PASSOVER WINE

Passover wine was established during the Great Assembly, otherwise known as Anshei Knesset HaGedolah. This phase extended from Ezra to the start of the Tannaic era. It is a rabbinical decree and the four cups belong to the Mishna Pesachim. These four cups are founded on the “four expressions of redemption”. Offering for Passover is eaten from the first evening of Passover till midnight.

Kosher Passover wine is wine that is produced under specific Jewish dietary laws related to wine. If you are Jewish, you grow up with wine as an integral part of your life. The weekly Sabbath service is incomplete without wine. In the Passover Seder, four glasses of wine are drunk during the ceremony with almost no limit after the ceremony.

Now the wine that is used as Passover wine depends on a few things. Most people use the same wine they use for Sabbath which is Manischewitz. This is Concord grape juice sweetened and fermented but not like the complex wines we know about. People can either have Manichewitz kosher wine for the ritual Passover meal or they can go with a dry cabernet sauvignon or a merlot form a kosher winery of choice but which have the seal of approval as being appropriate for Passover.

Kosher wines are not easy to produce. There are some rules that have to be kept in mind by the wine makers. The first is that all equipment that is used to make kosher wine must be used only for the production of kosher wine and nothing else. Unless the wine is pasteurized, the grapes and the wine must be handled only by Jews who observe the Sabbath. Products that are certified kosher can be used like yeast and filtering agents etc.

But kosher Passover wine has yet another twist to its production. During the fermentation process, kosher for Passover wine has to be free of additives like corn syrup, legumes and other non kosher Passover wine appropriate ingredients. As acknowledged in the code of Jewish law, fermented and unfermented wine is permitted. If any wine maker used non-kosher products in the wine making process then it cannot be used as kosher Passover wine. Wines need a mold or yeast of some kind for fermentation. But for kosher Passover wine, the mold has be to be from a source other than that grown on bread. Kosher Passover wine can use molds made from sugar or fruit but cannot use commonly used preservatives like potassium sorbate.

An important thing to remember is that you should open the wine bottle early enough – let it breathe! A light and sweet red wine can do very well as a Passover wine. Here are some recommendations:

1. Bartenura Malvasia

2. Ohra Kal – This is a wine from the hills in Jerusalem. "Kal" means light – that’s exactly what this wine is.

3. Conditon – This is a heavier sweet wine and has a high level of alcohol

4. Tishbi Cabernet Petit Syrah

All Israeli wines are kosher wines but there are only some which are kosher Passover wines, so it is essential to check for the label with a P on it.