By LETTIE TEAGUE

The Not-So-Cloying Side of Kosher Wine

Brain Stauffer for The Wall Street Journal

I HELD A WINE TASTING last Sunday, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to open the bottles. Not because my corkscrew was missing, but because the wines were kosher. As a non-Jew, I knew that by simply opening the bottles I could effectively de-kosherize the wines. And this could be a problem, especially for the rabbi whom I’d invited to my house.

Of the 20 or so wines that I pulled together for the tasting only three were mevushal—wines that had been heat-treated so that they might be handled and opened by people other than Sabbath-observant Jews. I wasn’t sure of the protocol since I don’t drink kosher wines very often. In fact, although I attend a Passover Seder each year with my (Jewish) husband at a friend’s house, I’ve never been instructed to bring wines that were kosher—just wines that were good.

Of course, “kosher” and “good” have long been considered mutually exclusive terms. For most people, the phrase “kosher wine” still calls up an image of a cloyingly sweet wine, i.e., Manischewitz. And this was fairly accurate until the past decade or so, when improved winemaking techniques and viticultural practices were adopted by kosher winemakers all over the world. The wines became drier, too.

Oenofile: Kosher Wines for the Passover Table—Or Any Table

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Israeli winemakers have been at the forefront of this development, although there are ambitious kosher wineries opening in other parts of the world as well. “The story of kosher wine is a story of Israel,” said Gary Landsman, the vice president of marketing of Royal Wine Co., the largest kosher wine importer/distributor in North America. His company imports wines from around the world, including Carmel, Israel’s largest wine brand.

The literal translation of the word kosher is “right” or “correct.” Grapes are considered kosher according to rabbinical law while the grape juice is considered holy. For this reason the fermented juice may be handled only by Sabbath-observant Jews. Additionally, no nonkosher substances such as non-kosher-certified gelatin (a fining agent), can be used during the winemaking process, and the winemaking must take place under the strict supervision of a rabbinical authority for the wine to be certified kosher. There are a number of rabbinical councils that supervise kosher winemaking. A good many wineries are certified by the Orthodox Union to ensure their wines are “as kosher as possible,” said Jeff Morgan, who owns Covenant Wines, a kosher winery in Napa Valley.

Mr. Morgan, who is Jewish but nonpracticing, had to hire someone to do the actual work of making his wine—he is allowed only to oversee it. Most winemakers like Mr. Morgan eschew the mevushal process, because it requires heating the wine to a very high temperature, which they believe is deleterious to the wine. (The process used to be even harsher—wines were actually boiled. Today’s “flash pasteurization” is a gentler technique.) Some wineries, like Binyamina in Israel, have it both ways, offering mevushal and nonmevushal versions of the same wines. The designations can be found in very small type on the back labels.

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Binyamina is one of many Israeli wineries that have undergone a quality revival. Founded in 1952 by a Hungarian named Joseph Zeltzer, it was purchased several years ago by an ambitious group of private investors. It’s currently the fourth-largest winery in Israel, with four different labels and vineyards in key regions like the Golan Heights, the Judean Hills and Upper and Lower Galilee. Other quality-minded Israeli producers include Psagot (founded only 10 years ago) and Domaine du Castel, a winery focused on producing Bordeaux-style reds founded by Eli Ben Zaken, who emigrated to Israel from abroad.

These were all producers whose wines were included in my tasting, along with a number of wines from California, Spain, Argentina and France. I’d invited some practicing and nonpracticing Jewish friends to participate in the tasting—none of whom seemed to have a particularly bright view of kosher wine. “It’s the stuff I have to drink at Passover dinner at my mom’s house,” said my friend Richard.

Even Rabbi Daniel Brenner seemed to have his reservations—though as it turned out, he didn’t mind my opening the bottles.

Of the 21 wines in our tasting, only a handful were white or rosé. According to Gary Wartels, proprietor of the largely kosher wine shop Skyview Wine in Riverdale, N.Y., 75% of his kosher wines are red. Why? “It’s customary to drink red wine at Passover,” he explained—when people are most likely to be buying kosher wines.

Our tasting began with white and rosé wines, though we didn’t find many we liked. There was only one that everyone agreed was good: the 2011 Red C Sauvignon Blanc produced by Covenant ($24). Bright and juicy with grassy, herbal notes and refreshing acidity, it was one of the best Sauvignon Blancs that I’ve tasted this year—kosher or otherwise. (Covenant also makes two highly regarded reds, but both were sold out.) Rabbi Brenner expressed a fondness for the 2011 Carmel Riesling, though he was voted down. “It’s too flabby,” said my friend Gary.

The reds enjoyed a much higher rate of success. In fact, we found more than half were quite good, and some really stood out. Most of the favorites were from Israel, though a couple were from Spain and France. The 2010 Domaine Netofa ($20) from Galilee, a Rhône-style blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre, had lots of lush dark-berry fruit and spicy aromatic notes. Rabbi Brenner took note of the rabbinical seal on the back label. The wine had been approved by the Jerusalem High Council, he announced. “I recommend this wine for all sects of Jews,” pronounced Rabbi Brenner.

Of the two Binyamina wines, we actually preferred the mevushal bottling of the 2009 Reserve Syrah, a grape that seems to do particularly well in Israel. At $19, though, it wasn’t equal to the great bargain that was the 2009 Yogev Cabernet-Petit Verdot blend, a well-balanced, pleasant red with soft tannins whose $12 price tag made it not only the best buy of the tasting but “perfect for communal Seders,” according to Rabbi Brenner. Rabbi Brenner reserved his highest praise for the 2010 Recanati Wild Carignan Reserve from Galilee, which, at $52, was also the most expensive red. It was also the most polished—elegant and lush with penetrating dark-fruit aromas. Rabbi Brenner’s advice? “This is the wine you should serve when the Rebbe visits your house.”

See wine videos and more from Off Duty at
youtube.com/wsj. Email Lettie at
[email protected].

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A version of this article appeared Mar. 31, 2012, on page D6 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: The Not-So-Cloying Side of Kosher Wine.

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