Kosher WineMaking and What You Should Know

Kosher wines have been given a 'bad rap' so to speak. Technology and today's wine-making are the secret to the high quality and even age-worthy wines that are Kosher. All that new technology has taken Kosher winemaking to the next level and made them drinkable and easier to pair with favorite comfort foods.

What Style is Kosher Wine?

Most people believe Kosher wine is a style of wine that is sweet and not very good tasting. Kosher wine is not a variety, or a style of wine-making. Kosher wine is wine that is made according to religious dietary laws. As mentioned earlier, modern technology has given winemakers the resources to produce quality Kosher wines fitting for today's discriminating palate.

Modern Technology

Today, rather than using the traditional mevushal method of boiling the wine, the unfermented grape juice or "must" is ?flash pasteurized? then cooled quickly. This flash pasteurized technique is the modern method of sterilizing the wine.

Flash pasteurization is also kinder to the grapes than boiling them. It preserves the wine?s aroma and flavors. This modern technology has taken the level of Kosher wine to the highest quality.

Today kosher wine can be enjoyed in several different styles of wine and can be paired with everyone?s favorite traditional dishes.

Mevushal or Non-Mevushal

Modern technology has changed the wine-making process which is evident in the high quality wines produced today in all regions including the making of kosher wine.

In earlier wine-making years, kosher wine was made using two methods – mevushal ("cooked") and non-mevushal. The mevushal method boiled the wine, which actually sterilized the wine, and made it less palatable than regular wine. By making wine mevushal it can be handled by anyone, making it "user-friendly." It can be shared by observing and non-observing Jews or non-Jews.

In the New World today it is recommended that Mevushal wines be served at catered Kosher events such as weddings or bar mitzvahs where it is not certain who will be pouring the wine.

Non-Mevushal wine could be drunk and served only by Sabbath-observing Jews. It could not be touched by a non-observant Jew. Actually, once the bottle is opened and it is touched by a non-Jew or even a non-observant Jew, the wine becomes non-kosher.

Kosher Wine Information