At Passover seders from April 19th–27th, many who don't keep kosher will drink kosher wine in honor of the holiday. While Manischewitz
(which is made with Concord grapes and, to compensate for the grape’s
acidic taste, lots of sugar) is one of the biggest names in kosher
wine, there are now many more types out there. With that in mind, the Buzz asked Tom Geniesse, founder of Bottlerocket Wines in New York City, to explain why kosher wine is different from all other wines.
“A wine is kosher if all the people who handle the wine from the vineyards all the way through the bottling process are Sabbath-observant,” Geniesse says. Therefore, in order for a rabbi to bless the final product, every detail in the wine-making process – down to the soap used to wash the vats – must comply with kosher law.
But not all kosher wines are created equal. There are two types of kosher wines: Mevushal (which means “to boil” in Hebrew) and non-Mevushal. Years ago, in order to make Mevushal wines, wine makers “would literally boil the wine, totally destroy it, and make it horrible,” Geniesse says. “But now they use modern flash pasteurization.”
Different rules apply to these two categories of kosher vinos. If a wine is “non-Mevushal, which means non-cooked,” Geniesse says, “then once it’s opened, if a non-Jew were to touch the bottle or serve someone a glass, it’s rendered non-kosher.” With Meshuval wine, like the traditional Manischewitz, people of any religion can handle it.
So before you resign yourself to the thought of drinking not-so-stellar wine at this year’s seder, remember that there are lots of high-quality kosher wines. According to Geniesse, an interest in kosher wine “popped in a big way”
in the 1980s and now top-notch producers, especially in California and Israel,
are showcasing Passover-friendly vinos. As long as the wine-making
process complies with kosher laws, any winery can produce a kosher wine.
“There are good wines and bad wines of all kinds,” Geniesse says. “Because a kosher wine is kosher doesn’t mean it isn’t a world-class wine.”
If you are unsure of which kosher wine will best suit your tastes, ask your local wine store clerk for guidance. Many urban wine stores create kosher wine sections in preparation for the holiday.
– Emily Hirsch