Wining and dining is a big part of Eats&Drinks.com. Each week our contacts across the country send us the latest info on wine happenings. We also scour the media for new and interesting developments (and we always give credit where credit's due). Check here often for news U can use about wine, and be sure to send us any hot tips or info you run across: Jwdineline@aol.com. A VERY SHORT COURSE IN WHAT MAKES A WINE KOSHER WHAT KOSHER WINE IS NOT--WHAT KOSHER WINE IS By Edwin Schwartz In some instances, especially around the time of Passover in spring, kosher wine features are written. However, we are understandably dismayed when the term 'kosher" is carefully explained by some wine writers and that the explanation given is incorrect. Unfortunately, these incorrect statements are those that tend to portray or infer that kosher wines are substandard, when just the opposite is true. There is no step in the making of a fine kosher wine that would in any way diminish its quality. Just the opposite is true. WHAT KOSHER WINE IS NOT Kosher wines are mostlv sweet. Sweet wines, mostly based on the Concord grape, are at times used at Passover celebrations for historic, traditional or nostalgic reasons. Excellent, main stream kosher wines, made from traditional premium varietal grapes like Baron Hetzog wines and many others from California, Europe and Israel, are made in classic winemaking styles, using state-of-the art technology and methods. This includes barrel fermentation, temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel, malolactic fermentation and barrel aging in small casks; in other words, classic, modem enological practices. The Baron Herzog brand offers a full line of classic, dry varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Gamay Beaujolais and Sauvignon Blanc. Baron Herzog also produces a few wines with appropriate levels of residual sugar like our Chenin Blanc (1.6%), and white Zinfandel (2.2%). Under the ultra-premium Herzog brand, we also offer two outstanding Cabernet Sauvignons, a Limited Edition and Special Reserve; Reserve Chardonnay and a Late Harvest Johannisberg Riesling (12-15%). Kosher wines have to be boiled to be kosher. When we see the word "boil" used in any story about kosher wines it makes us--well--hot under the collar. The use of the term "boil" is quite incorrect on several levels. WHAT A KOSHER WINE IS Kosher is an ancient Hebrew word meaning "fit" or "proper" and many of the rules for food and drink go back to Biblical days. However, modern rules for preparing kosher wines do not make a kosher wine inferior in any way; simply stated: 1. Equipment used to make the wine is used exclusively for the production of kosher wines, or must be rigorously cleaned before it can be used for kosher wine production. 2. The grapes are handled only by observant Jews from crush to serving. (see the term "mevushal" below). 3. Only certified kosher products ( yeast, fining agents, etc.,) can be used in the production of kosher wines. These factors and these factors alone, strictly applied, make a wine kosher. Many kosher wines, including those of Baron Herzog, are given one further step--making the wines mevushal. A mevushal wine is one that can be handled by the general public, like a non-Jewish waiter, and still remain kosher. In this added step, the crushed juice is flash pasteurized before fermentation (white and blush) or just after alcoholic fermentation (red). It is important to note that flash pasteurization today is a fine, delicate and a highly sophisticated technical process where the wine is held for just a few seconds at a temperature about 85 C. and then taken back to normal temperature "in a flash". Critical experiments at UC Davis have determined time/temperature factors (measured in "pasteurization units") and the threshold at which a sensory difference can be perceived. Baron Herzog wines are flash pasteurized at one-tenth that threshold factor. Importantly, in virtually all cases, flash pasteurization does no harm to the wine--just the opposite--flash pasteurization enhances aromatics and complexities of many wines as well as stabilizing the color and tannins. Today, there are non-kosher wineries and many of the finest craft breweries and fresh juice processors whose products are flash pasteurized to provide a positive effect and to naturally retard spoilage. We mention beer, because its taste is lighter and more transparent than many wines and so any "process" would have an obvious negative effect on taste. This bears repeating. In a nutshell, flash pasteurization is NOT boiling in any sense of the word. The terms kosher and flash pasteurization are not negative processes and very well may be positive ones. Thanks for reading this through. If you write about kosher wines and you want to get into the explanation of what kosher wine is, we hope this information will help. If you need further information, please call me at 1-800-357-9463. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: JWdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998. Inter active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.