Category Archives: Uncategorized

Chillin and Grillin (BBQ Pairings)

#133 – July 5, 2010 For some reason that I have not yet figured out, celebrating a nation’s independence seems to be synonymous with grilling meat. As with Yom Ha’Atzmaut in Israel, Independence Day (otherwise known as July 4th) here in the United States has always been the start of the long and glorious grilling […]

The A-Team (the best of France)

#138 – August 6, 2010 It wasn’t all that long ago that questions like “What is the best kosher wine” or “What is your favorite wine” were moot as there was no really good answer since quality kosher wine was basically a null set. Taking things one step further, it wasn’t even that far back […]

A Child by Genetics Alone

#166 – March 11, 2011 This week I wanted to talk about another grape varietal that, like Carignan, has a somewhat dubious Israeli past and it now experiencing a resurgence of sorts – Petite Sirah. Historically, Petite Sirah was used either as a blending agent to add body, flavor and color to other wines (usually […]

Pessach 2011 Selections

Last week was only the second time in almost a year that I missed my usual Thursday night / Friday mailing date for the newsletter. Hopefully this will not be a recurring theme, and the next edition should arrive this Thursday. For this [past] week’s edition I have included the wine selections and related materials […]

2011 Pessach Kosher Wine Buying Guide

Holiday Shopping – Parts I & II The weeks leading up to Pessach are among the US kosher wine industry’s busiest and more kosher wine is sold during this period than the rest of the year combined. As the popularity of quality kosher wine continues to increase, the quality and variety of wines available to […]

The Other Side of Sweet (Sweet Wines)

#167 – March 18, 2011 (Purim Satire) For the six years that I have been writing this newsletter, I have always had one primary goal – to introduce as many people as possible to the pleasures of fermented grape juice. I try and achieve this by eliminating the snobbery and mystery behind the delightful world […]

Four Gates Winery

#163 – February 19, 2011 When I moved to New York from Israel about six years ago, I hadn’t tasted any significant amount of Californian wines. This was primarily a result of the fact that they were only imported into Israel in very limited quantities and were overpriced, especially in comparison to their Israeli peers. […]

Yatir Winery

#161 – February 4, 2011 In any wine-related conversation, inevitably one of the first questions I am asked is “what is your favorite wine?” or “what is your favorite winery?” Given my love and passion for all wines, I truly don’t have a favorite wine or even one I find myself drinking most often. That […]

Where do we go from Here? (Israel’s Path Forward)

#162 – February 15, 2011 Following on my end-of the-year newsletter which dealt with past and future trends in the kosher and Israeli wine world (Trending Upwards), I wanted to spend a little more time discussing the current status of the Israeli wine-industry and the direction in which it seems to be going. As you […]

Best of the Best?

From #130 – June 13, 2010 Among the treats I was fortunate to enjoy over the last couple weeks was the Rom from the Golan Heights Winery. This newly released Israeli wine has been generating a significant amount of chatter among wine consumers for a number of reasons not the least of which is the […]