View source for Kosher wine

{{Short description|Wine produced per Jewish dietary law}}
{{Infobox Halacha
|image=[[File:02 Vin cacher du Maroc.jpg|200px]]
|caption=[[Kosher]] wine label from 1930
|verse={{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|32:38|JPS}}
|mishnah=[[Avodah Zarah]] 29b
|talmud=[[Avodah Zarah]] 30a
|talmudy=
|rambam=
|sa=
|codes=|name=Kosher wine<br/>{{Script/Hebrew|יין כשר}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2022}}

'''Kosher wine''' ({{Hebrew Name 1|יין כשר|yáyin kashér}}) is [[wine]] that is produced in accordance with ''[[halakha]]'', and more specifically ''[[kashrut]]'', such that [[Jews]] will be permitted to pronounce blessings over and drink it. This is an important issue, since wine is used in several Jewish ceremonies, especially those of [[Kiddush]].

To be considered kosher, [[Shabbat|Sabbath]]-observant Jews must supervise the entire [[winemaking]] process and handle much of it in person, from the time the [[grape]]s are loaded into the crusher until the finished wine product is bottled and sealed. Additionally, any ingredients used, including [[finings]], must be kosher.<ref name="goldberg">T. Goldberg ''"[https://www.today.com/money/picking-perfect-passover-wine-wbna4580443 Picking the perfect Passover wine]"'' MSNBC, April 19th, 2004.</ref> Wine that is described as "kosher for [[Passover]]" must have been kept free from contact with [[chametz|leavened or fermented grain products]], a category that includes many industrial additives and agents.<ref name="Oxford p 383"/>

When kosher wine is produced, marketed, and sold commercially, it would normally have a ''[[hechsher]]'' (kosher certification mark) issued by a [[kosher certification agency]], or by an authoritative [[rabbi]] who is respected and known to be learned in Jewish law, or by the Kashruth Committee working under a ''[[beth din]]'' (rabbinical court of [[Judaism]]).

In recent times, there has been an increased demand for kosher wines, and a number of [[List of wine-producing regions#Countries|wine-producing countries]] now produce a wide variety of sophisticated kosher wines under strict rabbinical supervision, particularly in [[Israeli wine|Israel]], the [[Wine of the United States|United States]], [[French wine|France]], [[German wine|Germany]], [[Italian wine|Italy]], [[South African wine|South Africa]], [[Chilean wine|Chile]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Chile produces kosher wine |url=http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Chile-Produces-Kosher-Wine_20233 |website=Wine Spectator |access-date=6 December 2015}}</ref> and [[Australian wine|Australia]]. Two of the world's largest producers and importers of kosher wines—[[Kedem Winery|Kedem]] and [[Manischewitz]]—are both based in the [[Northeastern United States|American Northeast]].

==History==
{{See also|Alcohol in the Bible}}
[[File:MigdalHaemek5.jpg|right|thumb|Ancient Israelite wine press at [[Migdal HaEmek]].]]
The use of wine has a long history in [[Judaism]], dating back to [[Alcohol in the Bible|biblical times]]. Archeological evidence shows that wine was produced throughout ancient Israel. The traditional and religious use of wine continued within the [[Jewish diaspora]] community. In the [[United States]], kosher wines came to be associated with [[Sweetness of wine|sweet]] [[Concord (grape)|Concord]] wines produced by wineries founded by Jewish immigrants to [[New York (wine)|New York]].

Beginning in the 1980s, a trend towards producing dry, premium-quality kosher wines began with the revival of the [[Israeli wine]] industry. Today kosher wine is produced not only in Israel but throughout the world, including premium wine areas like [[Napa Valley (wine)|Napa Valley]] and the [[Saint-Émilion AOC|Saint-Émilion]] region of [[Bordeaux (wine)|Bordeaux]].<ref name="Oxford p 383">J. Robinson (ed): ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 383. Oxford University Press 2006 {{ISBN|0-19-860990-6}}.</ref>

==Role of wine in Jewish holidays and rituals==
{{quote|It has been one of history's cruel ironies that the [[blood libel]]---accusations against Jews using the blood of murdered non-Jewish children for the making of wine and matzot---became the false pretext for numerous [[pogrom]]s. And due to the danger, those who live in a place where blood libels occur are [[Halacha|halachically]] exempted from using [kosher] red wine, lest it be seized as "evidence" against them.<ref name=reWineBloodlibel>{{cite web |last=Rutman |first=Rabbi Yisrael |title=Pesach: What We Eat and Why We Eat It |url=http://www.torah.org/features/holydays/passover/pesacheat.html |publisher=Project Genesis Inc. |access-date=14 April 2013 |website=torah.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509103442/http://torah.org/features/holydays/passover/pesacheat.html |archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref>}}

Almost all Jewish holidays, especially the [[Passover Seder]] where all present drink four cups of wine, on [[Purim]] for the festive meal, and on the [[Shabbat]] require obligatory blessings ([[Kiddush]]) over filled cups of kosher wine that are then drunk. Grape juice is also suitable on these occasions. If no wine or grape juice is present on Shabbat, the blessing over [[challah]] suffices for kiddush on Friday night; for Kiddush on Shabbat morning as well as Havdalah, if there is no wine one would use "Chamar ha-medinah", literally the "drink of the country".

[[File:Rabbi in a kosher wine shop 8d21905v.jpg|thumb|Rabbi in a kosher wine shop in [[New York City]], circa 1942]]

At Jewish [[Jewish view of marriage|marriages]], [[Brit milah|circumcisions]], and at [[Pidyon haben|redemptions of first-born]] ceremonies, the obligatory blessing of ''Borei Pri HaGafen'' ("Blessed are you O Lord, Who created the fruit of the vine") is almost always recited over kosher wine (or grape juice).

According to the teachings of the [[Midrash]], the forbidden fruit that [[Eve]] ate and which she gave to [[Adam]] was the grape from which wine is derived, though others contest this and say that it was in fact a fig.<ref>[[Rashi]] On Genesis 3:7.</ref><ref>Rabbi Nehemiah in the [[Babylonian Talmud]] Tractate Berachot 40a and Sanhedrin 70b.</ref> The capacity of wine to cause drunkenness with its consequent loosening of inhibitions is described by the ancient rabbis in Hebrew as ''nichnas yayin, yatza sod'' ("wine enters, [and one's personal] secret[s] exit"), similar to the Latin "[[in vino veritas]]". Another similarly evocative expression relating to wine is: ''Ein Simcha Ela BeBasar Veyayin''—"There is no joy except through meat and wine".)

==Requirements for being kosher==
{{See|Kosher foods#Wine}}

Because of wine's special role in many non-Jewish religions, the ''kashrut'' laws specify that wine cannot be considered kosher if it might have been used for [[Idolatry in Judaism|idolatry]]. These laws include prohibitions on ''Yayin Nesekh'' ({{lang|he|יין נסך}} – "poured wine"), wine that has been poured to an idol, and ''Stam Yeynam'' ({{lang|he|סתם יֵינָם}}), wine that has been touched by someone who believes in idolatry or produced by non-Jews. When kosher wine is ''yayin mevushal'' ({{lang|he|יין מבושל}} – "cooked" or "boiled"), it becomes unfit for idolatrous use and will keep the status of ''kosher'' wine even if subsequently touched by an idolater.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uncorking the Secrets of Kosher Wine |url=https://oukosher.org/blog/consumer-kosher/uncorking-secrets-kosher-wine/ |website=OU Kosher Certification |language=en |date=9 March 2017}}</ref>

While none of the ingredients that make up wine ([[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]], [[sugars (wine)|sugars]], [[acidity (wine)|acidity]] and [[phenols (wine)|phenols]]) is considered non-kosher, the ''kashrut'' laws involving wine are concerned more with who handles the wine and what they use to make it.<ref name="Oxford p 383"/> For wine to be considered kosher, only Sabbath-observant Jews may handle it, from the first time in the process when a liquid portion is separated from solid waste, until the wine is pasteurized or bottles are sealed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uncorking the Secrets of Kosher Wine |url=https://jewishaction.com/food/kashrut/kosherkopy/ |website=Jewish Action |language=en |date=11 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What Makes Wine Kosher? |url=https://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/What-Makes-Wine-Kosher_2005 |website=Wine Spectator |language=en}}</ref> Wine that is described as "[[kosher for Passover]]" must have been kept free from contact with [[chametz]] and [[Kitniyot|kitnios]]. This would include grain, bread, and dough as well as legumes and corn derivatives.<ref name="Oxford p 383"/>

===Mevushal wines===
When kosher wine is mevushal (Hebrew: "cooked" or "boiled"), it thereby becomes unfit for idolatrous use and will keep the status of kosher wine even if subsequently touched by an idolater. It is not known whence the ancient Jewish authorities derived this claim; there are no records concerning "boiled wine" and its fitness for use in the cults of any of the religions of the peoples surrounding ancient Israel. Indeed, in [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]], it is common to add boiling water to the [[sacramental wine]]. Another opinion holds that mevushal wine was not included in the rabbinic edict against drinking wine touched by an idolater simply because such wine was uncommon in those times.

Mevushal wine is frequently used in kosher restaurants and by kosher caterers so as to allow the wine to be handled by non-Jewish or non-observant waiters.

The process of fully boiling a wine kills off most of the fine mold on the grapes, and greatly alters the [[tannin (wine)|tannin]]s and flavors of the wine. Therefore, great care is taken to satisfy the legal requirements while exposing the wine to as little heat as necessary. There is significant disagreement between halachic deciders as to the precise temperature a wine must reach to be considered mevushal, ranging from {{cvt|165|to|194|F|C|order=flip}}. (At this temperature, the wine is not at a rolling boil, but it is cooking, in the sense that it will evaporate much more quickly than usual.) Cooking at the minimum required temperature reduces some of the damage done to the wine, but still has a substantial effect on quality and [[aging potential (wine)|aging potential]].<ref name="Oxford p 383"/>

A process called [[flash pasteurization]] rapidly heats the wine to the desired temperature and immediately chills it back to room temperature. This process is said to have a minimal effect on flavor, at least to the casual wine drinker.

Irrespective of the method, the pasteurization process must be overseen by ''[[Mashgiach|mashgichim]]'' to ensure the kosher status of the wine. Generally, they will attend the winery to physically tip the fruit into the crush, and operate the pasteurization equipment. Once the wine emerges from the process, it can be handled and aged in the normal fashion.

===According to Conservative Judaism===
In the 1960s, the [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] approved a ''[[responsum]]'' ("legal ruling") by Rabbi Israel Silverman on this subject. Silverman noted that some classical Jewish authorities believed that Christians are not considered idolaters, and that their products cannot be considered forbidden in this regard. He also noted that most winemaking in the United States is fully automated. Based on 15th–19th century precedents in the ''[[responsa]]'' literature, he concluded that wines manufactured by this automated process may not be classified as wine "manufactured by gentiles", and thus are not prohibited by Jewish law. This ''responsum'' makes no attempt to change ''halakhah'' in any way, but rather argues that most American wine, made in an automated fashion, is already kosher by traditional halakhic standards. Some criticism was later made against this ''[[teshuvah]]'', because (a) some wines are not made by automated processes but rather, at least in some steps, by hand, and (b) on rare occasions non-kosher fining ingredients are used in wine preparation. Silverman later retracted his position.

A later ''responsum'' on this subject was written by Rabbi [[Elliot N. Dorff]] and also accepted by the CJLS.<ref>[https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/assets/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/dorff_wines.pdf Elliot Dorff, "On the Use of All Wines" YD 123:1.1985] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222083350/http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19861990/dorff_wines.pdf |date=2009-12-22}}</ref> Dorff noted that not all wines are made by automated processes, and thus the reasoning behind Silverman's responsum was not conclusively reliable in all cases. On the other hand, Dorff points out that even if we can avoid the issue of "wine handled by a gentile", there is a separate prohibition against wine produced from wineries owned by a gentile, in which case automation is irrelevant, and all non-certified wines are prohibited. Therefore, he explored the possibility to change the halacha, arguing that the prohibition no longer applies. He cites rabbinic thought on Jewish views of Christians, also finding that most ''[[Posek|poskim]]'' refused to consign Christians to the status of idolater. Dorff then critiqued the traditional halakhic argument that avoiding such wine would prevent [[interfaith marriage|intermarriage]]. Dorff asserted, however, that those who were strict about the laws of ''kashrut'' were not likely to intermarry, and those that did not follow the laws would not care if a wine has a ''[[heksher]]'' or not. He also noted that a number of non-kosher ingredients may be used in the manufacturing process, including animal blood.

Dorff concluded a number of points including that there is no reason to believe that the production of such wines is conducted as part of pagan (or indeed, ''any'') religious practice. Most wines have no non-kosher ingredients whatsoever. Some wines use a non-kosher ingredient as part of a fining process, but not as an ingredient in the wine as such. Dorff noted that material from this matter is not intended to infiltrate the wine product. The inclusion of any non-kosher ingredient within the wine occurs by accident, and in such minute quantities that the ingredient is nullified. All wines made in the US and Canada may be considered kosher, regardless of whether or not their production is subject to rabbinical supervision. Many foods once considered forbidden if produced by non-Jews (such as [[wheat]] and oil products) were eventually declared kosher. Based on the above points, Dorff's responsum extends this same ruling to wine and other grape-products.

However, this teshuvah also notes that this is a lenient view. Some Conservative rabbis disagree with it, e.g. [[Isaac Klein]]. As such Dorff's teshuvah states that synagogues should hold themselves to a stricter standard so that all in the Jewish community will view the synagogue's kitchen as fully kosher. As such, Conservative synagogues are encouraged to use only wines with a hekhsher, and preferably wines from Israel.

==Regional kosher wine consumption==
[[File:Yarden wine israel.jpg|thumb|upright|Photo of Yarden wine bottle from Israel, 2007]]

===United States===
Historically, kosher wine has been associated in the US with the [[Manischewitz]] brand, which produce a sweetened wine with a distinctive taste, made of ''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' rather than ''[[Vitis vinifera|V. vinifera]]'' grapes. Due to the addition of [[high-fructose corn syrup]], the normal bottlings of Manischewitz are, for [[Ashkenazi Jews]], not kosher during Passover by the rule of ''[[kitniyot]]'', and a special bottling is made available. This cultural preference for a distinct, unique variety of wine dates back to Jewish settlements in early US history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/the-11th-plague-why-people-drink-sweet-wine-on-passover/73193/ |title=The 11th Plague? Why People Drink Sweet Wine on Passover |author=Yoni Appelbaum |newspaper=The Atlantic |date=14 April 2011 |access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Mahia (drink)|Mahia]]
*[[Drink offering]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.star-k.org/articles/articles/1136/the-art-of-kosher-wine-making/ "The Art of Kosher Wine Making"], [[Star-K]] Kosher certification website.
* [http://kosherwinesociety.com/wine-101.php "Learn about Kosher Wine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211081331/http://kosherwinesociety.com/wine-101.php |date=11 February 2016 }}, Kosher Wine Society.
* [http://www.religiousrules.com/Judaismfood13idols.htm Laws of Judaism concerning wine] From the Torah and Maimonides' Code of Jewish Law.

{{Kashrut}}

[[Category:Jewish ceremonial food and drink]]
[[Category:Kosher wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine terminology]]
[[Category:Judaism and alcohol]]