A Kosher Wine Tasting - Episode #422

March 6, 2008

Kosher wines are getting better and better and Daniel Rogov the wine critic is doing an amazing job reviewing and following the scene, today Gary Vaynerchuk tries some of them.

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Comments on this episode(209) Leave a comment ›

“QOTD: no…” by Jason S.
“Yes, I used to work at a wine store where the owners were Jewish and t…” by C-BusWineMofo
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Wines tasted in this episode:

2004 Segal’s Cabernet Sauvignon Special ReserveIsraeli Kosher Wine
2003 Galil Mountain YironIsraeli Kosher Wine
2004 Ben Zimra MerlotIsraeli Kosher Wine

209 Responses

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about 5 months ago

Jason S.
QOTD: no
about 5 months ago

C-BusWineMofo
Yes, I used to work at a wine store where the owners were Jewish and they loved good wine they could drink during their holidays. So yes I have had many good kosher wines and very bad kosher wines.
about 6 months ago

A-Gar
QOTD: I once had a Kosher Mogen David Blackberry Merlot “wine”, before I got into the real stuff. It was a tasty, refreshing beverage, but I could’ve gotten a similar taste from some good grape juice and a splash or two of cheap vodka. Whatever.
about 6 months ago

Tilly
Great episode. There are some amazing kosher wines - great that you did this! I hope you do it again.
about 6 months ago

Anthony
QOTD: Never tried any sort of Kosher wine. Perhaps time to change that.
about 6 months ago

pawncop
Have never had a Kosher wine. Will put this on my list of things to do but man this list is getting longer and longer.
about 6 months ago

lawschooldrunk
woohoo! top 202!

misconstrueded? more better? jeez, did you have too much before the episode?

“we’ve got show in different area codes”…sounds like the making of a good song, Gary.

QOTD: yes, I’ve had premium kosher wines over $15- too many to list. some good, some a waste of money and some outstanding. in fact, I drink a lot of kosher wine and love that it is so under-appreciated- more for me and the price stays lower.

the wine store near me just had that galil on sale for 10 bones! bought the yarden mount hermon red instead.

thanks for the kosher show, Gary, and get fa’shnikin!
about 6 months ago

Josh in Burgundy
QOTD: Nope I don’t know if I have ever had a Kosher wine for that matter.
about 6 months ago

Lawrence Leichtman
Sure, almost every Passover for the last 15 years we have had quality wines. Not surprised that you didn’t like the Carmel wine. I still have horrid memories of Carmel, Mogen David and Manischewitz wines from Passovers of my childhood. It’s almost a wonder that anyone drinks wine after those experiences. I don’t drink as much Israeli as CA kosher wines.
One last comment. Is it allowable to have a bacon nose in a kosher wine? Bit contradictory nu?
about 6 months ago

mikey lennon
nope i have not
about 6 months ago

Carly
QOTD: I have not tried a kosher wine.

I am happy you did a tasting of them, however, it would have been great if you had explained what makes a wine kosher. I actually hit up Wikipedia to check out their pretty informative article on kosher wines. But…not being Jewish, I didn’t really understand what is different about the process. Is it just that kosher wines are made by Jews?

Anyway, great ep. I’m sure you’ll answer that question for me some day!
about 6 months ago

Dr Jeff Gontarski
as far as the wrestling squestion is concerned…..the IRON SHEIK and NIKOLAI VOLKOFF were tag team champions from march 31 1985 to june 17th 1985. this was in the first wrestlemania.
PJ.. YOUR COMMENTARY IS RIGHT ON AND AWESOME!

Dr. J
about 6 months ago

Rolf Lydecker
I don’t belive either were Intercontinetal champs…
about 6 months ago

wannaBconnoisseur
I have had zero kosher wine, sorry GV.
about 6 months ago

agentorange
Gary.

QOTD: No. Never. None. Nope.
about 6 months ago

Richard Shaffer
Great show! Keep in mind that wines from Israel are not necessarily kosher…in fact, some of the best are not. We’re about to import 800 cases of (mostly) non-kosher Israeli wine. Stay tuned!

Richard
about 6 months ago

Harry
Thanks Gary - I work as a sommelier at a kosher steakhouse in Brooklyn as well as a wine rep for very nice kosher wines, which I’d love to show you sometime soon, so yes, I’ve had quite a few fantastic kosher wines. There are some spectacular wines from Israel, Spain and France, which tend to run a little more than the non-kosher equivalents, but are of outstanding quality. Some of my favorites (that I don’t represent) are the Castel wines, Tishbi wines, and the new kosher wines from Capcanes, Spain. I also represent some fantastic french Rhone, Bordeaux and Burgundy wines that I would love for you to try.
Thank you for standing up for kosher wines!
about 6 months ago

B-squared
QOTD: Yes, oh yes.
about 7 months ago

Mr.Ambassador
Haven’t tried a Kosher wine yet; came close after your last show which featured Kosher wines but had already selected my dozen bottles for shipping (so no dice)…
about 7 months ago

Billy A
Hey Gary;

Kosher wine tasting like BACON????? That’s a first.

Anyway, I couldn’t agree with you more that the quality of Israeli wines has exploded. One day, we will see an Israeli wine section in stores that will display solid quality wines that also happen to be Kosher. Because, as you said, there is this preconceived notion that, if it’s Kosher, it sucks. As we have seen, this is far from the truth. Of course, there are crappy kosher wines, just like there are crappy French Bordeauxs. The fun and excitement is experimenting and finding the wines you like. Thanks for getting the word out that there are some fabulous Israeli Kosher wines being produced in Israel.
As you may remember, I had the privilege of touring some of the Kosher wineries and tasting some “kick tuchas” juice. What an awesome experience! I am trying more and more of the Kosher wines from Israel. Some examples are the Yatir Forest, Carmel single vineyards, Castel “C” and Grand Vin. Those few alone can stand up against the top vintages from anywhere in the world. I’m excited to try the Segal’s for an everyday wine. As always, you are the Man. Keep up the great work!

Billy A
about 7 months ago

Surekat
kosher wine tastes of bacon… sweet!

QOTD: we live in israel, so - loads of ‘em.
about 7 months ago

YoungDave
QOTD: NO! I actually have NEVER had a Kosher wine…wow- I need to get on that. Now. I’ll get back to you soon on the results.
about 7 months ago

Justin L Ove
I’ve never tried any kosher wine. I”ll have to check it.
Great show!
about 7 months ago

ChezJosh
I’ve had a couple pretty fine Israeli wines at a friend’s house. They were pretty damn nice.
about 7 months ago

Sara L.
homey,

you might be losing your marbles already tasted the segal’s in a past episode. But hey, at least you’re consistent.

I have actually had a LOT of kosher wine, as my fiance is a rabbi. A few weeks ago we went to an all-kosher tasting and food extravaganza at the Baron Herzong winery. There were kosher wineries from all over the world! I’ve been into Herzog’s reserve wines (usually at rolling in ataround the $33 a bottle), particularly the 2002 Reserve Edna Valley Syrah, and the reserve zins.

The absolute most awesome standout kosher wine of the night was about a $65 wine from Domaine du Castel. The winemaker, Ariel, was there, and he was super sweet. It’s made in a bordeaux style, is smooth, just incredible. Try it. I believe it was the 2004 vintage, it’s great now and could be laid down for some time.