Kosher Wines

"For me, wine is a journey that begins when the bottle is uncorked, taking the willing traveler around the world to lands where exotic tastes and smells excite the senses and awaken a passion for life. This journey continues around the dining table with family and friends enjoying each other's company, conversation, and experiences." Heath Winer, Afikomen Wine Buyer

“When the Jew celebrates, a glass of wine is
almost always close at hand: Kiddush, Havdala, the Passover Seder, Purim, and every wedding ceremony and Brit Milah. Wine serves as the symbol of our sanctity, of freedom, of Divinely inspired victories, of the greatest, most joyous moments of our past, and of our dreams for the future. Wine has always held an honored, obligatory, almost irreplaceable, place in our culture.” (“Wine & Spirit: The OU's Pardes Project.” Orthodox Union: Department of Jewish Education)

“There is no holiness except with wine, there is no blessing, except with wine, in a place where joy dwells.” (Zohar Bamidbar 189b)

****************Learn what makes a wine kosher.

Afikomen Wine Cellar

What Makes Wine Kosher? For a wine to be kosher, strict regulations must be followed. It really all begins in the fields. Grapes from new vines may not be used for making wine, until after the fourth year. Every seventh year the fields must be left fallow and there is a prohibition on growing other fruits and vegetables between the vines.

All the equipment, tools and winemaking storage facilities must be kosher. During the harvest, only Sabbath observant male Jews are allowed to work on the production of the wines. Since most of the experienced winemakers in Israel are not observant, this means that they can't touch the wine or the equipment, during the winemaking process.

During the production of kosher wine, no animal products may be used. Gelatin or egg whites are sometimes used by non-kosher wine makers, to clarify the wine, while kosher wine makers use a clay material, called bentonite, which pulls suspended particles to the bottom of the barrel.

For wine to be kosher one percent of the wine must be discarded, a symbolic remnant of the 10% tithe, paid to the Temple in Jerusalem in days gone by. Additionally, barrels must be cleaned three times.

There are really two levels of kosher wine. The first includes the restrictions outlined above, while the second, known as “mevushal” utilizes an additional process. This is important since Kashrut law stipulates that in order for a wine to retain its ‘kosherness' once opened and poured by a non-Jew, (such as a waiter, for instance) the wine must be "mevushal."

Bringing the liquid to a boiling point makes this type of wine, causing air bubbles to be brought to the surface and the loss of some wine, due to evaporation. A wine that is produced in this manner retains its religious purity, regardless of who opens or pours it. A study at the University of California at Davis, has proven that it is not possible to consistently taste the difference between non- mevushal and mevushal wine. (Zisling, Yael. “ What Makes a Wine Kosher?” Gems In Israel . August/September 2001. 09 Feb 2006)