EVEN THE MOST finicky
wine snob won’t be able to “pass
over” the new generation of
kosher wines. Increasingly, the
mindset is that since Jews are
commanded to drink four cups
of wine at the Passover seder,
they might as well drink high-
quality wine.

The last decade has witnessed
a veritable explosion of high-
quality kosher wines, a far cry
from the heavy, sweet and vague-
ly medicinal wines that graced
the seder tables of yesteryear.

“These days there are so
many different kosher wines
out there that even Trader Joe’s
sells them, and you know what?
They’re not bad,” said Arlene
Mathes-Scharf, speaking at the
time of year when her email
was humming, her phone was
ringing off the hook and
her website — kashrut.com —
was getting countless hits from
consumers who find them-
selves in Passover-related food
and wine quandaries.

Indeed, industry insiders
report that for more than a
decade, the variety and quality of
kosher wine has been on the
rise, matching customers’
tastes and demands.

“Today’s Jewish con-
sumer is more sophisticat-
ed and discerning, and not
satisfied with sacramental
wine,” said Jay Buchsbaum, a
vice president at the New Jer-
sey-based Royal Wine Corp.

“They have more disposable
income, and they’re willing
to spend a little more for a
good wine. They’re not will-
ing to settle.”
In addition to kosher wine
industry giants such as Carmel
from Israel, Baron Herzog from
California and Bartenura from
Italy, many smaller European
boutique wineries are securing
kosher certification for a seg-
ment of their wines.

“They like that there’s a
ready market for better
kosher wine today,” Buchs-
baum said. “They know that
the moment the grapes are
crushed, the wine has already
been bought.”
WHY IS
PASSOVER HIGH
SEASON FOR
KOSHER WINE?
The demand for kosher
wine also makes a steep climb
around the time of Passover, the
widely celebrated Jewish holiday
that often attracts a mix of fami-
ly members and friends with
varying needs at the same seder
table. In such scenarios, even
those who don’t keep kosher
laws might purchase kosher
wines. “It’s safer that way,”
Buchsbaum said.

It’s no wonder, then, that 40
percent of all kosher wine is
sold in the months leading up
to Passover.

“If you estimate that a seder
has 18 adults who each drink
four cups, that adds up. There’s
a lot of wine coming in the
door,” said Israeli wine
blogger and colum-
nist David Rhodes,
who runs the “Drink
Israel” Facebook page.

Since seder participants
drink so much wine at the tra-
ditional gathering — much of
it on a relatively empty stomach
— before the meal, it’s impor-
tant to supply wine that won’t
make them too drunk to
appreciate the message of the
seder, warned California-
based kosher wine critic and
blogger David Raccah, who
runs kosherwinemusings.com.

“That’s why it’s the worst
time to try ‘bombastic,’ high-
alcohol wines,” Raccah said.

“You’ll want to stick to light
wines like Via Sparkling,
preferably under 10 percent
alcohol, that won’t land you flat
Top: Brunomsbarreto; corks (left): bookzaa; stain and cork: photohomepage; corkscrew (facing page): inbj/iStock/Thinkstock.com
18 MARCH 30, 2017
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



on your back by the time the added. “You can buy kosher,
PICKING A KOSHER WINE
food is served.”
support Israel and still enjoy
wonderful wines.”
Ahead of Passover, industry experts Jay Buchsbaum, Arlene Mathes-Scharf, David
ISRAELI WINES:
What may be the ultimate
Raccah and David Rhodes convey the following advice to kosher wine consumers:
THE ‘HOTTEST TREND’
affirmation for the growing
• Take it from the pros. Try to buy from a wine store that specializes in customer care, with
When they’re combing the field of top-flight kosher wine
a wide selection of kosher wines and knowledgeable staffers.

supermarket shelves this time is the following sentiment
• Check your labels. Although most kosher wines are marked KP (kosher for Passover), there is
of year, many consumers reach that Buchsbaum said he has
the occasional kosher wine that isn’t approved for the holiday, including some fruity sangrias.

for wines from Israel, which heard hundreds of times from
exports some 1.5 million bot- consumers: “I’m not really
• Avoid inebriation. Since most of the ceremonial four cups of wine are consumed on a
tles to the U.S. each year.

kosher, but I had to bring
relatively empty stomach in the first hour of the seder, you’ll want to buy wines with an
“Not only is Israel the place something nice to a seder
alcohol content of under 10 percent.

that the story of Passover is once and I’ve been drinking
• Drink up year-round. The more varieties you sample, the better your palette will evolve, and
about — wine is mentioned that wine ever since.”
eventually you’ll start to taste the different between high-quality and low-quality wine. Go to local wine
over 70 times in the Torah —
“Look at it this way,” Buchs-
events or get together with friends for wine tastings.

but buying Israeli is a chance to baum said. “The largest-selling
• Don’t break the bank. You can get some very good wines in the $15 to $20 range. Spending any more
support Israel and Israelis,” Moscato [an Italian sparkling
than that doesn’t guarantee that you’re getting a vastly superior wine.

said Rhodes, who added that wine] in the world is a kosher
vineyards are an efficient way wine by Bartenura that sells 5
• Be ready for special cases. Prepare for guests who have sulfite allergies (symptoms like headaches can
to use the Jewish state’s land million bottles annually. Most of
surface as additional cups are consumed at the seder). Have at least one bottle of kosher for Passover
since grapes are both a low- those customers aren’t even Jew-
organic sulfite-free juice or wine on hand, just in case. l
water and high-profit crop.

ish. They just like the wine.” l
“You can get upscale French
and Italian kosher wines along
with California ones, but the
hottest trend is the Israeli wines,”
Royal Wine’s Buchsbaum said.

According to Rhodes, Israel’s
“WHERE YOU’LL FEEL LIKE YOU’RE IN ISRAEL”
expanding high-quality wine
market took off in 1983,
ENHANCE YOUR
when Golan Heights Winery
HOLIDAY (under its Yarden label) opened
Seder plates
with the latest and fin-
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– est selection of table
wines are bringing home prizes
Kiddish cups
wines from Israel,
from international competitions.

All Your
– France, Italy,
Eran Pick of Tzora Winery
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Haggadahs California and all over
was recently named Israel’s
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Fun Items
to traditional, for every
Wine,” and a story on Israeli
for kids
taste and budget.

wines was featured on the cover
of the October 2016 issue of the
CHOOSE FROM BRANDS, SUCH AS:
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Baron Herzog • Bartenura • Gamla • Binyamina • Jeunesse
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APPETIZERS SOUPS
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Chopped Liver
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Potato Dill
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Broiled Salmon
Mazah Borscht Romanoff
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Bedouin Bandid
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increasingly able to produce
Chicken Israeli
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kosher wines that are religious-
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mise anymore,” Buchsbaum
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