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Planning for Passover is always a big job. There are always lists of things to do to get everything ready. We even have lists of the lists we're going to make. Maybe we go overboard a little, but it's the favorite holiday in our house. We've decided on the menu for the Seder and now it's time to think about the best wines for Passover. We'll start with baked gefilte fish with roasted vegetables followed by chicken soup with matzoh balls. The main course will include chicken picata, meatballs in tomato gravy, asparagus and sweet potato casserole. Desserts will feature Linda's famous chocolate cloud roll (an annual favorite), fruit salad and lemon cookies. Now for the wines. Let's start with the four cups and then match to the foods. Cup #1 - Herzog Chateneuf White Bordeaux 07 Gefilet Fish - Yarden Sauvignon Blanc 06 The second night will feature turkey and brisket in the meal and we'll make some additions to the wine selections. Turkey - Yarden Gewurztraminer 07 New 100 point scale coming soon We're working hard on converting all of the reviews to a new 100-point scale. Some readers have found our 20-point scale a bit confusing and we'd like to make it easier to compare our reviews with others. Stay tuned! “Kosher Food & Wine Experience” premiered February 26th at Jewish Heritage Museum to rave reviews This was the kind of event that makes people lie. When Roger Maris broke the single-season home run record, a million people claimed they were at the game. It was just such a monumental moment, they wanted to be a part of it. Years from now, the same will be said of the inaugural Kosher Food & Wine Experience, which took place on February 26th at the Museum of Jewish Heritage located at Battery Place in Lower Manhattan. It was such a tremendous event that people who weren't there will claim they had been. Martin Davidson, Director of Communications for Royal Wine, invited the Kosher Wine Guy and I was eager to try out the best of their portfolio of wines and get a chance to talk to their array of winemakers all in one room. Over 200 wines were featured and the capacity crowd was quite excited by the diversity of styles and tastes. To round out the experience (or should I say The Experience) Jeff Nathan, master chef of Abigaels, impressed the crowd with a fast-paced display of culinary talents. Sushi, Mexican, Chinese, every stop around the table was a new adventure. The tastes were outstanding and a great compliment to the variety of wines to be sampled. You could mix and match to your hearts content. Notable in the crowd were David and Nathan Herzog, Jay Buchsbaum, Pierre Miodovnik, Jeff Morgan of Covenant Winery and Aaron Ritter of the Kosher Wine Society. This was the largest kosher wine show I've been to and it could easily have been twice as large. The room was packed and the event hadn't even been advertised heavily. If they do it again, they'll need a bigger room! I took a few moments at the end of the evening to speak to some random members of the crowd and their comments were all very similar. They were deeply impressed with the event, with the outstanding wines and the marvelous food. If the Herzog family was paying attention to the crowd on Monday night, and I'm sure they were, they'll be eager to repeat this event every year. The only question is, how do they top this? Some impressions of the wines: Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 Simply outstanding! If this isn't the best kosher wine in the world, somebody needs to show me better. Jeff Morgan says the secret is in the grapes, and he's right. Strong, vibrant fruit, very soft texture with mellow tannins. This is a beautiful wine. The '04 is softer than the '05, and is the clear winner, but give them both time and you won't find anything better. Binyamina Yogev Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay 2005 Binyamina's new Yogev Series wines are all made without oak to present as much of the fruit flavor as possible. While this approach limits the complexity and potential of the wines, it does create an intriguing niche. Serious wine drinkers may turn their nose up at this style, but I think there's a place for these wines at a lot of seders. Not everyone likes oak and the fruitier, more playful, flavor of these wines will definitely be appealing to some. Among the best was the Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay blend that was very fruity but not too sweet. I think this is one Linda will like. Binyamina Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2005 Another of Binyamina's new Yogev Series wines, this was my favorite red. The Cab delivers lots of ripe berry fruit while the Shiraz adds just the right amount of spice to give the wine a real personality. This is a very good wine for food. Chateau Leoville Bordeaux 2003 This is another of Pierre's excellent French Bordeaux's. It's dry and velvety smooth with bright, medium tannins that flow but don't invade the taste. It's a soft Bordeaux blend with excellent fruit. A winner! Chateau Guiraud Sauterne 1999 A marvelous French dessert wine, this Sauterne is brimming with honey aroma's and flavors with rich, creamy textures. It goes equally well with fruit, nuts or chocolate. Chateau Giscours Margaux 2002 A wonderfully dry Bordeaux with blackberry and cherry flavors and good, ripe tannins. This is just my kind of dry Bordeaux! Louis Royer XO Cognac This is one of the best Cognac's in the world and it's a perfect way to end the evening. Never bitter or harsh, it's filled with long, complex oak and vanilla flavors that are a sheer delight. Sip slowly and savor! Would you like to be a guest wine taster on KosherWineGuy.com ? Do you have what it takes? Do you have a discrimanting palate? Do you have refined senses? Do you have the requisite charm, sophistication and rugged good looks? If you think you do, click here for the KosherWineGuy Tasting Notes form (a Microsoft Word document). Save it to your hard drive first, then complete the form for any quality kosher wine or vintage not already listed in our reviews and email it back. Include your name and hometown and your review will be added to our database for all the world to see!
Do you wonder what wine goes best with a particular meal? Are you not sure what wine to serve? Here is a kosher food and wine chart that might help.
The Kosher Wine Guy Online Shop It's never too early to buy Hanukkah gifts! Find all kinds of cool stuff on the KosherWineGuy.com Online Shop. Just follow the link here and you're there!
The first International Wine Exhibition in Israel concluded on July 15th. The exhibition was a showcase for the Israeli wine industry. Their Top Wine of the Year award went to the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon El Rom 2001 from Golan Heights Winery. The El Rom vineyard is in the northern Golan Heights.
The seasons have rolled over again and we're left with the memories of long summer days, fireflys and sunsets at the beach. We had some excellent wines over the summer with some really terrific meals. Here's a list of some of this summer's best wines: Herzog Chardonnay Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France 2005 Domaine du Castel 'C' Blanc du Castel 2004 Ella Valley Select Cuvee Prestige 2003 Bartenura Pinot Grigio Rose 2005 Altoona Hills Cabernet Merlot 2002
The 2006 Vinitaly International Wine Competition was held recently and several kosher wines had successful showings. Congratulations to all.
While we were visiting friends in Pennsylvania, I discovered a small Russian grocery store that caters to Russian immigrants and they carry a small but interesting collection of Russian, Georgian, Ukranian and Hungarian kosher wines. No, really! So, naturally, I bought a bunch of them and we'll add them to the schedule. Russia's not exactly famous for its wines so I have no idea what to expect! But I'll keep an open mind... Update: Well, the first results are in and the news is not good. Check out the Worst Wine Review Of All Time.
There are some wonderful wines coming up on the schedule, too. Future reviews include wines from Israel, Australia, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Austria. Here's just a sample of the wines we'll be tasting and reviewing here at KosherWineGuy.com: Eshkol Pinotage Yarden Muscat Gabriele Moscato Borgo Regalle Moscato D'asti Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon El Rom Binyamina Special Reserve Viognier Terras de Belmonte Gabriele Montepulciano Ella Valley Vineyards EverRed Kinneret Ella Valley Select Cuvee Prestige Yarden Sauvignon Blanc Segal's Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Efrons Cave Triple Red Label Golan Cabernet Sauvignon Rashi Barolo Vitkin Carignan Baron Herzog Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Nicolas Feullatte Brut Laurent Perrier Champagne Chateau Giscours Cuvee Yatir Forest Efrat Teperberg Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Chillag Orna Cabernet Sauvignon Herzog Special Reserve Edna Valley Syrah Kolobarra Hills Chardonnay
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