Category Archives: Kosher Red Wine
Gotham Wine’s Ninth Annual Wine Extravaganza results – WOW!!
I have posted often about why we love going to the Gotham Kosher Wine Extravaganza. Sure, Royal Wine’s International Food and Wine Festival is quite lovely, but in the end the wines are just from the Royal’s vast Portfolio. At the Gotham Wine Extravaganza, you get to taste Royal’s wines (though we skipped most of them this year as they were repeats of the IFWF) and wine from 7 other importers. To me this was the best one yet, hands down. We have been coming to this event for four years now, and it was where we first met many in the NY wine scene, as well. The evening was absolutely fantastic. Last year’s event was complicated by the difficulty of finding a place for the event. This year’s event was planned out beautifully in advance and it was once again hosted in the same location as it was last year – the West Side Institutional.
As stated many times already, the event is driven by the master in arms, Costas Mouzouras, General Manager of Gotham Wines of Manhattan, NY, and his merry band of helpers. Just like last year, the tables were setup by wine importer rather than by region, because at this event there was more than just one importer. The event is one of those truly rare opportunities where a person is able to taste wines from all around the world, from any importer, and almost any top line kosher wine that exists out there. Of course, there was a very large table of wines imported by Royal Wines. However, there was another 14 tables of wines and food from all around the world! Every year I feel like a kid in a candy shop!
Where else can you taste up to 500 or more different wines that are from wineries as varied as Dalton, Tepperberg, Recanati, Tishbi, Bravdo Winery, Happy Hearts Importer, Victor Wines, Hevron Heights, River Importers, and Royal (Carmel, Capcanes, and Yatir Winery). Each of these tables has the winemaker, wine importer, or wine expert. They were knowledgeable about the wines and as passionate about them as I am about wines. Overall the event was another home run. There must have been easily a couple hundred people at the event, all packed into the second floor of WSI. That said, I never had to wait long to get a glass of wine, and even if one of the people manning the tables was busy talking to a guest about a wine or winery, there was another person happy to pour for others. There was also a fair amount of wine mavens/maniacs, like me, that were a joy to converse with and get tips on what wines were really special or interesting to try, which came in handy when there are so many wines to look at/try.
2012 Herzog International Wine Festival – part two of wine notes
As stated in the previous posting on this lovely event, there were many wines to taste and there was no way I could post all the wine notes in a single posting. Here is my follow-up posting on the wines tasted at the event, including the wines that I loved and did not love.
The wine notes are listed in the order that I tasted them:
2010 Domaine Netofa – White – Score: B++
The nose on this light gold colored wine shows clean and lovely nose of green apple, peach, grapefruit, kiwi, light quince, and rich/nice loamy dirt and mineral. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich and balanced with nice minerality, along with nice bright fruit that mingles well in the mouth. The finish is long and spicy with nice quince, tart green apple, grapefruit, and green tea.
2010 Binyamina Chardonnay, Reserve, Unoaked – Score: B
This wine did not show nearly as well as its 2009 sibling, the wine was flat without much to grab your attention. The nose on this straw colored wine has apple, lemon, nice mineral, bright acid, and melon. The mouth is somewhat plush and the finish has citrus to round out the wine.
2010 Binyamina Chardonnay, Reserve – Score: B+
This wine did not show nearly as well as its 2009 sibling, though not as bad as its unoaked twin. The nose on this dark straw colored wine has light oak, brioche, lemon, nice spice, light creme, and honey. The mouth is round with spice, summer fruit, and oak influence.
2011 Tulip White Tulip – Score: B++
This wine is a blend of 70% Gewurztraminer and 30% Sauvignon Blanc with the sweet and floral notes of the Gewurztraminer showing nicely with honey and guava, while the green apple and bright lemon notes from the Sauvignon Blanc blend together in a unique manner. The nose on this straw colored wine hits you with mineral, light honey, bright lemon, green apple, and guava. The mouth is nice and honeyed with light petrol, and citrus. The finish is long with both sweet lemon creme and bright lemon at the same time, along with fig, and tart notes. This is a great wine that would go well with fish or sushi.
Dalton Petite Sirah and Gilgal Chardonnay
This past weekend I was staying with friends I tried a new wine and an older wine, though a wine I have no had before. The first wine is the 2010 Dalton Petite Sirah. we have spoken many times about the difference between the Petite Sirah and Syrah and Shiraz, for more of that check out this post.
In the end, the Dalton was quite a lovely wine indeed. It was not a massive winner, though it did score well. Instead, it is another example of the direction that Israel is pointing towards, ripe beautiful wines that do not taste hot (too alcoholic) or overly ripe (new world) in you face. It has a lovely floral, blue and black fruit nose and body, though over time the blueberry fades to a richer black plum and blackberry mouth with floral resonance. There is one quandary I had while tasting this wine and that was the finish. There is a clear flavor that lingers like mad, almost bitter and I call it bitter olive but it may well be something else. Would love to hear what others think of this one.
For comparison sakes I have included the 2009 Dalton PS, which was the first release of a singe varietal PS from the winery. The 2009 is VERY different in style. While the 2009 is elegantly muscular, the 2010 is lean and soft, with a bit of muscle but more unique in its flavors than in its body. The 2009 is rich with black fruit, tannin, oak, and leather. The 2010 is more elegant with blue and black fruit, vanilla, leather, and nice spice.
The Yarden Gilgal Chardonnay is the new name for the old wines – Gamla, which is in trademark wars with Royal, so in the US the wine is sold as Gilgal in Israel the same bottle is sold as Gamla. In the US, Gamla wines are actually made by Carmel and distributed by Royal – ah the logic and business of kosher wine!
Anyway, either way the wine starts off very closed, a bit hot, and overly oaked. As it opens, it shows lovely tropical nd summer fruit, but never quite enough complexity to grab you by the scruff of your neck and shake to awake. So, while it is a perfectly fine wine, it is not one that quite meets the A- score requirements.
The wine notes follow below:
2009 Yarden Gilgal Chardonnay – Score: B++
The wine starts off closed and stunted with little tropical fruit or summer fruit, but clear oak influence. Over time the wine opens to clean peach, brioche, melon, guava, crushed herb, and ripe and intense Meyer lemon. The mouth is round and oaky with nice toast on the edges along with good acid and bright fruit. The finish is long and spicy with lemon zest and good mineral.
2010 Dalton Petite Sirah – Score: A-
The wine starts beautifully once you open the bottle with ripe blueberry, nice blackberry, over the top ripe plum that is not overripe, lovely cinnamon, and chocolate. The mouth is full and layered with attacks of blue and black fruit, floral notes, roasted meat, and soft and integrating mouth coating tannin, all coming together quite nicely. The finish is long with nice leather, cinnamon, vanilla, boysenberry, and good bitter olives. To me this is a lovely example of Durif (Petite Sirah) expression. The wine shows nice blue and black fruit, leather and heavy tannin, but one that is restrained and not meant for very long cellaring. I would give this wine till 2013 or 2014 and then drink up. The spices and vanilla are simple extensions of the 12 months in American oak. Other than the spice, the oak is not nearly as evident as in the 2009 vintage and only helps to round the mouth and add heft to what was clearly a lighter vintage, due to the cold season.
2009 Dalton Petite Sirah – Score: A-
The wine hits you hard with its heavy oak and blackcurrant, followed by lovely cedar, chocolate, mounds of black pepper and tobacco. The mouth is rich and unctuous, much like a coiled snake ready to pounce, all wrapped in a sheath of inky structure, along with tannin that is not quite integrated, all of which helps to lift the blackberry and cassis fruit up and balances it nicely with good acidity. The finish is long and smoky with more tobacco, ripe plum, mounds of vanilla, leather and black fruit that lingers. The hardcore style of this wine will allow it to last a bit more than the 2010 vintage, probably till 2014 oor 2015 than drink up.
Kosher Syrah Tasting – Cool Weather vs. Warm Weather Syrahs
This past week I finally got the chance to put together the kosher Syrah tasting that I have been craving. I have been stockpiling Syrah for some time and now we finally had the chance to try them all at the same time. I have been at all of the kosher California wineries; Herzog Cellars, Four Gates Winery, Agua Dulce Winery, Shirah Winery, Covenant Winery and the Brobdingnagian Winery, and I have caught the bug of cool weather Syrah. This is not a myth; this is a real change in the manner of which the Syrah expresses itself.
The Syrah tasting consisted of a bunch of kosher California Syrah, along with one from Australia and Israel in the following order. The 2009 Harkham Aziza Shiraz, Preservative Free (not tasting as great as when I had it in Sydney), 2009 Shirah Power to the People, 2003 Four Gates Syrah, 2008 Syraph Syrah/Grenache, 2007 Brobdingnagian Syrah, and the 2004 Yarden Ortal Syrah. The first five are cool weather Syrah, while the Yarden Ortal is an 
example of hot weather Syrah. The 2007 Brobdingnagian was Jonathan Hajdu’s inaugural release and since than he has gone on to become the associate winemaker at Covenant Winery, while also making more of his Brob wine. The 2008 Syraph was essentially the first release by the Weiss Brothers, though they did make a smaller batch of wine in 2005 as well. The story of Jonathan and the Weiss brothers can be found in a lovely written article by Gamliel Kronemer here.
In cool weather climates, the Syrah grape is very happy to show expressions of smoked meat, black pepper, tobacco, and leather around their core of blue-black fruit. They also have nice acidity, which helps to brighten the mouth and balance out the wine’s palate. The clear note here is that the grape expresses blueberry and watermelon in ways that will astound you. The bright sweet blueberry along with rich black fruit make for a wine that is unique and truly flavorful. The blue fruit may not always appear at first, but a trademark of the cooler climates, in Australian and California, was that they all exhibited rich blueberry fruit intertwined with some lovely black and sometimes watermelon along with spice. In warm climate regions, characteristic Syrah flavors tend toward dark fruits, cherry, white pepper and earthy notes, though leather and tar are sure to also make a guest appearance.
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My article published in Uncorked – Blessings in a bottle, kosher wine comes of age
This past week my article on the world of kosher wine was published on Uncorked – a magazine written and edited by a vintner on the world of wine. I met Steve Yafa, when tasting wines at Covenant (a posting of all of those wines is coming soon). Steve makes his own wine (though not kosher) and has been writing about the world of wine, and many other subjects for many years, with his work showing up in the San Francisco Chronicle, and other such locals.
It was this chance encounter with Steve, at Covenant, that spurred the opportunity for me to write about kosher wine for his newest venture – uncorked, engaging and accessible coverage of the world of wine from an editor who’s actually a vintner himself. Uncorked brings you wine news, discerning reviews, taste tests, and unexpected but delicious food pairings. You’ll also get plenty of luscious photos and behind-the-scenes stories from vineyards and winemakers around the world.
My article can be found in the latest edition of Uncorked – titled: Blessings in a bottle, kosher wine comes of age. I hope you all enjoy it and my many thanks to Steve and his wonderful crew for working with me to make the final article a true joy to read and view!
2012 Herzog International Wine Festival – a feast for all the senses under the big top!
This past week I was under a big top enjoying kosher wines from around the world and Chef Aaron Todd’s sumptuous splendors were available for all to enjoy. The event was the 2012 Herzog International Food and Wine Festival (IFWF) that was being held at the stately Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. Last year’s event was held at the state-of-the-art Herzog Winery, in Oxnard CA. The intimate lighting and setting was lovely last year, but the combination of the Royal’s larger wine portfolio, the wonderful food, and the growing crowds made it feel like the event was getting too big for its britches. So, with much dismay we waited to hear where the event was going to move to. When the word came out that the event was going to be held at the legendary Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City – the event became the must attend hot ticket event for everyone who enjoys food and wine in the LA area – which is about all Los Angelenos.
Now before anyone thinks the event was held in the stately Los Angeles Ballroom – it was not. Actually, it was held in the lovely Plaza Pavilion, whose name does not even begin to give the unique 9,000+ square foot space its due. The event was moved from the somewhat cramped, yet intimate, setting of the winery to a beautiful tent that is a permanent fixture in the hotel and the social calendar of many a LA party hopper. Actually it is with good reason, if I may say so, as the room is a long rectangle with sufficient yet dim-able lighting and enough space to host the many food and wine stands that the 500 or so attendees partook of. Never during the evening did I feel cramped or claustrophobic like I did last year. Further, while the smell of charring wood and meat is a huge turn-on (for me), it totally messes with my olfactory abilities, which when attending a wine tasting (not drinking) event – really bites! There were copious examples of carnivore delights, which were all prepared on site, but the smells did not permeate the walls of the pavilion. The larger space allowed for more vertical sitting spaces with round tables, in case you were not heads down like I was tasting wines. Also, the ability to stroll out of the pavilion and sit in the reception area, a few feet away, made for a far more roomy feeling event. Finally, the pavilion’s lovely champagne, antique gold and chocolate-brown colors, along with the chandeliers and wall-to-wall carpeting made for an evening of sheer elegance and 
grandeur. Just an aside, while the surroundings were indeed attention grabbing, the guests who attended the event were equally well draped. Some came with tails and a top hat, others dressed to kill in evening ware gowns and suits. I of course, jeans and long sleeve shirt, however, the majority of the crowd were clearly channeling the elegance of the evening.
The confluence of events that just happened to fall on Wednesday, February 15th, made it feel like the odds were stacked against a successful foray out of Herzog’s home base. First it rained – I mean pouring rain! If any of you saw L.A. Story, I hope you can appreciate how rare that is – even in the so-called winter! Further, POTUS decided to do not one, but TWO drive-bys, bringing traffic to a standstill while people craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the most powerful man in the free world. Still, blessedly, nor rain nor sleet nor traffic (the latter a very common malady that Los Angelenos are used to) can keep good citizens of LA from enjoying some seriously good wine and food. The event to me was a major success for many reasons, but the main reason was the fact that sure the event was attended by Jews interested in seeing what wines to buy for the upcoming Purim and Passover. However, there was a large contingency of party goers who attended the evening festivities to enjoy good food and wine – irreverent to their religious and dietary beliefs (which trust me in LA is saying a LOT)! The opportunity to show the L.A. glitterati that the word kosher does not relegate one to an automatic 15 minute timeout, is serious step forward for the kosher industry. Read the rest of this entry
Kosher wine tasting at the Cask in LA featuring Celler de Capcanes and Shiloh Winery Wines
This past week my friend and I 
drove down to Los Angeles, CA to taste kosher wines at the 2012 Herzog International Food and Wine Festival (IFWF). The night before the IFWF we called The Cask, a new wine store on Pico, in Los Angeles, and they said they were having a wine tasting. I guess in my life, you can never taste too much wine! Though to get to the Cask, I had to drive for 1 hour to go 4 miles! My goodness, LA is really a nasty place to drive around during rush hour!
The Cask is not the first wine store in LA, but it is the first kosher-only wine store in Los Angeles, catering to the Jewish crowd that geographically surrounds it from all sides. There have been kosher wine stores before in LA, but a store that sells only kosher wine does take serious courage in this economy.
The Cask, the brain child of Michael Bernstein and Sivan Vardi (Sivan has since moved on), opened quietly, and just in time for Passover 2011. It had its red carpet grand opening in June 2011, with a real red carpet for people to show off their love for wine and haute couture. Interestingly, while neither partner has been part of the retail wine business before, the event I was at was well attended and went off without any hitch, from what I could see.
The front of the store, looks like any other wine store you may find yourself in on an early Friday afternoon looking for some wine to go with you cholent and roast chicken. However, the layout is still quite nice and the prices are competitive, from the quick check that I did Thursday night. However, the website is the weakest link. It is missing the social touch that is sorely needed to be competitive in this market, something that Sivan seemed to be doing before she left in September of last year. The prices are not on the site and the daily deals still show a wine from last September.
Clearly, the Cask is not trying to copy or do battle with some dude in his basement who cobbles up a kosher online wine store. Rather the Cask is all about the local touch of a high-end store where you taste and experience the wine with winemakers or wine professionals. Sure, maybe LA doesn’t need another place to go and buy kosher wine, though the Cask fills that admirably. What LA craves is the ability to walk into an establishment that has 200 or more wines and not be bewildered by the selection. The hope of the store is to educate the kosher drinking public about the hundreds of options available, and let them decide which wines best suit their palate or cuisine. Read the rest of this entry
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Agua Dulce Cabernet Sauvignon and Alcohol and Brown Sugar Braised Short Ribs
For the past week we were tasting kosher wines at the 2012 Herzog International Food and Wine Festival. It was a wonderful event and one that was well received, look here for an in-depth write-up, along with another tasting at the Cask and a tasting at what I call ADS (Agua Dulce & Shirah), for the Agua Dulce Winery and Shirah Winery. The note below is for one of the wines that I took home – the 2010 Agua Dulce Cabernet Sauvignon. We tasted through all of the 2010 and 2011 wines of both Agua Dulce and Shirah winery. I can safely call Craig Winchell, the wine maker of Agua Dulce a friend, a person I have known for some 20 or so years and one who I have crazy respect for. Gabe and Shimon Weiss (also known as the Weiss brothers) are a pair of young and talented men. Gabe is the mashgiach (kosher certification supervisor) for Agua Dulce and the wine maker of Shirah wines. Shimon, Gabe’s brother, is the marketing genius behind the cool labels, slick website, while also being an impressive carpenter, and possessing a darn good palate as well.
I will be writing up my impressions on both wineries in due time, but for now I wanted to talk about the wine I tasted over Shabbos. I took/borrowed four half bottles from our tasting of Agua Dulce wines and they were impressive overall. I was privy to things that I do not wish to discuss but also somewhat stunted my enthusiasm for a couple of the wines, but issues that I know Craig will work out before the wines are released to the public. Craig joined the winery in 2010 and all wines from that time on were made kosher.
I took home a Cabernet that I must say, I was not expecting from the vineyards of this winery. The 90 acres of Agua Dulce’s vineyards are planted in desert plains at an elevation of 2000 feet. The winter days can be downright cold and the summer days can warm up a bit, but not to a point of Napa or the Central Coast. Gabe, who tasted the wines with us, said that the terroir of this vineyard is the black pepper that is obvious within all of its wines. There are many small black pepper bushes around, but that may well be an effect of the land and not the cause. The vineyard is a cold weather vineyard and one of the outcomes can be low ripeness, during cold summers, like the past two years. Under ripe fruit can sometimes shows green notes that in the hand of a professional like Craig can sometimes mean a masterpiece.
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Four Gates Winery – a terroir driven kosher winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Four Gates Winery welcome sign and road up
I must start this posting by saying, I could not believe that I have waited this long to write an update to my previous postings on the Four Gates Winery. I did post about the time I crashed the Alice Feiring visit to Four Gates, which is almost fully documented in the last chapter of her new book: Naked Wine, more on that when I do my write up on the book. I also posted many wine notes along the way. Still the last real post I did on my friend’s winery is almost 4 years ago! Are you kidding me?
Once again, I was driving up this time to see Benyamin Cantz, the winemaker, vineyard manager, and Numero Uno of Four Gates Winery, in the rolling hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. It was a beautiful winter day in February 
that felt like a spring day in Northern California, another lovely reason to live in NorCal. The drive to the winery winds through the twisting roads that crest and wrap around the Santa Cruz Mountains. By the time you arrive at the address of the winery, you will notice a Bruchim Habaim (translated loosely to mean blessed be those who are arriving) sign to the left and a driveway in front of you. As you look at the driveway that will take you to the top of the hill upon which the winery is perched, the thoughts of stairway to heaven cannot help but play in your head! The drive up the hill to the winery used to be a dirt road long ago, and with all the switchbacks and near vertical climbs, it dumbfounds me how Binyamin (and many others who lived on the hilltop) ever drove up and down that mountainside many times a day. Since then, the road has been paved and now by comparison, it feels like a highway. Once you have circumnavigated the circuitous drive to the top, the vineyard will be visible flanking the driveway from both the right and the left. The larger block of vines is on the right, but the Pinot and part of the Chardonnay are on the left. Read the rest of this entry
Yarden Merlot, Hagafen Cuvee de Noirs, and Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon
This past weekend we enjoyed a Friday Night meal at a friend’s of our new digs and we were super excited to be invited. These are dear friends and we truly enjoyed the food, the company, the camaraderie, the joy, and the wine! We brought over a bottle of Ernie’s 2007 Hagafen Cuvee de Noirs Brut, but it did not taste as lovely as the last two times we had it. We also enjoyed a 2003 Yarden Merlot that another guest brought, and that was nice but too new-world for my taste. Benyamin was also there, and he brought over a bunch of bottles of his new 2009 lineup as a house-warming gift, and the hosts kindly opened a lovely bottle of the 2009 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are sourced from a new location for the Four Gates Winery – Monte Bello vineyard! Loom for a new post in the next day or so.
The wine notes follow below – and many thanks to our hosts! The evening was as spectacular as the two of you are – Mazel Tov!
2007 Hagafen Cuvee de Noirs – USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville – Score: B+ to A-
The last two times we had this bubbly it was richer and more explosive in the nose and palate. This time it was OK, but not at the same level. I bought it at the winery, so maybe it is a case of bottle variation. The nose on this lovely salmon colored wine was lively with effervescent small bubbles, along with pear, light toast, yeast, apricot, citrus fruit, peach, and strawberry. The mouth on this medium bodied wine attacks first with a lovely mousse of small bubbles, followed by summer fruit, citrus, and nice yeast, that give the mouth a lively feeling. The finish is super long, with strawberry, summer fruit, brioche, yeast, light oak, and citrus rind. This is a lovely sparkling wine that really needs time in the fridge and one that is a lovely now and will continue to be lovely for at least a few more years to come.
2003 Yarden Merlot – Score: B+ to A-
I will admit that this is a really nice wine. I will further admit that it is worthy of one still enjoying it, as the tannin, acid, and fruit are still all holding themselves together nicely. My issue with it is the sweet dates and raisin that come from the super, and over the top, ripe fruit. This wine is too new world for me. Yes the wine has a body and stance that is worthy of the fruit, but this is a bit too much for me. The nose on this purple to black colored wine is redolent with black cherry, blackcurrant, oak, raisin, roasted herb, raspberry, and chocolate. The mouth on this full bodied wine hits you first with still gripping tannin that give the wine a coating mouthfeel, along with spicy oak, ripe fruit and sweet dates, that come together into a truly expressive and concentrated mouth. The finish is long and spicy with spicy oak, herb, black fruit, and tannin that linger long on the palate. This wine continues to go and go, because of the rich tannin and acid. The in-your-face oak of old has mellowed, but in its place is the over the top ripe fruit, which takes this wine down a notch.
2009 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: A- to A
The fruit for this lovely old-world Cabernet comes from Betchart Vineyard on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I have been able to watch this progress from press to bottling, and it has gone from a rich red fruit wine, to a hybrid rich old-world wine with big red fruit along with some lovely black fruit. A unique Cabernet that is rich, extracted, balanced, yet oak influenced in a lovely manner, this is not a big black new-world Cabernet! The nose on this purple to black colored wine is screaming with cloves, graphite, oak, kirsch cherry, raspberry, blackberry, red fruit, tobacco, roasted herbs, and anise. The mouth on the medium to full-bodied wine is super rich, extracted, and concentrated, with nice fruit, spice, big round and mouth coating tannin, and lovely oak that makes for a rich and spicy mouthfeel. The finish is long, lovely, and spicy with more tannin, chocolate, tobacco, cinnamon, red fruit, more spice, and a nice hit of vanilla. The chocolate, oak, cloves, herbs, red fruit, and vanilla linger long. Best in a year and drink by 2016.
