Last night we celebrated Passover at our home with neighbors and friends. First, while the meal was Kosher for Passover, the wines were not all. Frankly, I don’t buy that just having a Rabbi get paid to say a blessing is what matters for making a wine drinkable. Add to that some of the horrible kosher wines I know people were drinking last night, and that was not happening. Everyone draws their own lines. It was a long meal that lasted almost six hours until the last guests left. We had a great time and it really is nice to be able to share traditions with people of all faiths. My wife and I are vegetarians, so no brisket but plenty of food.
Technically, not part of the Seder bot that’s ok. We sat down as guests arrived in the living room to some civilized wine served with “mock” liver (made from grilled onions, roasted cashews and green beans into a pate), roasted spiced almonds and spinach and artichoke spread.
NV Champagne Lallier Champagne Grand Cru Grande Réserve- France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Bottle was produced in 2011 based on lot number, purchased in 2013 (don’t know about disgorge dates). 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay. Light yellow gold in color. Small bubbles. The nose is nice with pear and some citrus. Slight ginger. Very fresh acidity. Dry. Nice citrus on the palate. Just the slightest bit of smoke on the finish. Very nice start. (90 pts.)
With our Seder
2013 Flam Syrah Reserve- Israel, Galilee
This was opened earlier in the day and allowed to breathe. Poured into glasses for Passover seder just before sitting down to dinner. Purple in color. The nose is nice and still improved over the night. Black raspberries, and slight violet note and a bit or warm earthiness. On the palate, this is a round wine, very complete. Enough acidity to carry the food, but not a lot. Good black raspberry fruit. A bit of char. Nice finish. Certainly met and exceeded many of my expectations for an Israeli wine. (90 pts.)
2014 Flam Unoaked- Israel, Judean Hills
Wow, this was really good and way above my expectations. It is an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay blend from Israel. THe glasses were poured just prior to sitting down at our Seder. Very pale gold in color. Very nice aromatics with citrus rind, slight grass and lemons being at the forefront. A nice acidity, not quite crisp but enough. There is a roundness on the palate that is nice without being flabby or oak drive. Very food friendly. Long finish. How much did I like it? I gladly finished off the last glass in the bottle when I could have had more Rivers Chardonnay (which I also did have some of) as this was a wine I rarely would get to drink. (92 pts.)
With home made matzoh balls in home made vegetarian stock.
2013 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Light golden in color. Pretty nose of lemons, vanilla, slight peaches and a bit of butter. Great texture. Robust yet seamless. Good acidity. Slightly waxy on the palate with nice lemons cream notes. Deep with some complexity. Still youthful. Long finish. Worked well with Matzoh Ball soup. (92 pts.)
With a fresh garden salad
2012 Domaine du Castel Grand Vin Judean Hills- Israel, Judean Hills
Opened and allowed to breath for 8 hours prior to serving. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Verdot from Israel. This is kind of Israel’s flagship wine it seems. Excellent. Purple in color. The nose has cassis, cherries, brown tobacco, ad slight spice. Nice texture. On the palate, there is a lot going on. Cassis, cherries, some earthiness and a bit of oak. Nice acidity. Kept improving at the table. Not inexpensive at $65, but certainly as good as a Bordeaux worth of the price tag. Seems like it will age pretty well, say peak in a few years and stay there for a decade longer. (92 pts.)
With Quinoa & Greens Pie, Tzimmis (lots of starchy fruits and vegetables slow cooked all day), and mushrooms in Pinot Noir sauce)
2009 SonkinCellars Persona- USA, California
Our wine, so I am biased. Still, it is very cool to bring out a bottle at our own Seder to share with our friends. This bottle was opened 8 hours ahead of time and allowed to breathe in the cellar. Love the nose. Earthy, slight funk and a lot of fruit. Plenty of acidity. I believe this is at peak now but should be here for 6 to 8 more. If anyone owns any, now is a great time to be opening these but no hurry IMO.
With flourless chocolate torte and Almond roll
1985 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
A very nice showing for this. Opened at noon. Decanted at 5:00. Served at 9:30. Ruby in color. The nose has raspberries, milk chocolate, raisins and slight heat. On the palate, medium bodied. Layers of complexity. Great acidity. Raspberries and chocolate covered raisins. A slight warming as it finishes. Much better than a prior bottle and I attribute that to really giving it enough air in a gentle manner. (93 pts.)
We finished up with a few bourbons.
And I got to eat cold Matzoh Balls for breakfast this am. One of my favorites. Posted from CellarTracker
Hi Loren and I wish you a good Pesach (Passover). To be clear, I drink wine that is kosher and wine that is not but to say “Frankly, I don’t buy that just having a Rabbi get paid to say a blessing is what matters for making a wine drinkable” means that you know nothing about what does or does not make a wine kosher; it is fare more complex than that, so why make such a statement? I would be more than happy to send you some proper explanation if that is of any interest to you.
I am glad that you enjoyed the Flam and Castel. I visit both wineries regularly and buy their wine yearly. In my opinion the Castel GV needs another 5 years of so before it hits it’s stride and for what it’s worth think the 2013 is even better.
The traditional order of The Seder calls for the participants to drink four glasses of wine (at specified points in the service) as an integral part of the evening in addition to any wine drunk purely for pleasure during the meal. We had 26 people around the table and served the following (all kosher);
Glass 1 Yarden Blanc de Blanc 2007
Glass 2 Castel Rose 2014
With the meal Matar Semillon/Sauvignon 2014 followed by Castel Grand Vin 2008 (Magnums) and Yatir Forest 2006 (Magnums).
Glass 3 Yarden Botrytis Galilee 2005
Glass 4 Either more of the Blanc de Blanc or Botrytis depending on personal choice.
Jonathan, I am well aware of what makes a wine Kosher. I choose not to believe it is a distinction with a difference. I am quite content to let others believe what they want, and I will practice my faith how I want.
Yes, we do a traditional seder with the four glasses although as you know not all are before the actual meal, some are after. I would love to hear your thoughts on your wines, especially the Yatir Forest as I have some of that one.
Jonathan, if you could, however, give me a biblical reference for why a wine is kosher or where Mevushal came from, I would appreciate it. I have never been able to find one and perhaps that is part of my skepticism. Similar to rabbis blessing medical marijuana so that now it is (magically?) kosher for Pesach.
Loren,
Thanks for sharing. The Flam Unoaked sounds quite interesting. I’m not a MoT but my wife is, and keeps kosher for pesach. So it’s been in my interest to find decent mevushal wines. I’m happy to report that I just tried locally based (in Berkeley) Covenent Wines, who make a very pleasing mevushal Lodi Zin. They also do a Roussanne blend which I have not yet tried.
Loren, whilst I reasonably knowledgable about this subject I am not an expert and so my reply to you should be taken in that context. Please also note that whilst I know the rules, I do not adhere to them and therefore make no judgement on individual practice. The recent publicity regarding a couple of Rabbi’s blessing medical marijuana is sensationalist BS. These were a couple of attention seeking people who got their 15 minutes of fame. There is no blessing for medical marijuana and no need for it. There are quacks in every walk of life.
The most popular misconception about kosher wines is that they are blessed by rabbis. This is just not so. The word “kosher” means “proper” or “correct.” There is a vast spectrum of kosher laws (or “Kashrut”) running the gamut from the prohibition of mixing dairy and meat, to the list of prohibited and permitted animals and fish.The roots of Kashrut are from the Torah (the Bible) which sets out the regulations for what Jews may or may not eat. G-d’s reason for the kosher laws can be incomprehensible to the average person (many commandments fall under the rubric of “Chok,” i.e., divinely given laws beyond human understanding). The Torah further delves into the laws of worship and sacrifice for the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Most sacrifices (or offerings) whether of animals, grain or other foods, were brought with a “wine libation,” that is wine as an integral component of the sacrificial service.
The kosher laws regarding wine have been refined and codified over the millennia by the rabbis like many other laws and customs upheld by orthodox Jews (you will for instance find no biblical reference to the need to have two sets of dishes for meat and dairy products) . The Rabbi’s felt the need to stress the purity and holiness of wine as an imperative due to wine’s surrogate status for the sacrifices of old. In addition there was felt to be a clear need to somehow distinguish the use of wine drunk by Jews for both ritual and social purposes from wine used in idolatrous ritual and, following the growth of Christianity, the use of wine at Communion was cause for particular concern.
Having accorded wine a status above all other manmade liquids - neither beer nor hard liquor carry its religious significance, as they are not made from grapes - the codifiers of Kashrut added strict production requirements to guard its purity.
For example, no animal products may be allowed. Isinglass (which is derived from a non-kosher source and therefore a significant issue for a kashrut observing wine drinker) or gelatine are are strictly prohibited to fine the wine, as incidentally they are in vegan wine, so kosher winemakers will only use bentonite and will never use animal bladders for filters.
For wine to be kosher it is not enough that it be made without the use of non kosher materials, it also has to be made by Sabbath observant Jews. (a brief diversion….a friend of mine makes Kosher wine in Australia. some of the people who work for him at the crushing facility he uses are not Jewish. Two years ago one of the non-Jewish female workers inadvertantly came in contact with one of the tanks during fermentation and the Mashgiach [Kashrut supervisor] immediately ruled the wine non-Kosher. Faced with a tank of unusable wine for the Kosher market he created a new vegan brand featuring a woman leaning against a barrel of wine under the brand name of ‘She Got Too Close’). From this it was also derived that non-Jews (or indeed non-Sabbath observing Jews) would taint the kosherness of wine if opened and poured by them. The most common problem that arises here are occasions when waiters are serving wine at restaurants or social events. To work around this issue the laws of kashrut stipulate that the wine be made chemically different from non-kosher wine in every respect - in this case, that it be made Mevushal. Making wine Mevushal is a process which brings the liquid to the boiling point, defined as heating it until air bubbles are brought to the surface and some wine is lost through evaporation. The point at which most modern kosher winemakers apply the heat is to the must before the fermentation process begins.
The modern technique of making wine Mevushal is to run the must quickly through a heat flash pasteurizing unit where the wine is quickly heated to at least 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The must is then cooled down just as quickly and the rest of the fermentation and winemaking process goes on. Mevushal wine retains its religious purity no matter who opens or pours it or drinks it.
This may have been more detail than you were looking for but I hope that it helps. If I missed anything let me know.
Yatir have been making some of Israel’s best wine from the get go in 2003. Although owned by Carmel, one of Israel’s largest wine producers, head wine maker Eran Goldwasser seems to have complete autonomy over the wine making down there. The 2006 Yatir Forest is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Petit Verdot and 12% Merlot. What I am tasting in the wine now is the Petit Verdot coming through really nicely and adding a layer of something that seems to me to be suggestive of Mediterranean herbs. I am buyer of this wine every year and always try to put away a couple of magnums together with a case of normal size.
Jonathan, I appreciate your explanation and it is in line with my understanding. But where did it come from? I know of no reference in the Torah or books to these laws as it pertains to wine. I am far from a Talmudics scholar, but I have looked. Therefore it is my personal belief, that these laws, as applied to wine at least, were made up years ago by some possibly power hungry or attention seeking rabbis, and it has simply become tradition.
For example, my tomato need not be grown by an observant jew to be kosher. I get wine is different, but I don’t take my faith from the pronouncements of orthodox rabbi’s. Just calling themselves observant is offensive to me as it attempts to imply other jews are not if they practice differently. But this is for another time and place. I apologize if any parts of my original or subsequent posts offended you.
Glad to hear about the Yatir. I look forward to drinking it.
I brought - and tasted - a bottle of the 2013 Flam Classico last night. It’s hard to imagine a worse bottle of supposedly good wine. Soft, slightly jammy, and oaked to the goddamned gills with insufficiently seasoned American oak, AND French oak, so the net effect was drinking puréed dill and vanilla cookies, complete with grainy oak tannin that gave the wine almost a baby-food like character. I was embarrassed to have brought this. 82 points, and why the hell cant people make decent wine in Israel.
Hi David, far be it from me to have to act as some kind of defender of Israeli wine, but I have drunk awful wine from just about every wine producing country in the world and it didn’t lead me to make a blanket statement about the inability of that country to produce decent wine. If you just read this thread you will see in a short space reports on several very decent wines from Israel. Your note reflects worse on you than it does on Israeli wine.
Hi Loren, nothing you say offends me in any way however I nonetheless don’t agree with a lot of what you write, even while I understand the basis of some of it. However, as you say, any further discussion is for another time and place. if you ever get to Jerusalem please get in contact and I will be happy to share a bottle or two with you at my home.
Flam is, as I recall, regarded as one of the better producers. I’ve drunk wine from virtually every Israeli producer imported to the US (my father is Israeli) and rather universally, it’s shit. I have no idea why.
What’s the least holy wine on this board, Rombauer Chardonnay? Can I pay a Rabbi to say a blessing over Rombauer Chardonnay to make it Kosher? If so, Loren is right. If not, Jonathan is right. Either way, I’m pretty sure the god you believe in wouldn’t really give a shit about what you eat or drink as much as how you treat one another.
Hi Scott, the answer to your first question is an absolute no. Paying a Rabbi to say a blessing over Rombauer Chardonnay would not make it Kosher. With regard to the other point you make, I can do no better than refer you to Hillel, the foremost Jewish teacher in Israel in the first century BCE and the Talmudic story (source:Shabbat 31a) in which Hillel, when asked by a prospective convert to Judaism to teach him the whole Torah while he stood on one leg, replied: ‘That which is hateful unto you do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole of the Torah, The rest is commentary. Go forth and study.’
All I know is I had a '12 Williams Selyem RRV Pinot and a '12 Sojourn Silver Eagle Pinot for Passover and both rocked. The Sojourn went well with the Gefilte Fish. And my understanding is the Kashrut laws are set forth in the Talmud and absent a Rabbi’s blessing it cannot bear the seal of being Kosher - that said, my wines were just fine for my purpose!
Thinking more deeply about why Israeli wine is shit, I think its not fair to say “we don’t know why”. There are several reasons that, put together, explain why nearly all Israeli wine is shit:
Latitude. Most of the Israeli vineyards are at around 32N, or even south of that. That’s probably too close to the equator to make truly great wine, even in a Mediterranean climate. The lowest-latitude regions I can think of that make really great wine are Mendoza and Santa Barbara, and they’re both slightly poleward of most of the Israeli vineyards and benefit from fluky climate (in the case of SB, the cold California current; in the case of Mendoza, extreme elevation). Israeli wines remind me a bit of the handful of Los Angeles Country or San Diego County wines that I’ve had. Latitude doesn’t preclude quality wine in Israel, but it probably makes it much harder to make really good wine (as opposed to $15 middling stuff) and particularly to make wine that isn’t in a really warm style. Note that, for example, the Algerian wine-growing regions are poleward of Israel.
Climate. Israel’s climate is odd, in that the Mediterreanean is quite warm offshore relative to places further east and north. As such, despite it’s hot summer Mediterranean climate, it’s more humid and has lower diurnal temperature ranges than other wine regions at low latitude with hot summer Mediterranean climates. Places like Mendoza and the Central Coast. Again, this isn’t disqualifying in-and-of itself - the region around Syracuse, in Sicily, is a very good historical wine-producing region and where Nero d’Avola comes from, and summertime lows there are also relatively high due to proximity to warm water - but it makes it harder.
Cultural Heritage. Israelis generally immigrated from places where they don’t make wine, or where wine was made, it was made by colonial landowners and not the indigenous population. Russia, Ukraine, North Africa, Iraq, Eastern Europe, etc. In places where Jews came from that did make wine, Jews were often prohibited from owning land necessary to make wine, or were basically subsistence farming. Other than the obvious exception, Jews historically owned very few of the great European domaines.
Kosher Laws. Captive Audience. Most Israeli wine is kosher, and most kosher wine can, and does, taste like shit. The Kosher people drinking it have no frame of reference to recognizes they are drinking shit, and the non-kosher people who buy it 5 nights a year know that it is shit but drink it anyways because drinking shit on holidays is sort of the point. Limited winemaker pool. There are a handful of great Jewish winemakers out there - not a lot, but some. But they don’t make kosher wine because they don’t qualify to touch the grapes. If Steve Matthiason was making Kosher wine, I’m sure it’d be delicious, but I understand that he’s prohibited b/c not a Sabbath observer. Al Brounstein could have made a brilliant kosher wine, and based on other stuff he did at Diamond Creek, I bet he would’ve. Also prohibited.
Royal Wine Corporation. Royal wine dominates the Kosher wine industry, and they’re gigantic and perfectly content to make shit and make a lot of money selling shit. That Leoville Poyferre kosher wine you’ve tasted isn’t actually made by Leoville Poyferre, it’s made by Pierre Miodownick at Royal, and he’s a genius at making terrible wine. If you had multiple kosher importers competing on quality - if there was, say a Kosher Dressner or a Kosher Rosenthal (cough, irony, cough), then maybe things would be different.
It’s actually a interesting lesson as to why quality wine isn’t just the result of one man or one property or one great terroir, there are a lot of cultural, geographic and commercial factors that need to come together to make something that isn’t swill. And in Israel, those factors haven’t happened.