KosherWineReport.com

A professional's view on how to make a wine's reputation

Thank you to Noted Wine Critic Mr. Daniel Rogov for bringing this article to our attention.
San Francisco Chronicle
Jancis Robinson, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, April 25, 2008
On my last trip to California, I was given a lift by Screaming Eagle's vivacious vineyard manager Annie Favia. She had already told me with some pride that she also made her own range of wines, Favia Wines, presumably advised by her winemaker husband Andy Erickson, who happens to be the winemaker at Screaming Eagle.

You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Love Them- New York Times

New York Times
By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: April 16, 2008
photo by David Silvermen/Getty Images
PASSOVER is right around the corner and as surely as Thanksgiving leads to turkey talk, the approach of this Jewish holiday calls attention to kosher wines. The question follows: if I don’t celebrate Passover, does that mean I can skip this column? Sorry, I can’t permit that. Now, please pay attention.

Kosher wines now too good to pass over-Boston Herald

Boston Herald
By Sonia Turek / In Your Glass
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 -
Saturday night, Jewish families all over the world will celebrate the first night of Passover. And the holiday wines they drink will be from places as far-flung as they are.

Wines that are kosher for Passover have come a long way from the ubiquitous, sweet New York state bottles marketed decades ago. Just about every country that makes good everyday wine now also produces good kosher wine.

Koshertoday.com -Israeli Wine Sales are up 40%

KosherToday.com is reporting that Israeli Wine Sales are up 40% for this Passover
Jerusalem...by Idele Ross, KT Bureau Chief...Israel's wine market, estimated at $270 million a year in sales, has reportedly seen a dramatic increase of 40% for this Passover. Israelis are becoming more sophisticated in their tastes and the Business Data Institute survey shows that there was a 4% increase in sales in 2006 when compared with 2005. This year the Orthodox community which generally prefers the sweet wines for ritual purposes, are also seen as a growing niche market for better table wines beyond the sacramental variety.

Newest Passover Wine Comes From Boutique Cypriot Winery

By Dovid Zaklikowski
Apr 9, 2008
Chabad News
One rabbi in Cyprus has responded to the ever-increasing costs of importing kosher for Passover food by making it easier for local Jewish residents to purchase an item necessary for every Seder: wine.

Washington Post- Wine Pairing For the Passover Meal

Kosher Choices for a Pleasing Passover
By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Washington Post
Kosher wines are achieving their own deliverance. If your idea of wine for Passover stops with Manischewitz -- or if kosher wines don't typically cross your mind at all -- think again. Now coming into their own globally with quality never before imagined, kosher wines are being made in such places as Israel, the United States, France, Argentina, Chile and South Africa.

KWR Interview With Winemaker Jeff Morgan-Covenant Wines

Covenant Wines have been met with rave reviews. Winemaker Jeff Morgan took a few minutes from his busy schedule to share his philosophy and journey in becoming a world class winemaker.

When did you begin your career as a winemaker?

In 1988, I’d had enough of my career as a saxophone player in NY and France (where I had been the bandleader at the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo) and decided to pursue my other passion: wine. I moved with my young family from Manhattan to the East End of Long Island, where I found work at a fledgling winery.

WSJ presentation by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher as they review Kosher Wines. This was part of the April 4th 2008 article (posted below) on Kosher Wines-

San Francisco Chronicle- Passover 2008

The Chronicle Wine Selections: Kosher Wines
Lynne Char Bennett, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, April 4, 2008

Wine usually fills intellectual, hedonistic and social aspects of our daily lives, but it can also play a sacramental role in religious rituals. Wine has a significant role in Passover.

Observant Jews, however, will only drink kosher wine. Kosher wine must be made by a Jewish, Sabbath-observant crew. The winemaker cannot use any products, like animal-based fining agents or soap, that are prohibited by religious laws. A rabbi or his agent must also certify the production from the moment the grapes are crushed and then remain on the winery premises through bottling. Kosher wines are labeled with the certifying organization's symbol, often a circled "U" or "K." In addition, wines labeled as kosher for Passover - signified on the bottle by a small "p" to the right of the circled "K" - cannot be vinified with non-wine grain yeasts, which can otherwise be used for kosher wine.

WSJ Kosher, for Everyone......

Kosher, for Everyone
Today's Kosher Wines
Are Good Enough to Merit
A Spot at Any Table
Wall Street Journal- Tastings
TASTINGS
By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

April 4, 2008
In late January, we hosted a wine tasting for about 200 movers-and-shakers on behalf of Dow Jones. We served three Pinot Noirs from around the world -- a $50 Burgundy, a $40 Pinot from Oregon and a $25 Goose Bay Pinot from New Zealand. All three wines had been among our own favorites in blind tastings. As far as we could tell, most people enjoyed all three. But when we asked the head bartender which was the favorite, he pointed at the empty bottles and said, "The Goose Bay. No question."