Kosher Wine

Wine can only be considered kosher if the following conditions are adhered to:

1. Wine making process is supervised by a rabbi.
2. The wine making process contains only kosher ingredients.
3. The wine making equipment is rabbiniically certified to be kosher and used specifically for kosher purposes.
4. No preservatives or artificial colouring can be added.
5. Wine making can only be handled by an observant Jew from vine to wineglass.
6. No animal products may be allowed to taint the wine.
7. Tanks, crushers, presses, and all equipment must be cleaned 3 times per year. All barrels must be brand new and used exclusively for kosher wine.

The kosher wine making process from the grape to bottle and the opening of the bottle must be handled by an observant Jew, other wise it will be deemed not kosher. This created problems at kosher events because non Jews were employed to serve the food and drinks. The solution was the creation of mevushal wines. These are wines which have been heated to 185 degrees.

The whole idea behind mevushal goes back to the old days when people worshiped  pagans. Wine was used during the ceremonies of idol worship. However, idol worshipers would never use boiled wine as part of the ceremony. So the rabbies, determined that a non Jew could serve kosher wine to a Jew only if it was deemed mevushal, boiled.

Today, mevushal wines are not actually boiled. The wine goes through a process called flash pasturization.

Some of the better mevushal wines come from the Herzog winery and the Hagafen wine cellars.

Mevushal wines do not taste as good as regular kosher wines.

Some of the better kosher wines are:

1. Some of the better kosher wines are:
2. Freixenet Excelencia Kosher Brut
3. Hagafen 2012 Oak Knoll Chardonnay
4. Goose Bay 2012 South Island Sauvignon Blanc
5. Chateau Clarke 2011 Le Rose de Clarke
6. Yarden 2008 Merlot
7. Prix 2009 Reserve Spain
8. Domaine du Castel 2011 Grand Vin
9. Elui Wines 2008
10. Dalton 2012 Safsufa
11. Herzog 2012 Muscot