TCLiquors Wine Blog

This weekend we featured Kosher wines from Italy, France, and Israel. Here’s an excerpt on kosher wines from the link on our homepage:

For wine to be kosher one percent of the wine must be discarded, a symbolic remnant of the 10% tithe, paid to the Temple in Jerusalem in days gone by. Additionally, barrels must be cleaned three times.

There are really two levels of kosher wine. The first includes the restrictions outlined above, while the second, known as “mevushal” utilizes an additional process. This is important since Kashrut law stipulates that in order for a wine to retain its ‘kosherness’ once opened and poured by a non-Jew, (such as a waiter, for instance) the wine must be “mevushal.”

Bringing the liquid to a boiling point makes this type of wine, causing air bubbles to be brought to the surface and the loss of some wine, due to evaporation. A wine that is produced in this manner retains its religious purity, regardless of who opens or pours it. A study at the University of California at Davis, has proven that it is not possible to consistently taste the difference between non- mevushal and mevushal wine.

To ensure wine’s purity, the codification of koshering wine began in the days of Maimonides. Today, a quick glance at the bottle’s label will clearly indicate whether the wine is kosher or not. Some truly wonderful kosher wine is being produced in Israel.

While the University at Davis may have concluded that you can’t consistently taste the difference between yes and not yes meshuval wine, this boy thinks that one can consistently note the difference between kosher and not yes kosher wines. While the threewhites we tried this weekend are consistently similar to their non-kosher counterparts, the reds are significantly different. They tend to have much less body and character than their female..I mean…other worldly counter-parts.

The Chateaux Camplay is a Bordeaux Superior. It is a decent wine and certainly blows away Manishewitz, so if you are having a kosher Passover serve this to your family.

THe Vin de Pays d’Oc Merlot is a decent wine and certainly blows away Manishewitz, so if you are having a kosher Passover serve this to your family.

The Venezien Pinot Grigio from Gabriele was quite good. A tiny touch of sweetness and a nice crisp herbal balance with a crisp quick finish. It is a good wine and certainly blows away Manishewitz, so if you are having a kosher Passover serve this to your family.

Yesterday’s real treat was the Moscato from Terracina Italy (West coast above the boot belt buckle (a little ways south of Roma)). Loaded with pear and violet in nose and mouth. Two thumbs up, four hands down. It is a delicious wine and certainly blows away Manishewitz, so if you are having a kosher Passover serve this to your family.

Tonight we are tasting 3 wines from Hai Winery Israel made from grapes grown at vineyards along the sea of Galilee. First is the Emerald Riesling. This wine is has a pear apricot nose and is on the dry side- a touch of sweetness masking a dry and somewhat unripe pear mouthfeel finish. The Merlot is actually decent. Better than yesterday’s inmy opinion. It has a some body and some nild tanins. Not much in the fruit end. Hai’s cabernet sauvignon is a little chewey with some choclate and decent fruit.

We also cracked open a bottle of Cantina Gabriele’s Sangiovese is quite good. A nice body with some decent dark fruits and a little bit of spice. In all, this is my favourite red wine of the lot.

I should mention that we are also selling a kosher cognac: Very Superior Old Pale (VSOP) Grand Cru from Dupuy. We are not offering this at our tasting since it is 80%…and therefore I did not have chance to try it.

More next week….

Face it people, the more we know the more we know we don’t know (sounds a little like Donald Rumsfeld) so we have to be wise in how we divest our time. There is so much to know about so many things, even in the small world of wine, that I have decided, for a variety of anthropologically based reasons, if it doesn’t have alcohol in it, why bother learning about it (disclaimer: everything I say should be taken as a joke with its roots in the comedical arts and sciences).

Happy April’s fools anyone! (Tonight’s theme).

I’m starting myself off with a little Menage a Trois, a luscious blend of Chardonnay (46%), Muscat Canelli (38%), and Chenin Blanc (16%). Sweet apricots and peaches in the nose with a lightly sweet grassy apple apricot on your tongue. This wine could be a compliment to any warm spring or summer day, and could even be consumed with food (go figure) - I’d say anything scampi to lightly breaded and fried. No doubt this wine could even be served as a dessert wine with anything super sweet and syrupy. You really get the chardonnay in the finish - why I recommend super sweet (you don’t want to drink your dessert from an oak cask(et)).

Having skipped the fourplay, I backtrack: A Sicilian blend split equally amongst Frapato Nero, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese, and Nero D’ Avola, the Fourplay is a medium body I.G.T (Inidcazione Geographica Tipica - one of the three legal classifications of Italian wines) from 2003 with an interestingly spicey and perfumey alcoholic nose for the medium body it offers. This wine is definitley a great compliment to an antipasta or appetizer course - hence, the fourplay (oh no, thats cause its four grape types) - especially something oily, garlicy and spicy.

Gnarly Head Old vine Zin is a treat. Lots of yummy fruit and spice in the nose with definite hints of chocolate. Lush dense fruit, spice, and chocolatey tobaccos in the mouth. Everyone loves this wine. You will too.