Kosher Wine

Kosher Wine is an important part of Jewish sacramental services. The blessings or saying the Kiddush over wine in observance of the Sabbath or holidays, as well as for other important events of family life, is special to many families and it is in keeping with family traditions.

When wine is produced according to Jewish dietary laws it is known as Kosher wine. There are several steps that must be followed in order for the wine to be Kosher (blessing by the Rabbi is not one of the requirements).

List of the Required Religious Laws* No wine may be produced from a vine until its fourth year. The vineyard, if within the biblical lands, must be left fallow every seven years. Only vines may be grown in vineyards. When the grapes arrive at the winery, the grapes and resulting wine may only be handled by strictly Sabbath-observing Jews, and only 100% Kosher materials may be used in the wine-making, maturation, and bottling process. *This list is an excerpt from Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine.

Brief History of Kosher Wines

There is quite a bit of history related to Kosher wine-making so we'll just cover a few facts you might find interesting.

Since Biblical times Israel has been making wine which was shipped to ancient Egypt. These wines generally were not very good. They were seasoned with honey, pepper and juniper berries. It was thick and syrupy, and it was so sweet that it was almost undrinkable.

In the 1870's Kosher wine production would get a boost from Baron Edmond de Rothschild. His attempt to construct a winery was halted when the Turks heard that Rothschild was building a "fortress" possibly aiming to liberate Palestine from the Turks (that's another history lesson.)

During this period the wines were red, sweet and very unappealing. In 1875 the British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, was given a bottle of Kosher wine from Palestine which he said tasted like an elixir he would receive from his doctor for a bad cold. This review did not help Israel's wine-making reputation.

It was well into the 1960's that Israel's reputation for making Kosher wine continued to be criticized. Finally in the 1980's the demand for more sophisticated wines from Israel came about as travel abroad became more common.

Israel's Wineries

In the 1980's a state-of-the-art winery was built with trained wine makers from the University of California at Davis and the Golan Heights Winery came to be. Since they began production, their wines have received accolades and a gold medal in International competitions.

Age-Worthy Kosher wines are being produced in many regions other than Israel. Quality Kosher wines are produced in California, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and South Africa as well as other wine producing regions throughout the world.

Kosher Wine Society

If you would like more information about Kosher wine, go to Kosher Wine Society. They pride themselves as the foremost educators in Kosher wine. They have a catalogue of Kosher vintages so that you can locate a wide selection of quality Kosher wines. There are recipes and pairing information as well.

La'Chaim!

Kosher Wine Selections and Pairings

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