People tend to wonder which wine is kosher and which wine isn’t regardless of if they’re Jewish or not.
A number of specific laws oversee the making of kosher wine. These laws tend to involve things such as how the grapes are cultivated, how they are harvested, crushed and converted into wine. With the making of kosher wine, no chemical additives may be used. Other things such as gelatin, lactose and non-wine yeasts shouldn’t be used as well. Kosher wine must be made by using the same methods used to make rabbinical wine.
The rules for making kosher wine have been the same strict laws for centuries. The grapes may be picked by Jews or Gentiles but as soon as they have been placed in the crusher, the rest of the process can only be observed by Jews who have performed the Sabbath to the letter. Animal byproducts are not allowed for use in the winemaking process. Regular wine yeast and gelatin may be used in the process of making wine but this is usually different when you are making kosher wine. However you have some types of yeast which don’t come from animal based products.
Rigorous laws also govern the issue of the vineyards which give rise to the wine as well. A vineyard may not be used to make kosher wine until its fourth year of produce. This tends to be a problem as vineyards will start producing usable grapes in its third year and this may cause financial problems for the owners of these vineyards. However, regardless of this fact, it must be done. If a vineyard is on a land of some religious significance, certain laws govern these factors as well. The land which the grapes are grown must also be allowed to lie fallow once every seven years. Further financial hardship may affect the vineyard owners as they cannot use their vineyard for whole year; this tends to affect the grapes as well. The usual practice with some people is to allow non-Jews the use of the land for that particular year in order to offset financial losses.
Kosher wine is made in many places around the world and this includes France, The United States, Italy, South Africa and Israel. At a certain time kosher wines were made exclusively from Concord or Niagara grapes, this was a reason why the sweet wines were so popular at religious celebrations. Currently kosher wines may be made from Chardonnay or other varieties which people are familiar with and they are kosher as well. Certain winemakers compare wine made from Concord grapes to grape juice with a little alcohol added. Others on the other hand prefer to remain with the sweet traditional wines which the Jews have been used to for centuries in the celebrations of religious feasts or taken along with their Sabbath meals.
Regardless of the logistic and financial hardships that result in a bid to make kosher wine, these practices must be obeyed to the letter. The rules have governed the way Jewish wine has been made for centuries past and it is likely that they will continue in the centuries to come.
