Pre-Pesach Kosher Wine Round-Up
As per usual, the Wall Street Journal (link) and New York Times (link) featured kosher wines in their wine pages recently. I will let them speak for themselves, for the most part, but I am happy that these columns left the usual refrain (”This isn’t your parents pancake syrup…err…Manischewitz anymore”). Eric Asimov, in the Times almost belittles those who write-off this growing section of the wine market.
I was glad that Dalton was well represented and well reviewed. That’s hardly a new development, but I remain a fan of most of their wines and recently attended a tasting run by Alex Haruni, Dalton’s owner. In addition to all of their single grape wines, which are great, I recommend the Alma, a Cab-Merlot blend, that I have had a few opportunities to try. It is a very drinkable wine that will certainly go well with anything on your seder table. I was also happy to see Galil’s Yiron ‘03 on the NYT list. I have loved the Yiron for the past few years, so I like to see it get good press.
I also recently attended the annual Kosher Wine Extravaganza at the Jewish Center on the Upper Westside, run by Gotham Wines & Liquors. As I mentioned to a number of people there, an event like that, with hundreds of wines, is too overwhelming to write about cogently. And then I misplaced my notes. Anyway, a few of the noteworthy wines were:
- Tabor’s Adama line: I won’t say that I loved these wines, but I think it’s great that an Israeli kosher wine is giving consumers the opportunity to taste and compare the effects of terroir on wine. The line features volcanic, chalk and clay soil, among others. From the few that I tasted, the differences were very dramatic. Of course, there are other factors that might explain this and I’ll allow for the gimmick factor, but I welcome this addition to the market
- Recanati Cabernet Franc: I wish I had my tasting notes for this. This wine was specifically recommended to me and I really enjoyed it. It’s 100% Cabernet Franc and may be the first such wine from Israel. For those who want to expose their palates to something a bit different, it’s worth picking up a bottle or two.
- Chateau Leoville Poyferre: I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about French wines, but that is one of the great things about an event like this. I could taste a number of French (and fairly expensive) wines. The Leoville is already wonderful and will be great over the next several years.
If I find my notes, I will add to this post, but for now I leave you with these and wish you a chag sameach!
one point about the WSJ article was that they could find no difference between mevushal and non mevushal.
“We are often asked if the mevushal process harms the wine. In our tastings through the years, we haven’t found a consistent difference in taste between mevushal and nonmevushal kosher wines. The Goose Bay Pinot was mevushal. In this tasting, about a third of our sample and about a third of our favorites were mevushal.”
On Pesach i tasted an excellent French Dry Wine under the supervision on Dayan Westheim. I don’t recall the brand or vintage.
Try http://www.badatz.org They will tell you the wines produced under their kosher supervision. They do have an extensive range.
I don’t mind mevushal wine but I want to be charged a fair price for it. My family went to the new store in Boca Florida, Corks Kosher Wine Emporium. We bought what we needed. Money is tight (for most people) and the ads showed amazing prices. Two weeks later we returned and the prices went up almost $5/bottle from the last time. They have to pay for that fancy decorating some how. Turns out Corks is also Kosher Marketplace. Have you seen the prices there? I know Boca is richer than most areas but has the orthodox lost their mind? I’d rather travel to Kosher KIngdom. I know they aren’t trying to rob me blind. Wake up BOca!
Kosher wines have really come a long way in the last few years and your really starting to see more and more quality wine being produced. I work in a wine cellar and although I’m not Jewish I enjoy helping many people pick out kosher wines for passover and for other various Jewish holidays. The selection and quality of the wines is growing all the time!