine, per se, I would only recommend it for people who like big red wines and enjoy tasting their way through some complexity.
The big surprise from our seder wines, though, was the 2004 Dalton Unoaked Chardonnay (Galilee, non-mevushal) (image from queenannewine.com). I have been a big fan of Dalton wines for several years, particularly their Sauvignon Blanc Fume. I enjoy Chardonnay, but am rarely particularly impressed by it (generally preferring big reds to whites). However, this wine was truly outstanding and notable. The surprises with the Unoaked Chardonnay began with the first pour: the wine is much clearer/lighter than the average oaked (or often over-oaked) chardonnay, looking almost like water at first glance. Both its scent and taste were very crisp and clean, much more so than most chardonnays. I find that a lot of kosher chardonnays have almost a buttery taste and texture as a result of significant oaking, which is not always a bad thing, but gives them a certain uniformity of taste.
This Dalton tasted like a pure result of quality grapes. The label description reads: “From the vineyards of Keren Ben Zimra, Dalton Unoaked Chardonnay was made from the only the free run juice. A fruity wine bursting with citrus and tropical fruit flavours, Dalton offers a new and exciting facet to Chardonnay wine, in keeping with its Mediterranean origins.” This wine makes for a great drink-right-now for those looking to explore a different and interesting side of chardonnay.
Of course the wine tasted off with the gefilte fish…why would you expect ground-up, boiled, salty-sweet whitefish to go with a shiraz-cab blend? We have a bottle of the same at home (didn’t get to it at the seder) and I’m eager to try it out myself.
Which Hard Liquors are Kosher for Paasover?
You should try the Dalton “Canaan” white wine - a combination of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. Just on the right touch of dryness.
Myself I used the Dalton Merlot for the first night and the Gan Eden Black Muscat for the second night.
Isn’t it interesting how a 750ml bottle fills up exactly 4 kiddush cups plus a little extra for spilling by the 10 plagues?
With all these comments, looks like I should draft an addendum. First, my comment about the gefilte fish wasn’t meant to suggest that I had paired the shiraz-cabernet with the fish, but rather was a cautionary tale whose purpose was to suggest that people not give up on wines that seem a little off too quickly. As for the other Dalton wines, I have had the Canaan and enjoyed it thoroughly - I can’t remember whether I’ve had the merlot, but, as I mentioned, I’m pretty confident in their wines generally. On the hard liquor question, there are numerous hard liquors available, but be sure to look for some type of certification as many hard liquors have (or are based on) chametz. The Bartenura liqueurs (Etrog, Mandarin, Lime, Peach, etc.) are quite tasty as either apperitif or after-dinner drink. Slivovitz is the old seder standby, but look for K for P certification, even on familiar brands. Kedem, Bartenura and Carmel also make some liquors - I know there’s a K for P vodka that I believe is made from sugar. And you can get brandy and amaretto. If you hit a wine shop with a good kosher wine selection, they will probably also have a good K for P liquor variety.
NMMarc– Thanks for the Pesach liquor overview. I recently received a frantic e-mail from a gentleman requesting non-European plum brandy (Slivovitz). I managed to find such a brandy produced in New York under the name “Spirit of Solomon.” It’s kosher-for-Passover and available at kosherwine.com.
On a related note– can anyone recommend a good source for kosher/kosher-for-passover liquors (not wine) in the Boston area?