As I have stated many times in the past, this list started from folks asking me to come up with a cumulative list. Sadly, this year there were just the KFWE events and then there were two events in NJ, on a Saturday night before the clock moved. I have no idea why it was at that time, but hey whatever works!

A few caveats first, this is MY list! This is not a list that will make many happy. These wines are the wines that make me happy. No wines here would be considered overripe, over-sweet, or all over the place. The wines here are listed in the order of cost. That said, the top-line wines – what I call Top-Flight wines, are not defined by cost at all. In that list, you can find a 2014 Yarden Blanc de Blanc or the 2014 Yarden Brut Rose, both are great sparkling wines. Sadly, the 2016 Yarden sparkling wines are so horrible they will not be on this list! Sad facts of life! At the same time, the list includes some of the best high-end kosher wines I have ever tasted. In the end, price does not define your place on the Top-Flight Wines, nor does QPR (Quality to Price Ratio), only pure quality gets you on this list. The list of Top-Flight wines is ALL wines that I would buy without hesitation, no matter the cost (if I can afford it of course).

Passover is a time of year when Jews buy the most wine, along with Rosh Hashanah, and the American New Year. That is why all the kosher wine events, normally, happen a month or two before the Passover festival. It gives the wineries and distributors a chance to showcase all their wines that each appeal to different market segments. So, no there are no sweet or semi-sweet baseline wines here. There are many very good 15 or so dollar bottles of wine, that can be bought at Skyview Wines, Gotham Wines, Suhag Wine, Liquid Kosher, onlinekosherwine.com, kosherwine.com, and a new store I have been buying from kosherwinedirect.com (they also ship for free if you buy a case), along with the other wine stores I have listed on the right-hand side of this blog (as always I NEVER make money from them and I never know or care what people buy, the list is whom I buy wines from and so I can recommend them to others).

Also, the amount of money you spend does not define the value or quality of the wine. Take for example the 13 of so dollar 2021 Baron Herzog Gewurztraminer, the slightly more expensive 2018 Elvi Herenza Crianza, the 2021 Domaine Bousquet Alavida Malbec, and many others. These are great wines and the great price is only an added benefit. However, many low-priced wines are not on this list, as they lack the quality required, IMHO.

Seeing the list and checking it twice (could not help myself), I am sure there will be a question – what defines a wine as a Top-Flight wine, and why are there wines that are not on it? The Top-Flight wines are wines that impressed me when tasting them. That does not mean that the 2020 Chateau Clement-Pichon, as nice as it may or may not be, can compare to another wine on the Top-Flight Wine list. What it does mean was that when I tasted one of these Top-Flight wines, I was wowed, and I said this is a wine that everyone should get – no matter the price. In the end, the Top-Flight Wines is my way to whittle down the list of wines that I enjoyed from a set of thousands of kosher wines available here in America. In hindsight, I am sure I will have missed some wines. If you do not see a wine you love and it scored a 90 or higher on this blog somewhere, then I can assure you that it was probably an oversight on my part.

Also, this is a PSA – please do not buy 2021 rose wines! PLEASE! They are muted and a waste of your hard-earned money. Sadly, there are very few 2022 roses this year, as 2022 is a Shmitta year in Israel. The best of them are just arriving and I wanted to get this list out ASAP! I will post about them after I taste them soon.

Arba Kosot (The Four cups of Passover)

Finally, it is the Jewish custom to drink four cups of wine on Passover, but to power down these wines are far too hard for me (the concept here is to drink the base quantity of wine to fulfill your requirement – which is a Revi’it, within a certain period). In the past, I was drinking red, Israeli wines that were simple to drink, not complex or impressive. However, with time, I found a better option, drink the majority of a small cup that fulfills the Revi’it quantity of wine. This way, I can drink an Israeli, not Mevushal, red wine – like a Netofa wine. This is explained more below. As has been my approach over these past many years, I think I will go with Yarden Rose Brut Sparkling wine, again. It is Israeli, not Mevushal, “red”, a lovely wine, and an acid BOMB!

For the main course, I am happy to open a Top-Flight wine and enjoy that at a calm and enjoyable pace. Another option is to get some of these great glasses from Stolzle, that fulfill the official four cups requirements in terms of volume and respect, according to most Rabbis. The glasses hold 3.5 fluid ounces of wine, which according to almost every source fulfills the concept of Revi’it.

It does not fulfill Chazon Ish’s requirements of 5.1 ounces, but if you wish to meet that requirement use these glasses by Libby’s. Also, remember that you should drink the entirety of the cups, which is why I recommend the smaller cups. If you cannot, some allow the idea of drinking the majority of the cup, but that is not the best approach. Finally, the LAST CUP, should be drunk in totality, as that is the ONLY cup upon which you say an “After Bracha (Blessing)”, and as such you must have drunk at least 3.3 ounces to say the last blessing.

NOTE: Again, I make nothing from these Amazon links, they do not have sponsor links or whatever. I do not have that and never will. These are just suggestions – buy what you want. They are only there for ideas.

Four Cup Options

Like much of what I do on this blog, I was recently asked to come up with some 4 cup options for people. I am not big on pounding good wines for the 4 cups. My Rabbi mixes wine and grape juice and pounds that. No rabbi says you must use the best wines for the 4 cups. I know that sounds horrible, but honestly, the point of the 4 cups is to drink wine in their Halachic format, not to drink great wines slowly, in their non-Halachic format. The priority is drinking red wine quickly and according to the proper shiur (assigned minimum liquid intake). Still, while I will be doing my 4 cups on the Yarden Rose Brut, I have a list of other options here. ALL OF THESE wines are available here in the USA and are at/below 13.5% ABV:

All White wines (non Top-Flight Wines) – Sauvignon Blanc:

1. 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc
2. 2022 La Maison Bleue Sauvignon Blanc
3. 2021 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc
4. 2019 Jean-Pierre Bailly Pouilly Fume

All White Wines (non Top-Flight Wines) – Various:

1. 2017/2018 Netofa Tel Qassar White
2. 2015 Von Hovel Saar Riesling Kabinett
3. 2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis
4. 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc

All White Wines (Top-Flight Wines):

1. 2019/2020 Chateau Malartic Lagraviere
2. 2020 Domaine Aegerter Meursault
3. 2019/2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Meursault
4. 2020 Domaine de Montille Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux

All Sparkling Wines:

1. N.V. Drappier Carte d’Or
2. N.V. Drappier Rose de Saignee
3. N.V. Bonnet-Ponson Champagne, Extra-Brut
4. N.V. Drappier Brut Nature, Zero Dosage

All Red wines (non Top-Flight wines):

1. 2016 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Assai, Gran Selezione
2. 2019 Rocca di Frassinello, Le Sughere di Frassinello
3. 2016 Elvi Wines Herenza, Reserva
4. 2020 Vignobles Mayard Le Hurlevent, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

All TOP Red Bordeaux’s:

1. 2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte
2. 2019/2020 Chateau Pontet-Canet Grand Cru Classe en 1855
3. 2020 Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2nd Grand Cru Classe du Medoc en 1855 (if not able to find)
   • 2014 Domaine Roses Camille Grand Vin de Bordeaux
4. 2020 Chateau Lascombes Grand Cru Classe en 1855 (if not able to find)
   • 2020 Château Angelus Carillon de l’Angélus

All TOP Red Burgundy’s:

1. 2019 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Corton-Vergennes, Grand Cru
2. 2020 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru, Les Grands Epenots
3. 2019 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru, Les Vallerots
4. 2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay, 1er Cru Les Brouillards
   • 2019 Jean-Philippe Marchand Volnay, Lous Luret
   • 2019/2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Gevrey-Chambertin

Read the rest of this entry →

As many have read on these pages, a few wine events have come and gone – with the last one having happened in NY, at the City Winery.  The event showcased many great wines, and was a very good event! The Jewish Week and their kosher wine list for Passover is nice, but you will not find many of them on this list. As I walked around both KFWE this year, and sommelier – I was asked again for a list of my top kosher wines for Passover, so here it goes! This is a of great and reasonably priced kosher wines.

So, with some weeks before Passover – here is my list. A few caveats first, this is MY list! This is not a list that will make many happy. These wines are the wines that make me happy. No wines here would be considered over ripe, over sweet, or all over the place. The wines here are listed in the order of cost. That said, the top line wines – what I call Top Flight wines, are not defined by cost at all. In that list you can find a 2010 Yarden Brut Rose, another smash sparkling wine, that happens to be one of the best wines I tasted at sommelier. At the same time the list includes some of the best high-end kosher wines I have ever tasted that go for $100 or so a bottle. The list of Top Flight wines, are ALL wines that I would buy without hesitation, no matter the cost (if I can afford it of course).

Passover is time of year when Jews buy the most wine, along with Rosh Hashanah, and the American New Year. That is why all the kosher wine events happened a month or two before the Passover festival. It gives the wineries and distributors a chance to showcase all their wines that each appeal to different market segments. So, no there are no sweet or semi-sweet baseline wines here. There are many very good 15 or so dollar bottles of wine, that can be bought at Skyview, Gotham, and all the other wine stores I have listed on the right hand side (as always I NEVER make money from them and I never know or care what people buy, the list is whom I buy wines from and so I can recommend them to others).

Also, the amount of money you spend does not define the value or quality of the wine. Take for example the 24 dollar Capcanes Peraj petita, or the Herenza Crianza, or the Tabor Merlot, Adama, and many others. These are great wines and the price is only an added benefit. However, there are many low priced wines that are not on this list, as they lack the quality required, IMHO.

Seeing the list and checking it twice (could not help myself), I am sure there will be a question – what defines a wine as a Top Flight wine and why are there wines that are not on it? The Top Flight wines, is a list of wines that personally was wowed when tasting them. That does not mean that the Peraj Petita, as wonderful as it is may or may not compare to another wine on the 50 dollar and above list – that would not be fair. What it does mean was that when I tasted it, I was wowed, and I said this is a wine that everyone should get – no matter the price. In the end, this is not about which is better than the rest it is a way to whittle down the list of wines that I enjoyed from a massive set of thousands of kosher wines available here in America. That is why I made the list. In hindsight, I am sure I will have missed some wines, but you can be always look at the blog and if a wine you want is not on the list, by my omission, but scored an A- or higher, it was probably a good bet to have been on this list.

Finally, it is our custom to drink four cups of wine on Passover, but to power down these wines is far too hard for me. I rather decide to drink simple wines like the Tabor Via bubbly red, non mevushal wine. It is simple to chug, tasty, and perfectly fulfills the custom. For the main course, I am happy to open a Top Flight wine and enjoy that at a calm and enjoyable pace.

A few more comments here. I hope I have gotten all the wines that I have tasted here, but I almost posted this a few times, and then only at the end did I remember I forgot a few. Also, this year’s list is far longer, for a few reasons. One, I was far more careful and I tried to include all wines I tasted that were A- or maybe a drop below, AKA 90 point wines. Also, I have gotten to taste more wines as every year passes. Still, I am sure I missed a few. When I taste them – I will post them! Finally, there are more better wines this year. Many from Israel but France has finally stepped up with new vintages, along with Spain killing it as always, whites from Israel, and Cali really showing strong this year as well. I want to stress those lines again – this year is one of the best years for kosher wine – maybe the best. Why? Because more kosher wine is being made than ever before, and the wines are improving. Thankfully, new wineries like Kishor, Shiran, and others are popping up in Israel and are finally toeing the line! Recanati is fully inline now, and Dalton is also toeing the line with their higher end wines and their new lower end wines. What can I say, Israel has always been the white and sparkling wine mecca, but now some smaller and more concerned wineries are moving the needle on reds as well. Enough said on this – just keep looking for good news as I get to actually blog about this good news – notes and story wise. Till then, just follow the list! Read the rest of this entry →