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Kosher Wine by Peter Alig

Wine has played an important part in Jewish tradition and rituals for thousands of years. Most important religious ceremonies begin with the Kiddush, the prayer over the wine. During Passover, celebrants drink four cups of wine to symbolize the four dimensions of freedom. In ancient times, before the Roman conquest drove the Jewish inhabitants out of what is now Israel, vineyards and winemaking were common.

Because tradition mandated the drinking of wine, Jewish winemakers took their skills with them into exile. When Jewish immigrants settled in the northeastern United States a century ago, the only grapes available to them were the native American Concord grapes. The wines made from these grapes had a musty character, often referred to as “foxy.”

In order to make them palatable, the wines had to be heavily sweetened. This heavy and cloyingly sweet style became synonymous with kosher wine. Since the mid-1980s kosher winemaking has changed. Kosher wines are often dry and made from popular grape varietals such as Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

What Makes Wine Kosher?

Kosher wines are produced under the strict supervision of a rabbi. To qualify as kosher, certain regulations have to be followed. Because the Holy Land has such a sanctified status in Judaism, some practices are mandated for wineries in Israel but not for those outside of Israel.

Qualifying for kosher status extends from the vineyard to the table:

The vines have to be at least four years old before the grapes can be made into wine. (In Israel, this applies both to grapes grown in one's own vineyard and to purchased grapes.)
For wineries in Israel, the vineyard must be left fallow every seventh year, and the growing of other fruits or vegetables in the vineyard is prohibited.

What does kosher mean?

It's Hebrew for good, fitting, or proper. According to Jewish dietary code, foods can be naturally kosher (fruits and vegetables); not kosher but with the potential to be made so by special processing; or not kosher — without the possibility of becoming kosher (pork and shellfish).

Only Sabbath observant workers are allowed to take part in making the wine. Even after the wine has gone into barrels and been given a rabbinical seal, a shomer — or watchman — has to guard it. And none of the work can be done on a holy day.
All of the equipment, tools, materials, and storage facilities may be used only for making kosher products.
No animal products may be used to produce kosher wine. Instead of using gelatin or egg whites in the fining process, non-animal fining agents (such as bentonite clay) or kosher fish gelatin are used.
No leavens are permitted. While yeasts are part of winemaking, they must be certified kosher.
In Israel, 1 percent of the finished wine has to be discarded. This practice commemorates the time before the Roman conquest when tithing was mandatory.

Two Types of Kosher Wine

For observant Jewish people, kosher wine is holy in nature. And to retain its “kosherness,” it must be opened and poured by equally observant Jewish individuals. In answer to the social and economic limitations this poses — to restaurants, for example — there is mevushal wine. It undergoes an additional process to retain its religious purity no matter who opens and pours it. In a sense it's super-kosher.

A wine's label tells you if a wine is kosher. You'll see an O with a U inside of it with a P near it — a sign that the world's largest kosher certification organization has approved it. A wine label that reads “Made from grapes that are not orlah” indicates that the winery observed the age rule — that the vines were at least four years old.

Mevushal means “boiled.” In reality, the wine isn't boiled; it's subjected to flash pasteurization. Wines are pasteurized by heating them to about 185ºF for one minute — or flash pasteurized by heating them to 203ºF for a few seconds — followed by rapid cooling.

Who Makes Kosher Wines?

In the United States, the largest producer and importer of kosher wine is the Herzog family, whose labels include Baron Herzog, Herzog Wine Cellars, and Weinstock Cellars. In Europe, a number of well-known wineries have set aside a portion of their production for kosher wines. And in Israel, a new generation of winemakers is producing outstanding wines.

Here are just a few of the high-quality kosher wine producers: