Fine kosher wine...really

STAN TAVISS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

The suggestion has been made that I return to an earlier theme and comment further on kosher wines. In particular, I have been asked whether "fine kosher wine" is an oxymoron. In other words, is it possible today for a wine to taste great, notwithstanding that it is strictly kosher?

This question is especially timely as Pesach approaches. Even those of us who permit ourselves to drink non-kosher wines on occasions which are not part of religious ritual, will insist on strict adherence over this holiday and, in particular, for the ritual four glasses at the seder.

Even if you were brought up on the thick, sweet Concord wines, you should know that there is now a wide choice of dry wines that complement food and which are at the same time strictly kosher. More frequently I am now asked to suggest kosher wines which taste good, especially with food, and which are also good value.

This brought us to additional tastings here at the Bulletin (my goodness, what sacrifices the staff makes for your benefit, dear readers). In a later article, we will write about some kosher white wines, however, at this comparative tasting we started with wines made with the famous cabernet sauvignon grape. This red wine grape is the mainstay of many of the best wines of Bordeaux and, more recently, has been used to make great single varietals in California, Australia and elsewhere throughout the wine-making world.

You may recall a recent article in the Bulletin about the Carmel winery in Israel. For our tasting, we selected a 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon from Carmel, which is available from the B.C. Liquor outlet on Cambie Street. We added two wines that are made from the same grape variety, each of the 1997 vintage, and these were purchased at Schara Tzedeck synagogue. One was from Fortant de France and the other from Wein-stock Cellars in California. All three of these wines are reasonably priced (in the $14 range).

The tasting panel liked the Carmel wine, finding it uncomplicated and easy to drink. The color was bright and clear, and the aroma reminded us of berries - one of the tasters smelled cranberries, and I found raspberries on the nose. The berry smell carries through on the taste, where the dominant impression is fruit, although I agree with another comment that the wine is light in body, with a simple finish. At 12 per cent alcohol by volume, there should be more mouth feel, and this wine may be overwhelmed by food.

The least-liked wine was the French example. It had a dense, dark red color, but we found the bouquet almost unpleasant (one of the group said it smelled "burnt"). Fortunately it tasted better than it smelled, with good acidity and, again, fairly light body - not unexpected at 11.5 per cent alcohol. I have promised myself to try this wine again, and with food, to be fair to the wine. At the moment, however, I cannot recommend it.

The unanimous favorite was the Weinstock from California. At 13.5 per cent alcohol, this is a big wine, with "great legs" (those lines of viscosity running down the inside of the glass). It had a dark, but brilliantly clear red color, and a typical cabernet aroma of black currants. I made an interesting comparison with the bouquets we find in the Graves area of Bordeaux and the wines made from vineyards in the Rutherford area of the Napa Valley (although this wine comes from Paso Robles). There is a pleasant kind of dry, almost dusty quality to the bouquet. This wine has excellent body and mouth feel, is very fruity, and will go very well with Pesach foods. I am already hoping that there is going to be a brisket on the table!

We wish you all a wonderful kosher Pesach.

Stan Taviss is a legal consultant and "serious wino" living in Vancouver. If you have any wine-related questions, please write to the Bulletin. Taviss will be happy to answer them in a future column.

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