Kosher Wine Tasting

Saturday's food-and-drink event at Coolidge Corner Wine & Spirits featured four kosher wines paired with pita and hummus from Jerusalem Pita & Grill.

A wine is considered kosher if very strict rules are followed during its creation. According to the magazine Gems In Israel, grapes from new vines cannot be used until the vine is at least four years old, the vineyard must be left fallow every seventh year, and no other vegetation can be grown in the vineyard. Only Sabbath-observing Jewish males can handle the grapes from the time they're harvested to the time the wine is put in the bottle, and therefore no work can be done on the Sabbath. No animal products are used in kosher wine production, and a symbolic 1% of the wine must be discarded as tithe. Some kosher wine is boiled in order to make it "mevushal," which means that a non-Jewish person can open and pour the wine and it will still remain kosher.

• I started Saturday's tasting with the 2006 Byblos Unoaked Chardonnay, a kosher wine made in the Mendoza region of Argentina. I tasted some nice pear notes, but it's not a wine I would buy.
• Next we tried the Yarden Mount Hermon from Galilee, a Bordeaux-style blend (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc) that tasted mostly of dark berries. I also noticed a strange earthy aroma that gave the wine a really unpleasant taste. Other people didn't seem to mind the funkiness.
• The third kosher wine in the tasting was Teal Lake Shiraz 2007, a spicy red wine made in Australia. Most of the customers appreciated the bold cherry flavor and fragrance.
• We finished with Golan Moscato, a sparkling dessert wine made in Israel. I can't think of any situation in which I would enjoy something so incredibly sweet, but if I ever find myself craving a light, sparkling beverage that tastes like a bonbon, I'll remember the Golan Moscato.

The hummus from Jerusalem Pita & Grill was delicious and tasted especially good with the Shiraz.

A Successful Sampling

Thursday's Coolidge Corner wine tasting showcased three very different wines: a Californian chardonnay (Clos Pegase), a pinot noir also from California, and a cabernet sauvignon from Chile (Cono Sur). The wines varied in price from the Cono Sur, featured on our "$10 and Under" rack, to the Clos Pegase, which is normally $26 but was 30% off. They also varied a lot in flavor, from the light tropical fruit of the chardonnay to the thick and smoky cabernet sauvignon.

The tasting was fun for the customers because almost everyone was pleased with at least one wine. It was even more fun for me because I actually liked all three selections.

• I'm usually not a big fan of chardonnay, but the Clos Pegase had a nice balanced nose of peach and oak and a light tropical fruit taste.
• I am a big fan of pinot noir, but I'm also picky about my pinot. After several tastes, I found it to be a full-bodied wine (even though some customers found it to be "thin and watery") with complex red fruit flavors and a velvety smooth finish. It's a wine I'd like to spend more time with.
• Finally, the Cono Sur was a definite crowd pleaser. The flavor is bold, the price is great, and the bottle has a little "We're Green!" label (even though they don't seem to be certified organic ... they just mention that they ride bikes around their vineyard and have carbon neutral delivery).

I've worked at Coolidge Corner Wine & Spirits for a full week now, and I've already tasted a dozen wines - including several that I really like. I haven't learned everything we carry or where to find it, and I'm not very useful when it comes to beer recommendations, but so far I love the job. Come visit on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday for a tasting!