Kosher Blog

Pomegranate (with pics) and Last-minute Wine Recs

Certainly I should have posted this before today, but here’s a little something to take you in Pesach. Also, it appears that both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal chose to skip their annual pre-Pesach Kosher wine columns this year (However, WSJ had a piece on Kosher riesling in late March).

I attended a couple of pre-Pesach wine “expos” (they’re too big to be tastings, really) and make the following recommendations, focusing on wines I haven’t seen or tried before to give you something new to try:

• Binyamina Special Reserve Cabernet 2005 (Israel, Galilee) A big, bold cabernet that, as a fan of Israeli cabernet, I really enjoyed. It has great fruit and finish.
• Segal’s Dishon Cabernet 2005 (Israel, Galilee) A complex and interesting wine that is sure to delight cabernet fans who have been getting a bit bored by their big cabs lately.
• Galil Mountain Viognier 2007 (Israel, Galilee) I love Galil Mountain’s wines (their Yiron blend is a true favorite) and this white is a nice addition to their catalog. You can also check out Dalton’s vigonier. Both are vividly flavorful.
• Tabor Galil Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Israel, Galilee) A flavorful, pleasing sauvignon blanc that will be a hit with white wine fans and those of us prefer reds, but look for something to go a bit better with chicken, fish, etc.
• Chateau Le Clare 2005 (France, Bordeaux/Medoc) I’ve never been a huge fan of Bordeaux, but have made a point of trying more of them and learning more. This is a bright, flavorful wine that leaves out much of the earthy (barn-like) scent of Bordeaux, while preserving a “green” taste to the wine.
• Chateau Rollan de By 2003 (France, Bordeaux/Medoc) Similar to the Ch. Le Clare, this Bordeaux is not very earthy, but is also a bit tight for my taste. I expect that some time/aerating would coax it open and make it into a very enjoyable wine.
• Vina Encina 2004 (Spain, Ribera del Jucar) This blend of 35% Tempranillo, 35% Bobal, and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon is a nice addition to a growing group of interesting and often excellent Kosher wines from Spain.
• Carmel Vintage (Port-style) (Israel) As a fan of port, I found this offering by Carmel to be a bit long on sweetness and short on the alcohol bite that I like in my port, but it is a nice addition to the small world of Kosher port-style dessert wines. That said, I think Carmel needs to find a way to bring the price down.

I also had the opportunity to check out Pomegranate recently. Steven posted on the store when it opened. You can see various peoples’ thoughts from the comments to that posting. I did not do a thorough price comparison with other stores, but what I saw was commensurate with other Kosher product pricing. What impressed me were the size, cleanliness, organization and selection. Having grown up in the suburbs, I am used to large supermarkets with wide aisles, but that is one of many tradeoffs we make living in New York City. As you can see from the pictures, Pomegranate’s aisles are wide and the store is very clean and bright. The meat counter and packaged meat section are, frankly, beautiful, and the prepared foods looks great. Living on the Upper West Side, I have a access to a few Kosher supermarkets and ample Kosher food at other stores, but there is something very nice about a full-service/full-selection supermarket where everything is Kosher. I won’t be going out of my way to get there often, but it was worth the time to check it out.