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Annual kosher wine tasting held in NYC

Winemakers show their stuff just in time for Jewish holiday season, say kosher wine may have had bad reputation once – but not anymore

VIDEO – At a hotel in midtown Manhattan, the Kosher Wine Society's fifth annual wine tasting is underway. It's a chance for winemakers to show their stuff before the holiday season.

 

Kosher wine has undergone somewhat of a revolution, and for customers it’s reason to celebrate.

 

Video courtesy of jn1.tv

 

Kosher wines may have once had a bad reputation but retailers like Gary Landsman say that’s all changed now.

 

“People who are still learning maybe see kosher wines as boiled overcooked ripe wines that they might have been many many years ago, but that’s really not the case anymore,” he says.

 

The event was just in time for Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year. It was a last chance to sample some wines before stocking up for the holiday season.

 

The Kosher Wine Society holds various wine tasting events but tonight is an opportunity for the 120 or so guests to try the latest wines to make it to the United States. Fifty wine companies are here from around the world to flaunt their stuff.

 

The Kosher Wine Society describe wine as the epicenter of the Jewish faith. They say it’s because wine plays an essential part in religious rituals.

 

Kosher wine may have a rich history, but it’s only recently become a source of enjoyment, says wine enthusiast Josh Kramer.

 

"I think a lot of kosher people didn’t grow up with any appreciate of wine, because there wasn’t any good wine out there. Kosher wine has been out there for a long time, but in the last 20 years the industry has really grown."

 

The move away from fortified wines may be a recent trend but it’s not down to any breakthrough changes in production. In fact, the making of kosher wine is very similar to non-kosher. The yeast and enzymes must be kosher but a rabbinical presence is the only noticeable change.

 

"Rabbinical supervisors have to be present two times: At the pressing of the grapes, then they can leave, and when the winemaker says it’s ready to be bottled they must come back to the winery to be present at that process," explains winery brand manager Michael Galtanti.

 

Galtanti says this lust for fine wine is generational. The traditional sweet and boiled fortified wines of yesteryear are no longer popular. Kashrut observing consumers now demand the very best for their palates.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.18.13, 14:31
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