Advice for buying Kosher wine

WINE TALK
1

I find the pricing and nomenclature very confusing.

For example, this Bordeaux says “Not Mevushal” but “Kosher for Passover”, and markup is dramatic (but nothing the wine label screams out to me “kosher”). https://www.skyviewwine.com/chateau-lascombes-23949.html

I read that Mevushal means pasteurized… but if its “Kosher for Passover” then does the Mevushal designation matter? Also, is this markup justified or could one just buy the Lascombes for a fraction of the price from another retailer?

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There is Kosher, then a subset of laws that make something specifically Kosher for Passover which are more stringent laws, but only needed during the Passover celebration (which has passed for 2024)

So do you need a Kosher wine, or a Kosher for Passover wine?

I do not shop for Kosher wine, but in general Kosher products tend to be more expensive than their non Kosher counterparts (poultry, meat, etc) given the steps needed to ensure they are handled in a Kosher manner.

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3

Doesn’t need to be mevushal if it’s not being handled by non-Jews. Mevushal just sort of perma-koshers the wine. I’ve never understood if this applies to, say, delivery drivers, or if the sealing of the bottle protects it and that the mevushal part is more to allow non-Jews to open and pour/serve kosher wine.

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4

I have never kept kosher and I could well be wrong, but my understanding is that there are two ways of making kosher wine: through pasteurization (meshuval) or by using only sabbath-observing Jews (not just any Jew will do!) for all aspects of the wine’s making. Obviously, both add to the costs of making a wine but the latter is by far the more expensive. (I recall hearing that entire communities of religious Jews regularly decamp from the NYC area to the NY wine regions to help in the harvest).

I would think that a wine that is made in the latter way remains kosher if it is bottled and boxed even if the truck driver is non-Jewish. But it has to be served by an orthodox Jew to remain kosher

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5

What Ben and Neal said - mevushal is like the scorched-earth approach to Kosher wine. .

If you’re looking to buy, I liked Covenant Winery in Berkeley CA. They make a very respectable non-mevushal cab that’s kosher for Passover. Certainly not cheap though.

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The wine is a gift for someone who is kind-of Orthodox (keeps strictly kosher). I would need to take delivery and physically hand it over to them. I would like to give it to them this Friday, which is unrelated to Passover.

So I need a Kosher wine. Not sure if I need to be Mevushal since I am carrying it to them (I am not Jewish).

7

That’s thoughtful.

I enjoyed this wine while in Israel in January. I bought a couple of bottles as gifts for the organizers of our trip.

8

the mevushal aspect of handling by non-Jews refers only to its production and, very strictly, serving. Once it’s bottled, even an Ivy League undergrad can deliver it.

Most observant Jews are fine with “merely” kosher wine, but you can play it safe.

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9

Leoville Poyferre makes a kosher version of both its first and second labels. The former is distributed widely enough to make it reasonably easy to find; I don’t recall ever seeing the second wine.

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I’ve seen kosher Pontet Canet as well.

11

Indeed

12

Where on bottle/label does it say “kosher”?

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13

And Chateau Valandraud.

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Whisky!

15

Slivowitz!

16

I don’t want to read this complete thread, but what I did read is mostly “close enough for government work,” but still inaccurate. I wrote a detailed article on the subject for my synagogue newsletter about 10 years ago after attending the Kosher Wine Festival in Manhattan. I will try to find the article and repost it. The short bullet points you should know are:

  • It has nothing to do with pork or shellfish
  • Mevushal refers to wine that is flash heated
  • From the time that action is taken to press juice (in order words, free run juice doesn’t count) until it is either flash heated or it is finally poured (more about that later) it must be worked only by observant Jews (that means that I can’t do it).
  • If it is Mevushal, and then bottled, non-Jews can open the bottle and pour the wine. If it is not Mevushal, then they can’t.

I am personally offended by the reasons for the category in the first place from a religious and an ethical point of view, so I go out of my way not to kowtow (I love mixed metaphors) to it. I have one bottle of 2015 Domaine du Castel in my cellar. I am letting it age because it should be treated like all other good wine. November is not a vintage. The last time I did that, here is the result:

  • 2004 Ella Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - Israel, Judean Hills, Ella Valley (3/26/2019)
    A very nice Cabernet in any event, and as a 15 year old Kosher Cabernet from Israel, it was outstanding. Purchased for $25.79 (tax included) in April 2009. Pop and pour at the March 2019 FKALBTG dinner in a flight with 1999 and 2000 Musar. Two Lebanese and one Israeli. For years I would tell "experts" in kosher wine that I had put this bottle away to see what age would do and they would give me a thumbs down and say it was dead. WRONG!

    This wine was on the aging curve about where you would expect a comparable vintage of Cali Cab to be at 15 years old. Still on the upswing, having shed its baby fat and the tannins being mostly resolved, but not yet taking on tertiary flavors of age. Red fruit, not overly cherry-dominant with some berries and a bit of an herbal component. As it sat in the glass for a while, it seemed to morph just a bit as more fruit emerged. excellent balance, was mistaken by many at the table for a full bore Cali Cab and a few others said left bank Bordeaux.

    My advice to those who fancy kosher wine at a Passover table - - - buy a case of this and put it away for a decade or more. You won't be drinking sugary crap and you will have something that pairs just right with steak or brisket. I have had a lot of highly reputed Kosher wines but never one at age 15. The Ch. Valandraud, at about 8 times the price, is a better wine, and I thing the Dom. du Castel is probably better at two times the price, but I have not had either of them with and age.

    This wine is from the Judean highlands 20 miles south west of Jerusalem. Supposedly a mountain plateau where David fought Goliath. They claim the weather is consistent - clouds in the sky mean it will rain in November. Probably an indication that vintage is not all that important. (91 points)

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17

Consistently on brand. Well done. You have a way with words counselor.

18

I think it’s the Hebrew writing at the very bottom of the label. Not sure if it’s also in English somewhere like the back label.

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Obviously, you did not do well in Hebrew School. At the bottom, from right to left, it says "Yayin Kosher L’Pesach . . . "

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Thanks! Hard to spot that on some of the tiny website photos.