Hugh Johnson 2025 Israeli reviews

 Adam Montefiore with Gal Zohar provide reviews and ratings 

Debate and discussion about the rating's in leading Israeli wine column 

Top Quality Wines for a Sweet New Year

First-ever kosher Tokaji Aszú Hungarian wine (Courtesy of Jules Polonetsky)

From Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah we wish each other a good and sweet new year and dip our challah in honey, so why not drink a great sweet wine during these weeks? My column in the Baltimore Jewish Times is not about syrupy Kiddush wine but about the fine, elegant kosher dessert wines now available.

I start in Hungary with a first ever kosher Tokaji Aszú, move on to Sauternes, which made me recoil the first time I tasted one in my WSET class until its acidity and complexity won me over, and finish with late harvest and ice wines, including a favorite from Israel, the Yaacov Oryah Alpha Omega Late Harvest Gewurztraminer.

Read the full column in the Baltimore Jewish Times: Top Quality Wines for a Sweet New Year

Covenant: A Critic's Favorite Kosher Wine

Covenant Wines (Photo: The Brand)

Jeff Morgan founded Covenant in 2002, inspired by a bottle of Castel Grand Vin, with the goal of making world class kosher wine in Napa Valley. My October column in the Wine and Whiskey Globe explains how he succeeded, to the point that Jancis Robinson called Covenant the best kosher wine she had ever tasted.

I tell the story of Morgan, a former musician and Wine Spectator West Coast editor, and his wife Jodie, and walk through the range from the high end Solomon line, named for cofounder Leslie Rudd's Hebrew name, to bottles aimed at younger drinkers looking for value.

Read the full column in the Wine and Whiskey Globe: Covenant: A Critic's Favorite Kosher Wine