Celebrate?

Kosher Wine?

Let’s Talk!

This is the 3rd in a kosher wine series! Woo! (see below for links)

Why this post now?

This is High Holiday season! It is time to celebrate!

Jewish New Year’s anyone? That’s just for starters. This is definitely a good time to find out about some interesting and fun kosher wines. (If you want to know what and when all the holidays are, click here.)

This post has even more recommendations and information! Woo!

If you keep Kosher or are curious and/or interested about kosher wines, this post is for you!

At this point, I generally congratulate you all for wanting to know more about kosher wines.

Most people know nothing about kosher wine!

Even many winemakers of non kosher wine are generally clueless. Worse than clueless actually. They think they know about it. Not all winemakers, but many. Too many, I feel.

If you are curious, congratulations! Many people don’t even know kosher wine exists.

Hat’s off to your curiosity!

Before we get to the recommendations let’s answer some questions:

What are the basics of kosher wine?

(If you know all the basics, skip on down to the recommendations!)

At its most basic, kosher wine is made in accordance with Jewish dietary law. Just as Old World wines have to follow specific wine production rules, so does Kosher wine.

I have no intention of discussing Jewish dietary law. I’m talking wine here. I am staying in my lane. Research it if you need to know. If you keep Kosher you know already.

Kosher wine must be made under the supervision of a rabbi. Whatever is added to the wine during production must be Kosher. Oh, and only observant Jews may handle the wine during production.

Does it taste the same as other wine?

YEP!!

There is good Kosher wine and not so good Kosher wine, just like every other wine. Absolutely no difference in taste.

I drink both kosher and non kosher wines so I know what I am talking about.

Let’s get into the fine print, so to speak:

How do I know the wine is kosher?

Remember when I mentioned that Kosher wine has to follow certain rules. It actually has to prove it by being certified.

2 kosher wine bottles with certifications circled in red — **Here are 2 examples of a Kosher Certification. I conveniently indicated it in red.**

**The circle around the K and around the U are two options. The letter P next to it show they are Kosher for Passover. That’s a celebration for a different time of year.**

There is no way I am getting into all the certifications. Insane amount around the world. The real issue is if someone keeps kosher, they have to trust that the wine is actually kosher.

No different than a certification of vegan or gluten free. It needs to be trusted. By the way, kosher wine is vegan.

What is this I hear about cooked wine?

Mevushal means cooked or boiled. It is a unique form of pasteurization. If a wine is Mevushal, it can be served by anyone and remain Kosher.

I have said in earlier posts that boiling the wine does not change the taste. Apparently that view is not shared by everyone. However, I am pretty sure that if a mevushal wine was blind tasted (label and all information covered) with a similar non mevushal wine, very few if any wine drinkers could figure out which was which.

Those who believe that the wine is not the best wine will request non mevushal wine. You do you!

Where can I buy Kosher wine?

Where you can find Kosher wine depends on where you live. If there is no store near you that sells it, or you want a better selection, try ordering online.

Check your country or state to see what the laws are about having wine delivered to your area.

Here are a few choices if delivery is available to you:

Kosherwine.com

Kosherwinewarehouse.com

Herzogwine.com (In addition to an online business, Herzog has a winery in California where you can visit and tour.)

Are all kosher wines sweet?

NO!

However, many people enjoy sweet wines and look to kosher wines to provide them.

Bartenura, anyone? Wildly popular!

To help with this post I visited the Kedem Winery in Marlboro, New York. (Kedem is pronounced with two short “E’s”. Rhymes with head, in other words.)

Hat’s off to Tara-Joy Noto who is the tasting room manager there. We learned a tremendous amount from her.

Many people head to Kedem looking for sweet wines.

However, it is not all the wine there, at all!

Kedem winery facility — **Wine making facility at Kedem Winery.**

Kedem is owned by the Royal Wine Corp. They produce or distribute an enormous amount of kosher wine.

You can download their portfolio here. It is over 400 pages!!! That’s a lot of kosher wine! You can’t order directly from them, though.

Some are available at Kedem.

panorama of tasting room at Kedem winery — **Panorama picture of the tasting room at Kedem.**

Kedem Winery can deliver certain wines in New York state.

Tasting wine here is an educational and delicious experience! There is even an 8 minute video giving you an overview of the history of Kedem and the Herzog Family.

Tara answered any questions we had. She also gave us insight into the many different types of shoppers that travel and purchase there.

kosher wines at Kedem on a wooden wine rack — **Here is a close up of some of the available wines! All price points.**

**Note the many Herzog wines. I’m a fan of many of them.Yep, Royal Wine Corp owns them too.**

Let’s recommend some other great wines:

**This is a delicious rosé wine from France with a fun name and label.**

**Hippy Roubine Rosé would be a great addition to any celebration. The glass corked bottle makes for a beautiful presentation.**

Stoudemire Cabernet wine with lion on label — **Another delicious choice we tasted at Kedem Winery is Stoudemire Cabernet from Israel.**

**The man behind** ***Stoudemire Wines*** **(the underlined is clickable) is Amar’e Stoudemire, the NBA all star basketball player. His wines were created to express his deep attachment to Israel.**

**These are 2 fantastic Spanish wines.**

I have often recommended the Rioja that is 100% Tempranillo (the yellow label). Now there is a delicious Garnacha choice as well! You cannot go wrong with either!

GOOD TO KNOW:

There are a number of non-kosher wineries in many regions that produce kosher runs of their wines to increase their customer base and brand. I was really surprised to see kosher versions of Freixenet (a sparkling Cava) and Whispering Angel (rosé).

AND NOW….

Shout out to my brother-in-law who recommended the following wines! He has great taste in wine, and I’m not just saying that because he is family. He actually has more knowledge about Kosher wine than I do.