Kosher Wines for Hanukkah

6 wines worth sharing

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Kosher Wines for Hanukkah Kosher wines rarely get any love. Most wine critics don't keep kosher, yours truly included. Even if they did, there's a bit of a stigma attached to kosher wines, mainly because they have been kind of crappy in years gone by.

Today, that has changed for several reasons. First and foremost, people, kosher or not, generally are over drinking crappy wine. We all know what decent wine tastes like and we all want some, especially when celebrating our holidays. With that, kosher winemakers have expanded their horizons, kosher wine drinkers are willing to experiment more than they had been, and regions that specialize in kosher wines (Israel) have finally had the time to sort out their wine industries.

So I was faced with the task to head out and find some kosher wines worth recommending. I tasted through a nice range of wines, both whites and reds, and found some worth sharing. The 2009 Domaine Netofa Galilee Red was a discovery for me, elegant and subtle, and absolutely delicious!

Photo courtesy xtremevisuals via Flickr/CC

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128017
128017 mgproducts

128017 5

You should mention Hagafen Cellars, Napa Valley. All their wines are kosher, not to mention delicious.

Dec 13, 2011 at 11:58 AM
625238
625238 Oregon-
Wine-
Country

625238 20

Excellent! I have been craving more knowledge on Israeli wine and this is a nice catalyst....

Dec 13, 2011 at 2:07 PM
468698
468698 Dani Peer

468698 3

I would like to add few Israeli wineries that are Kosher and are recommended,
1. Golan Heights - http://www.golanwines.co.il they are mention in the article, but they have much better wines
2. http://www.galilmountain.co.il/
3. http://www.tzorawines.com/index.asp
4. http://www.yatir.net/en/main.html
5. http://www.dalton-winery.com/
6. http://www.flamwinery.com/htmls/hom...
7. http://www.recanati-winery.com/main...
8. http://www.bravdo.co.il/?categoryId...

Dec 13, 2011 at 3:07 PM
993801
993801 Alice-
Loubaton

993801 0

Glad to see you chose Cuvee du Centenaire Cotes du Rhone - it's been my "house wine" for years - the perfect go-to wine. It's subtle pepper notes make it a perfect pairing with steaks, stews and barbecued meats.

Dec 13, 2011 at 3:17 PM
625238
625238 Oregon-
Wine-
Country

625238 20

Thank you Dani! I will depart from kosher for one moment and share that my favorite Israeli winery thus far... mostly because I love a good production story to go along with my wine is the following.

http://www.castel.co.il/en/default.aspx

Dec 13, 2011 at 3:25 PM
468698
468698 Dani Peer

468698 3

BTW, Castel is Kosher. My favorite winery is http://closdegat.com/ (it's not Kosher). From Kosher wines the best value in my opinion are the Golan wines. I can send you a list if you want.

Dec 13, 2011 at 3:45 PM
993163
993163 one mama

993163 7

pls i need vino spumante contri elite,,, and the price.

Dec 13, 2011 at 6:20 PM
695661
695661 joebernard-
inoATyahoo

Hand of Snooth

695661 598

Teal Lake Shiraz isn't bad

Dec 13, 2011 at 8:49 PM
430440
430440 WZS

430440 6

Dani
Are Flam wines kosher ?

Dec 14, 2011 at 2:36 AM
970991
970991 Memepool

970991 22

Hi I think a lot of this conflates wines being Israeli with being Kosher. Properly Kosher wine is usually pasteurised which kind of kills it. The only other wine which goes through this kind of process is Madeira and that's fortified to preserve it. Also many of the standard fining agents used in wine production are outlawed as they come from 'unclean' animals.
If you want to sample the best Israel has to offer forget Kosher and go for wines from producers like Vitkin, Yatir or Margalit which make world class cabernet merlot type wine which gives some grand cru Bordelais a run for their money. Israeli whites on the whole are hit and miss but a few are worth checking like Carmel single vinyard Sha'al late picked Gewurtztraminer.
If you like brandy there are a couple of gems from the Carmel area vinyards originally planted by the Rothchilds in the 19th Century. Check out Tishbi and the older Carmel offerings like their centennial 100 marque which again will beat any cognac under 100USD.

Dec 14, 2011 at 1:45 PM
622685
622685 ANTONZ

622685 7

Very gratifying to see that Israel's vastly improved wine industry has received a mention. Though somewhat odd that prominence goes to such a very new (though good!) and little-known winery. Netofa got a warm welcome from Daniel Rogov, Israel's master wine critic (now no longer with us, and sorely missed).
http://www.mykerem.com/articles/net...
Israel's best kosher wines are produced by Golan Heights, Carmel and Castel wineries, though there is plenty of really good kosher drinking to be had from many others. In alphabetical order: Binyamina, Bustan, Dalton, Ella Valley, Galil Mountain, Recanati, Tabor, Tzora, Tzuba, Yatir. For anyone interested in Israel's wines, Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines is a must-have. Sad to think that the 2011 edition is the last we will ever see.

Dec 14, 2011 at 2:16 PM
468698
468698 Dani Peer

468698 3

From "Memopool" got the idea of " Properly Kosher wine is usually pasteurised which kind of kills it"...
To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must be involved in the entire winemaking process and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher. That's it. And Yatir is Kosher.

Dec 14, 2011 at 2:30 PM
622685
622685 ANTONZ

622685 7

MEMEPOOL errs in the assertion that Kosher wine must be pasteurised. There are two grades of Kashrut (or Kosher-ness). Basically, Kosher wine is produced in exactly the same way as any other wine except for the fact that no animal produce may make contact with the wine. For the more strictly observant, wine does have to be brought to a high temperature (it is then described as "Mevushal", or cooked), but modern techniques have refined this process. The wine goes through a very brief flash heating and is immediately and very quickly cooled down again. Reliable tests have shown that it is not possible to consistently taste the difference between the two methods. Once again: Daniel Rogov! - his Rogov's Guide to Kosher Wines has it all. Le'chaim.

Dec 14, 2011 at 2:38 PM
622685
622685 ANTONZ

622685 7

Flam are one of Israel's most reliable wineries. A pleasure to drink their stuff, but it ain't Kosher.

Dec 14, 2011 at 2:46 PM
80037
80037 blaise

80037 0

an excellent kosher winery is Covenant in California, especially the highly rated Covenant cab and the Chardonnay Lavan.

Dec 16, 2011 at 7:26 PM
430440
430440 WZS

430440 6

yes Flam became kosher since 2010, this what it can be found around internet, I have now asked them by mail if this is a case.

Dec 18, 2011 at 1:08 PM