Every spring, Jews around the world celebrate the eight-day holiday of Passover, with this year’s festivities beginning at sundown on April 15th. The highlight is the Seder, a traditional meal held during the celebration’s first two nights, when the story of the Israelites’ escape from 400 years of slavery in Egypt is recalled by readings from the Haggadah, a Jewish prayer book.

Passover is a joyful time for friends and family to feast together, with wine playing a central role in the ritual. Over the course of the Seder night, Jews drink four cups of kosher wine, a symbol of their precious freedom from bondage.

Kosher Wine: Yea or Nay?

There are many misconceptions regarding kosher wine but, truthfully, it can be as good, or as bad, as any non-kosher wine. They are both produced using the same wine growing and winemaking techniques, with the kosher certification simply meaning that the wine has been made under the supervision of Sabbath-observant Jews, and without the use of any non-kosher products or ingredients.

Similar to the rest of the wine industry, there are great quality kosher wines being produced all over the world, from California to France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, and of course Israel. Red and white kosher wines can easily be found, but so can sparkling, rosé, and off-the-beaten-path examples made from Albariño, Carignan, Marselan, and Mourvèdre.

Below are four recommended kosher wines (sent to me as samples), along with a list of other recommended kosher wines.

Note: The wines below are Kosher for Passover, meaning they have been produced in accordance with Jewish dietary laws and have not come into contact with bread, grain, or products made with leavened dough (Do any wines touch bread during winemaking?!). However, they are not Mevushal, a process in which the wine is flash pasteurized.

Whites

Yarden Gewürztraminer 2019 ($22.99). The wine shows alluring notes of lychee, passion fruit, melon, cherry and honeysuckle, with the characteristic bitter finish of Gewürztraminer. Serve the wine as an aperitif with the traditional plate of symbolic Passover foods, like maror (bitter herbs) and charoset (a fruit and nut mixture), or alongside the whole Seder meal. Available for purchase at wine.com, saratogawine.com, and local wine shops nationwide.

Yarden Pinot Gris ($18). A unique coppery color, the wine is round and creamy with notes of lemon meringue pie. This rich white wine fills the whole palate with candied fruit notes and a slight hint of licorice and leaves a long, flavorful finish. Pairs well with Seder selections like gefilte fish and roast chicken. Find it at Saratoga Wine Exchange and local wine shops nationwide.

Reds

Alavida Malbec 2021 ($19) The first USDA-certified organic (no added sulfites allowed) kosher wine from Argentina, this 100% Malbec could be the best-value wine I’ve had this year. Unsurprisingly, Alavida’s supervising rabbi, at the end of the winemaking process, pronounced, “This is the best kosher wine I’ve ever tasted!” Darkly colored, aromatic, spicy, and rich, with an excellent balance between fruit, acidity (high), tannins (medium-plus), and alcohol (14.5%), I would serve this powerful and delicious wine with brisket. Find it at Grapes, The Wine Company, and local wine shops nationwide.

Yarden Syrah 2018 ($29.99) This tasty wine, 100% Syrah, is full of ripe black fruits aromas, along with dark chocolate, smoked meat, spice, earth, tobacco, and anise notes. A full-bodied wine, it would go well with smoked barbecued brisket or tzimmes, a stew of carrots and prunes. Available for purchase at wine.com, kosherwine.com, and local wine shops nationwide.

You can also find delicious kosher sparkling wines. Look towards Israel for Yarden’s Blanc de Blancs, or to Spain where kosher cava is made by Elvi and Freixenet. There are also kosher versions of champagne, Laurent-Perrier and Drappier being two favorites.

Other Kosher Whites Worth Seeking Out

Domaine Les Marronniers Chablis 1er Cru 2018 (France)
Domaine Villebois Pouilly Fumé 2019 (France)
Château Gazin Rocquencourt Blanc 2018 (a complex white from the Pessac-Léognan region in Bordeaux (France)
Judean Hills Blanc 2020, a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Sauvignon Blanc (Israel)
Bartenura Moscato, always popular, now comes in cans! (Israel)

Other Kosher Reds To Look For

Château Giscours Margaux 2017 (France)
Barons Edmond-Benjamin de Rothschild Haut-Médoc 2016 30th Anniversary Edition (France)
Tabor Adama Roussanne 2019 (Israel)
Flam Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Reserve (Israel)