Nice show, but the kosher wines weren't as good this time around. Still an interesting category. As a non-Jewish person, it isn't that I think I SHOULDN'T have kosher wines, it's simply that I don't see any reason to HAVE a kosher wine. I learned a little bit about the kosher process a few years ago and there really isn't any reason that a kosher wine would necessarily be better or worse than a non-kosher wine, and it seems to me that they cost a little more. On other hand, I would be interesting in trying some wine from Israel (kosher or non-kosher) since I am intrigued by the area as a wine region.

QOTD1: I don't think I've ever had a kosher wine – at least not to my knowledge.
QOTD2: Best wine I had over the weekend was a 2004 Delille Cellars Doyenne Syrah from Washington State. 91 points for my palate.

GV – Would love to review some wines for you on Cork'd. I already review on my own on the site.

QOTD: Had a very nice A. Rafanelli Merlot on Friday night. Took it to a BYOB Mexican place. Not the best food/wine pairing in the world, but it held up.

I'm flipping through all of your facebook friends and comments, and i don't see many so young. You have changed the wine world, but is there something that can't be unlocked about the 20-somethings? (22 years old, i've been drinking decent wine since i was 14) Which walls have you come up against when bringing very young people into the wine world?

My bad waynooo, but the highest form of flattery is imitation!!

Gotellit, had some info you may or may not be interested in. I was attending a marketing seminar the other day and was shocked to hear that we (as in our “millennial” generation) are drinking wine faster and more frequently than the baby boomers ever were. Our generation (I am 27 by the way) does not tend to drink in bulk or buy cases, but we buy many different things consistently. From the numbers that I have heard the younger wine drinkers make up approximately 35% of the market share. Most Vayniacs, as far as I can tell, are in their 30's-40's; but there are a lot of us 20 something?s out there drinking a ton of wine! Cheers!

QOTD 1: I don't believe so. Not that I have anything against them, but there is presumably a premium to be paid for making a wine Kosher. I'm not Jewish so I have no need for any extra such cost on my wine and no real reason to seek it out.

QOTD 2: Lost most of the weekend because I flied from NYC to Seoul Friday night, only got here Sunday night. Some crappy Bourgogne Red on the flight here is what they gave us on the flight. Yeech.

New ep today?

QOTD: Yes, but not a very good one. It was a Manischewitz Blackberry Kosher Wine…very sweet and awkward. I really want to taste some of the newer world class kosher wines.

hey Chris Mott, get well soon.

Yo NY Pete, i thought You were goin' into “Lurker” mode ??????? :o)

Glad you decided to take a break without the laptop and just focus on the family! I'm sure they appreciated it and I'm glad you also did!!! 😉

Correction: I hate being a nerd but Cava is one of the few DO's that are NOT geographically delimited. While most of the Cavas come from the Penedes area in Catalonia some of them do NOT and there is no area that you can call “Cava”. There are some Cavas made in Rioja, Ribera del Duero even Andalucia. So saying “you feel like you are in Cava” doesn't make any sense.

I'd definitely be interested in reviewing some vino for you! 😛

QOTD. I tasted through the Finca Torremilanos from Ribera del Duero lineup that Aurelio from Grapes of Spain imports and it was awesome indeed. From the entry level Montecastrillo, the affordable Los Cantos, the Crianza and to the upscale Cyclo they were all fenomenal. The 2005 Cyclo would have to take the best of the weekend award. I'll do my best to top it off this weekend, though!

For those in NY/NJ area interested in Israeli wines, there is a pretty good french restaurant in Tribecca — Capsouto Freres — that promotes Israeli wines and has a good selection on its largely French list. As someone who has had a fair share of Kosher wines over the years, there is no doubt that there is generally a premium for them. This is most clearly seen in the prices of top french wines that have both a kosher and non-kosher version (e.g. Smith Haut Lafite, Giscours, Leoville Poyferre, Laurent Perrier Brut Rose), where the premium can be 30%. There are exceptions. The Domaine du Castel Grand Vin I had recently (see below) was clearly a bargain as it compared favorably to all but the very top left bank Bordeaux from that good vintage. I used to deal with a manager of a rather large Manhattan wine shop who wasn't jewish but bought the Hagafen Napa Cab for himself by the case as he thought it was consistently among the top QPRs in California cabs. And in the lower priced category, one can often find some exceptional wines that are clearly values, see. e.g., the Segal's Reserve Cabernet that was reviewed on WLTV, and some of the Five Stones (formerly Beckett's Flat) wines from Australia. But one has to try too many of these to find the good ones, and I can't imagine why anyone who didn't have a need to drink kosher wine would go to the trouble.

perrin et fils cotes du rhone reserve 07 was a beast for under $10

Kosher wines are very popular for communion at many Christian churches. I have had it many times but they are usually way too sweet for me….

Latest in the Kosher wines: Barkan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Altitude something. Also just had Binyamina Cab/Petite Verdot which was really nice as well as Ramona Cardova Rioja Riserva. Passover baby, lots of wine to be drunk. Barkan 2007 Chard too. Surprisingly serviceable once it came up to room temp from the ice cold it had been.

Latest wine, last night, was 2005 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva that I bought on a whime from Italian Wine Merchants a few months ago when I was killing time in Union Square.

I'm not sure if it was Kosher but I had the Yarden Cab a few weeks back that wasn't bad at all.

Yep about the Kosher wine.

Though, more importantly, QOTD: I coincidentally had a great port over the weekend it was the Kopke Colheita 1988 Vintage Tawny Port – delicious! rasins and brown sugar for days with lovely tones of strawberries and caramel.

I am not a huge port fan and have never had the 1988 but the Kopke 1985 Cohleita is fantastic. Great pecan, caramel, raisin flavors.

you look rested and im so happy you had a wonderful time. i have many jewish friends so yes im sure i have tried kosher wine i cant name the brands but i didiinheret a lovely set of cook ware when my friend harriet goldshire decided to go completely kosher so she purchased all new cooking stuff and gve me the practiclly new stuff. glad your back and im attempting to be more regularin my viewing get jiggy with it. love gyfooma

Never had a kosher wine, at least to the best of my knowledge, might be something to hunt out on future expeditions. No amazing wines this past weekend, but a very interesting viscous cabernet – lots of sweet red berries going on.

It's all wine Kosher, or they slipping pork in there that I dont know about?!?!

qotd: its either the 2005 Château Haut-Marbuzet or the 2008 Y. et J. Huchet (Domaine de la Chauvinière) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie both pretty damn tasty, and the 2008
was the last wine of the night and it was memorable…mmmmmm

QOTD: Only had mevushal (intentionally cooked) wines which were obviously pretty bad, but would consider kosher wines if I ever came across any!

qotd 2005 Lucien Albrecht Cuvee Romanus Pinot Gris unbelievable q.p.r.

A wine is kosher if every step of its production is carried out by an observant Jew. In reality, most kosher wineries can be (and are) staffed by both Jews and non-Jews, and the Jews that work there can be of any and all levels of observance. There is, however, an orthodox Jew on the staff whose job it is to either supervise or to directly carry out each step of the winemaking process. This typically involves “pushing the big red button” – i.e. operating the press and other equipment. When the wine is later released for consumption it is labeled kosher, but it cannot be consumed (read: considered kosher) if opened/handled by non-Jews UNLESS it was “mevushal” or pasteurized. Many kosher wines under $20 are mevushal, and will always indicate so somewhere on the label. This last process aside (its effects are the topic of some debate), there is, in essence, nothing that makes a kosher wine substantially different from any other wine on the production side.

Susan, my apologies if this explanation went too far…

Can’t say I have had that many Kosher wines, Yardin comes to mind. QOTD-this past weekend was 2005 Pago Alto Landon Manchuela Altolandon from Spain which was great. http://www.winelx.com