Mongeard Mugneret Kosher?

This is either a mistake on WHWC’s part or I need to stock up on this for when I have shabbat dinner with my parents. It would be nice if the 2015 Bourgogne Rouge actually is kosher. Does anyone know?

I don’t see any mention of it being kosher on the page for the wine (to which you linked), though the wine comes up in a search for kosher wines. I’d guess there’s just a tagging error – the product was coded for kosher so it comes up in a search.

Called up WHWC and they fixed it. It was an error unfortunately…When are they going to make good kosher wine that isn’t massively overpriced for what it is!?

When pigs fly!!

And when pigs are kosher.

Jay Hack
Mark Golodetz wrote:
Brussel sprouts sautéed with bacon onions and cream
Reading problem? We have too many Muslim guests so bacon is not allowed in my synagogue.

Corey N. wrote:
. . . turkey bacon . . . is really not bad.
Only if you’ve never had the real thing. Growing up I used to eat Hebrew National Kosher beef fry all the time. Then I had the real thing and never turned back.

At Jay’s synagogue pork products are kosher except when there are muslims around for dinner

Elliot, I got a kick out of that, too! His synagogue must be ultra- ultra-Reform.

They are. Pigs in a blanket (using kosher hot dogs). Staple at many Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs,

2001 Guiraud and 2002 Valandraud.

The 2001 Guiraud is actually better than the non kosher. It just happened that the day they were set up to make the kosher cuvée was the perfect day to pick. They were going to blend it in to the regular but after what I was told were some rather aggressive threats to out them, they decided not to. It is wonderful. More gripping than the 2001 Suduiraut, which I have had many times.

The 2002 Valandraud was made by Thunevin in honor of his father, who was a butcher who had supplied meat to Jews hiding in the hills while the Nazis were in the area. He told me he used the exact same quality grapes and process as he did for his regular cuvée because otherwise he would have dishonored his father. He supervised the entire production. The only difference was that the Rabbi he hired to actually work the grapes did no battonage from noon Friday until Saturday night, and the tank was covered and locked during that period, so the wine is a bit less intense than the regular cuvée. Some would say that makes it better.

I understand he no longer makes a kosher cuvée.

What a cool tidbit of history on the Valandraud! Thanks for dropping some knowledge, Jay. I’ll try to seek those out if they are still on the market.

I must admit that one of wine’s biggest attractions to me is the history and stories like this. So cool!

Not quite up there with the 1945 Mouton Victoire bottle, which I would like to own even if empty, but a good story nonetheless. I bought a bottle and we drank it at a Passover Seder. Made spilling ten drops for the ten plagues a bit more painful.

Jay’s synagogue may be ultra-ultra-Reform, but Jay is unreformed.

I think “unrepentant” is the word you are looking for

That works, too.

Where’s the sarcasm emoticon again? I couldn’t find it.

Thought I would chime in here. I have been importing small production French wines for about 10 years now, that are produced under kosher supervision. Don’t want to sound very advertisey, so will just stick with some basic info, and some thoughts on the kosher scene in general.

Specifically with regards to Valandraud and their kosher program, they took a hiatus after the 2005 vintage since nobody was buying the wines. Jean-Luc was a bit ahead of his time with producing kosher wine at the ultra premium price point in the earlier part of the last decade. They produced kosher wine in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, and even made boiled/mevushal versions of the 2002 and 2003 vintages (so there are three Valandrauds from these years: non kosher, kosher/non mevushal, and kosher/mevushal). A second wine was made in 2004 under the Virginie label.
In 2011, Valandraud resumed kosher production and presold all the wines to certain distributors and private parties as a contingency for production. Kosher Valandraud has been made every year since but not available to the general public. Also in 2011, they reintroduced their second wine Virginie (in kosher), and in subsequent years, added more kosher vanity wines under the St Emilion Grand Cru designation (such as Axelle de Valandraud, Louis de Valandraud, etc.). I have tasted all of the kosher Vals from the last decade but none of the contemporary editions. They older ones are quite elegant and well made. I would rate the 2005 as the strongest vintage, followed by 2003 (non mevushal), 2002 (non mevushal), 2003 (mevushal), 2002 (mevushal), 2001 and then 2004. I am not a big fan of the Virginie, contemporary or otherwise. Don’t ask about the price.

Anyway, expensive and kosher have been synonymous for a while. In reality, it is possible to get quality kosher wine at all price points, and there are some values as well. My personal focus is small production lots from family wineries with choice vineyards, where the wine is all produced as kosher, instead of as by-product. The main wine is from an 80 year old vineyard in Pomerol between Rouget and La Violette. Also have some QPR wines from Lalande de Pomerol and Montagne St Emilion ($39), a 1er Cru NV kosher Grower Champagne ($59), and a St Emilion Grand Cru ($89). In the broader kosher market, there are domestic values to be had. However, much of the kosher wine stateside comes from Israel, and while the wine is fine, there are very few wines that are worth the tariff. We also have a Rhone Ranger kosher movement here in CA among some smaller wineries, so that’s fun as well.

Don´t think Mongeard-Mugneret ever produced a kosher wine …

I ´m curious: what has to be done by the producer to get a kosher wine?
Is it only that a Rabbi has to be present … or anything else?

Interesting, Andrew. Thanks for posting. I’d love to do a mevushal/non-mevushal tasting of the same vintages.

It would be a public service if you could drop a link where we can access the wines you discussed.