With Passover starting at the end of March, observant Jews around the world are buying kosher wine for the holiday. This year, a wine made with local grapes is joining the selection: Seloh from Kesser Winery.
Seloh, which means “forever” in Hebrew, is a brand of wines manufactured by Madera company D.P. Enterprises and sold under the Kesser name. Seloh’s red wine consists of a variety of grapes, while its white bears the floral scent and flavor of muscat of Alexandria.
Both are fit for dessert, but they’re not as sweet as typical Passover wines – those with sugar and Concord grapes from companies such as Manischewitz.
“Many people were raised with Manischewitz and they won’t touch anything else,” says Rabbi Levy Zirkind of Central California Kosher, a certification agency that oversees the production of Seloh. “But the wines have become better tasting.
“In the past decade or so, improving wines that conform to Jewish dietary rules has become a trend, says Gary Landsman, a spokesman for Royal Wine Corp. As a leading producer, importer and distributor of upscale kosher wines, Royal has witnessed much of the change. It represents more than 500 labels, including Seloh.
There are several reasons for the development of kosher wine, Landsman says. Israel’s cuisine has become sophisticated, and its winemakers have responded in turn. Also, some winemakers strive to make high-quality winesthat can compete in the general market – and not just in the kosher market. As a result, Landsman has sold wines that appeal to people who are not observant Jews. “If they taste the wine, and it’s in their price point and they like them, they buy them,” he says.
Flavor isn’t the only appeal for folks who don’t follow Jewish dietary laws. In general, “kosher food has a reputation of being more carefully produced than non-kosher food, as the products are inspected both by the FDA and by kosher inspectors (mashgihim), who visit food processing plants with more frequency,” states a January 2009 report from market-research firm Mintel.
Despite the broadened appeal of kosher wine, its sales still are the highest in the two months leading up to Passover, Landsman says.
Wine is particularly important for the holiday’s Seders – ritual meals that mix food and the Haggadah, the text that recounts the exodus of Jews from Egypt. Jews hold two Seders during Passover; they drink four cups of kosher wineat each one.
“Basically, we all have a commandment to remember that we left Egypt every single day,” says Zirkind, who also is the rabbi of Chabad of Fresno, a small Orthodox congregation. “Passover’s uniqueness is that we discuss it at length. The more you talk about it, the more praised you are, so says the Haggadah. So you have to re-live the miracle asthough you left Egypt yourself.”
During Passover, observant Jews follow an important rule in the Book of Exodus: They do not eat leavened food, such as bread products and beer. Abstaining from grains reminds modern-day Jews of their forefathers’ hasty departure from Egypt. They fled so quickly, there was no time for their bread to rise.
The rule also applies to wine that is kosher for Passover. No yeast from grains is used during the fermentationprocess.There are additional rules governing the production of kosher wine. At D.P. Enterprises, Zirkind strictly follows Jewish law.
All of the equipment – the crusher and de-stemmer, the fermentation tanks, and the bottling line – is cleaned carefully. It isn’t just a matter of using hot water and cleaning products. The fermentation tanks are prepared for kosher manufacturing with cold water: They’re filled with cold water, sealed for 24 hours, then drained. The process isrepeated two more times.
Also, only Orthodox Jews make the wine. Zirkind does much of the work himself; last week, his nephew from New York helped.”They have to push every button and turn every valve,” says Demetrio Papagni, owner of D.P. Enterprises.
No animal products are added to the wine. The wine is flash pasteurized and designated mevushal (“cooked”) on the labels. Such pasteurization allows the wine to keep its kosher status, no matter how it’s handled, Landsman says.
And for added assurance in the New York area (one of the largest Jewish markets in the nation), two New York agencies that certify kosher food also oversaw Seloh’s winemaking process.
Papagni and Zirkind will soon see how well Seloh competes with other kosher for Passover wines. Given the demand for such products, it’s a good time to introduce Seloh. The first batch is headed to the New York area.
“It’s a customer-driven industry,” Zirkind says. “Every year there’s always something new coming out for Passover.”
go kesser it rook”s
for the past twenty five years the only wine i use by my simchos and shabbos table is one produced by Reb Yosaif Zakon – his personal attention to his smal but excellent brand combined with his hechsher makes him second to none!! lechayim !!!!
We love you!! Keep up the gr8 work!!!
Love the foxes
The Gaon Shebeshluchim!!!!!!!!!
Your Shvoger
Noach SHlita
Great to see you Rabbi Levi!
Esther and Yissi
A fellow g6 classmate 😛
Great job working behind the scenes, making sure that it was ready for Pasach, weeks upon weeks flying back and fourth New york- fresno. Great job!!!