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L’CHAIM
AN AFICIONADO’S PESACH WINE LIST / BY GABRIEL GELLER L'CHAIM
VITKIN GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2018
For those among you who have the custom to use white wine at the Seder, the Vitkin Gewürztraminer 2018 is a wonderful option. It is also atypical as Gewürztraminer wines are almost always semi-dry to sweet, whereas this one is dry. It has, however, excellent acidity, with all the aromas and flavors of Gewurz, such as dried rose petals, lychee and white peach as well as notes of cantaloupe and green apple. As I am writing this, I am making a mental note to drink this wine alongside matzah ball soup. (Yes! We eat gebrokts on Pesach in our house!)
TERRA DI SETA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2017
I keep recommending wines for the Seder but we must not forget that Pesach is eight days long, with multiple meals outside of the Seder. Year after year, Terra di Seta makes some of the best value kosher wines out of Europe in general, particularly from Italy. This wine is always a winner and the 2017 is no exception. Medium-bodied with red berry and cherry fruit notes, savory with high acidity, this wine respects Italian tradition by being a great food wine.
NETOFA LATOUR RED 2017
While I use rosé for most cups at the Seder (they are usually light in body, fruit-forward and lighter in alcohol compared to red wines), I typically open a special bottle of properly-aged wine from my personal collection to enjoy with the meal. The Netofa Latour Red 2017 (or vintage versions as early as 2012) is delicious and should definitely be considered. A Rhône Valley-style blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre, this medium to full-bodied wine features a silky texture, slight acidity and soft tannins, with notes of black and red berry fruits, spicy notes of black pepper and roasted herbs as well as savory undertones of dried mushrooms and cured meats.
CHÂTEAU TRIJET 2018
Most people exclusively drink red wine at the Seder. Some also have the custom to only use non-mevushal wine. Here is an option that has a reasonable alcohol content, is easy to drink, light to medium in body, neither oaky nor too fruity. Made from organically-grown Merlot grapes (little to no pesticides used in the vineyard), Château Trijet 2018 is an honest, pleasant and inexpensive non-mevushal Bordeaux.
ELVI HERENZA RIOJA 2018
I could copy and paste what I wrote about the Terra di Seta and switch the word “Italy” with “Spain.” While that would work, it would be disrespectful of this superstar value Rioja which has all the elements of quality Tempranillo: red fruit, smoke, spiciness, coffee, toffee and balanced acidity, coupled with soft tannins and a velvety texture. Now let’s brainstorm ideas for kosher for Pesach tapas and paella to pair this wine with!
HERZOG LINEAGE ROSÉ 2019
Even though I am a yekke (German Jew), I do have the custom of using only red wine for the four cups and from a Torah perspective, rosé is considered a red, at least according to most opinions. The Herzog Lineage Rosé is so far the best rosé I have tasted from this season’s 2019 vintage. It is a field blend of 12 grape varieties, all grown in the Herzog family’s estate Prince Vineyard in Clarksburg, CA. It features a vast array of tropical and berry fruit flavors, all well balanced by mouthwatering acidity. If you prefer a red, the Herzog Lineage 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent choice.
The Other Side of the Cork: Koenig — A Pioneer of
Quality Kosher Wine
My husband and I both come from long lines of German Jews and white wines have been a staple in our families for many generations. Alsace is one of the most famous white wine regions in the world, located in France, bordering Switzerland and Germany. The terroir is best suited to grow white grape varieties like Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, just four of the seven grape varieties restricted to the region of Alsace. There are many reasons for Yekke (German Jewish) families’ preference of white wines; some are legends we tell at the Pesach Sedarim and some are practical reasons, as is appropriate for our heritage. My grandfather grew up in a small German town not far from Frankfurt. Once a year,
BY YAEL E. GELLER, MPH
he and his six siblings would go to the market to purchase white wine grapes. They would crush the grapes and store the juice in a barrel in their basement to ferment wine for the holidays and Shabbat. The reason they used white grapes was that it was simply the highest quality grapes from the region they lived in. Others tell stories of only using white wine to prove to the anti-Semites that they did not use gentile children’s blood in winemaking. Regardless of your heritage, it is well known that Koenig winery has been the cornerstone of kosher wine in Alsace since the 1960s and continues to be a QPR (quality-price ratio) king in the kosher market.
Alsace has been producing wines even prior to the invasion of Julius Caesar’s army more than 2,000 years ago. The semi-continental climate (hot in summer and cold in winter) favors the production of great white wines. The summer is hot and dry, the winter is often harsh and the spring is well-watered. Autumn is always met with mild weather and low night temperatures preserve the freshness of the grapes. The other asset of Alsace is the diversity of its terroirs. The plain of Alsace was dug next to the Rhine river, between the mountain range of the Vosges in France and the black forest in Germany. All this erosion has generated a variety of different types of soils that are beneficial to grape growing. Some examples of the types of soils found in Alsace are granitic soils, clay,
limestone and volcanic soils. This diversity is the reason for the strength of Alsatian wines. Alsace is an area of appellations subject to legal wine regulation and there- fore is subject to very strict specifications (maximum permitted yields, ban on irrigat- ing, compulsory bottling in the region of production) as well as a strictly supervised winemaking process.
The legend tells us that there was a producer of kosher foie gras (goose/duck liver) named Gaston Corbeau. While in the army, he befriended Emile Koenig, a vintner working in Goxwiller, which is a tiny village about a 20 minute drive north of the cur- rent Koenig location. The two concluded it would be lunacy to drink water with foie gras and the idea for the Koenig winery was born. The philosophy of Koenig is pretty simple and to the point, as it should be. Their goal is to maintain the tradition and style of Alsatian wines and create the highest quality wines possible. Currently, Koenig produces 15 wines from the seven Alsatian grape varieties. All of their wines can be found for around $15-20, including a lovely Alsatian-style sparkling wine called Crémant Brut. Most of their US offerings are mevushal, making them extremely versatile in terms of usage at a simcha. As the demand for white wines in the kosher market continues to grow, we hope to see some more interesting and exciting higher level Grand Cru categories (especially a Riesling, which is my favorite) produced by our favorite Alsatian mainstay. The winery welcomes visitors to visit the facilities and experience tastings. The region also has strong tourist attractions, especially for Jews wanting to visit the village of Dambach-la-Ville, home to one of the oldest synagogues in the region. The winery is located 35 minutes from Strasbourg, one of the most important French communities, with several kosher restaurants, shuls and kosher grocery stores. The community has supported and consumed Koenig wines since 1960, the year of the first kosher harvest. Koenig is the emblematic producer of kosher wines from Alsace due to its long shared history for over half a century. A trip to Alsace to visit the Koenig production sounds like a dream come true! L’chaim! Koenig Vineyards is located at: 5 Route du Vin, 67650 Dambach-la-Ville, France claude@vins-gisselbrecht.com WINE TRAVELS
BLAZINGLY MODERN & PROUDLY TRADITIONAL
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