Sunday, July 28, 2024

Reddit sub for kosher wine

 I didn't realize this existed! Mostly posts by the moderator at present, but glad to see it 

https://www.reddit.com/r/KosherWine/s/zyCgJnlp6R

Family Baum Winery Israel

 Adam Montefiore profiles the Family Baum Winery in his Jerusalem Post column. 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adam-s-montefiore-214992124_jerusalem-post-wine-talk-ugcPost-7222346849456693249-juEs?

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

New Australian Kosher wine - Rose from Hirsch Hill called Herschel




Long time Yarra Valley winery begins making kosher wines and the first release is a Rose.  The effort is led by family scion Ben Hirsch who worked in the South of France, before he  started working in the family wine business located in the Yarra Valley in 2018 and became general manager in 2020.

“When I got involved, Hirsch Hill was outsourcing everything. We owned the vineyard, and we outsourced the winemaking, bottling, storage, everything. I wanted to take the business to a new era.”

He hired chief winemaker Peter Mackey and started making their own wine in 2023.

“We have a new site, a new winery, and a much larger facility, which gave us more scope to do other things, part of which is to make some kosher wine as well,” he explained....

Hirsch said they still make and sell their established non-kosher wines, cabernet, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and shiraz and other varieties under the Hirsch Hill brand.

“The new kosher wines will sell under the new Herschel label. We’re doing it this way as the kosher wines will still be under our company group, but we’re going to call it Herschel, a play on words,” Hirsch added.

No information about whether the new kosher rose will be exported.

Read the article in Australian Jewish News here:

Monday, July 15, 2024

Yesod: New ultra premier Cali vineyards

 Joseph Herzog reveals the soon to be released top line of Herzog releases from celebrated Napa and Sonoma AVAs. 

On the Kosher Terroir with Simon Jacob

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3eDK1FmdyXj5qeVUTmtUDb?si=OFdHAWVoSgagHL3k8wsxtw

Kenny enjoying Shirah Reisling and more

 https://kesociety.com/2024/07/15/weekly-wine-reflections-reviews-week-of-july-8-15-2024/

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Israel's First wine appellation and visit to Agur

Around the world, the finest wine regions are often protected and promoted by their legal designation as an appellation, creating a brand for the grapes and wineries in that area. Wines from Bordeaux, Champagne, Burgundy, Rioja, Priorat, Napa, Sonoma, and other prestigious zones have legal protections under local laws that restrict the use of names to wines from the region, subject to the local regional rules about grape plantings, whether irrigation is permitted, aging requirements, and more. In 2020, Israel joined the club of countries with formal appellations with the recent designation of the Appellation of Origin: Judea.

The area, home to about 40 wineries and 27% of the country’s vineyards, is located generally between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and is influenced by the Mediterranean breezes and the Jerusalem Mountains. It includes two sub-appellations: Judean Hills for terroir above 400 meters and Judean Foothills for areas under 400 meters. Some of Israel’s finest producers call this region home, including well-known wineries such as Castel, Flam, Tzora, and Mony......

My  full article in the Wine and Whiskey Globe here

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

KFWE Miami will be Dec 17th

Ticket sales not open yet.  Dec 17th

https://www.kosherfoodandwinemiami.com/

Monday, July 8, 2024

Eran Pick - Israeli Terroir, on the Kosher Terrior

Simon Jacob's Kosher Terroir podcast is always worth a listen, but this episode is a must for anyone who wants to understood the terroir in the Judean Hills and Israel in general.  Eran, the winemaker at Shoresh, discusses the limestone soils (like in St Emilion!) and the influence of elevation, and cooling breezes from the Mediterranean, and even the fog (like Napa? Well the Pacific Ocean chill and the Mediterranean are quite different, but the breezes from the east are far cooler than the hot breezes from the west in this area).

Interesting also to understand how shallow the soils are in much of Israel and the impact this has on the vines.

Listen to the episode here:



Saturday, July 6, 2024

Agur Winery: Short LI post by Adam Montefiore

“All Agur's wines are vibrant and fresh, with a mineral core and linear texture that runs through from start to finish. They show great drinkability. The whites were outstanding, the rose still a pioneer and the Layam was my favorite red. They are medium bodied, sinewy and complex. “

Read further





Pontet Canet: Best Kosher Wine Ever? $1200 per bottle for the 2003

My Feb 13, 2025 article in the Washington Jewish Week focused on Pontet Canet, the wine some think is the best kosher wine ever made - the 2...

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