Plenty Of Options For Passover Wines

Not too many years ago, it was nearly impossible for American Jews to find kosher fine wine to accompany the Seder.

In the last third of the 19th century, serious wine-grape-growing and winemaking were just emerging in California's fertile soil and climate, and the choice of varieties and the volume of production did not yet reflect the possibilities. Devout Jews on the East Coast were lucky to find retail wines at all, and dry wines were not popular.
Kosher wines, made exclusively from vine to table by observant Jews, were imports that were scarce and costly.
As more Jews came to the country, it was inevitable that a more refined taste would be reflected in the choice of wines, gradually replacing the heavy, sickly sweet concords with excellent chardonnays, cabernets, merlots, and semillions.
With that in mind, here are some suggestions for finding kosher wines.

Oxnard, Calif., is home to Herzog Wine Cellars, a central coast winery in the Santa Barbara area. Priced a bit high at $30 to $70, it is definitely a special-occasion wine.

Royal Wine Corp. of Bayonne, N.J., is an importer and distributor of several kosher wines. Prices from Royal range from $10 bottles to $100 for such Bordeaux imports as Chateau Giscours and Leoville Poyferre.

The Carmel Winery's imports, all of them guaranteed kosher, are made in Israel, in vineyards near Tel Aviv. Carmel's products include all the varieties you might want. Samples are a $10 riesling-chenin blanc blend and a premium merlot ($20).

The Golan Heights Winery, founded in 1983 in the city of Katzrin, also produces kosher wines. Its flagship brand is Yarden. Under the Yarden label, the winery markets a premium prize-winning chardonnay, Katzrin, which sells for $30.