Kosher wine

Kosher wine is wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, the Jewish dietary laws regarding wine. However, some non-Orthodox branches of Judaism are more "lenient" with these laws, (see According to Conservative Judaism below). Reform Judaism as well does not usually observe these laws.

According to Orthodox Judaism
In general, kashrut deals with avoiding specific forbidden foods, none of which are normally used in winemaking, so it might seem that all wines are automatically "kosher". However, 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".

Some of these concepts include:


 * Yain Nesekh (Wine that has been poured to an idol, or with idolatry in mind.)
 * Stam Yainom (Wine that may have been touched by someone who might believe in idolatry, but wouldn't have had it in mind at the time of contact.)
 * When kosher wine is mevushal ("cooked" or "boiled"), it thereby becomes unfit for idolatrous use and will keep the status of kosher wine even if subsequently touched by an idolator. See section below for more details.
 * Intermingling - There are prohibitions on several foods, including wine, in order to prevent intermingling amongst non-Jews in order to reduce the chances of intermarriage.

In recent times, there has been an increased demand for kosher wines and a number of wine producing countries now produce a wide variety of sophisticated kosher wines under strict rabbinical supervision, particularly in Israel, the United States, France, Italy, South Africa, and Australia. Two of the world's largest producers and importers of kosher wines, Kedem and Manischewitz, are both based in the Northeastern United States.

Non-Kosher Additives
Non-kosher ingredients commonly used in wine manufacture are bull's blood and sturgeon isinglass.

When sold commercially
When kosher wine is produced, marketed and sold commercially to Orthodox Jews, it must have the hechsher ("seal of approval") of a supervising agency or organization (such as the "OU" sign of the Orthodox Union), or of an authoritative rabbi who is preferably also a posek ("decisor" of Jewish law) or be supervised by a beth din ("Jewish religious court of law") according to Orthodox Judaism.

According to Conservative Judaism

 * See Kosher foods.

In the 1960s the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards approved a responsum ("legal ruling") by Rabbi Israel Silverman on this subject. Silverman notes that most classical Jewish authorities agree that Christians are not considered idolators, and that their products cannot be considered forbidden in this regard. He also noted that most wine-making 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 responsa makes no attempt to change halakhah in any way, but rather argues that most American wine, made in an automated fashion, already is 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.

A later responsum on this subject was written by Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, and also accepted by the CJLS. 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. He explored rabbinic thought on Jewish views of non-Christians, also finding that most poskim refused to consign Christians to the status of idolator. Dorff then explored the traditional halakhic argument that avoiding such wine would prevent 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. Dorff concludes:


 * There is no reason to believe that the production of such wines is conducted as part of paganistic (or indeed, any) religious practice.
 * Most wines have absolutely 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. 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 USA 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 Gentiles (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 heksher, and preferably wines from the State of Israel.

Procedure for production of Mevushal wines
As mentioned above, when kosher wine is mevushal ("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.

Traditionally, this edict was followed literally. The boiling process killed most of the fine mold or "must" on the grapes, and greatly altered the tannins and flavours of the wine. The result was typically a weak, insipid wine. Rather than being full red in colour, it often displayed an opaque, permanganate-coloured tone.

Later, the process was modified to require only that wine be heated to 90 degrees Celsius. (At this temperature, the wine is not bubbling, but it is cooking, in the sense that it will evaporate much more quickly than usual.) This managed to reduce some of the damage done to the wine, but still had a substantial effect on flavour.

Recently, a process called flash pasteurization has come into vogue. This method avoids causing the juice of the grapes to simmer or boil, and is said to have a minimal effect on flavour, at least to the casual wine drinker. Indeed, the non-kosher winery Château Beaucastel flash pasteurizes and its wines are considered among the world's finest, although few others have copied this technique. Ironically, relatively flavourful flash pasteurized wines faced resistance in the market as observant Jews had come to associate kosher wine with the traditional pinkish, tea-colored wines.

In most territories, the bulk of kosher wine is supplied by wineries producing both kosher wine and wine for the general market. However, irrespective of the method, the pasteurization process must be overseen by 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 pasteurisation equipment. Once the wine emerges from the process, it can be handled and aged in the normal fashion.

Role of wine in Jewish holidays and rituals
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 over filled cups of kosher wine that are then drunk. At Jewish marriages, circumcisions, and at Redemption 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 many would contest this and say that it was in fact a fig. 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".) Another similarly evocative expression relating to wine is: Ein Simcha Ela BeBasar Veyayin There is no joy except through [eating] meat and [drinking] wine".)